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(More customer reviews)After reading several positive web reviews of this card, I decided to purchase it and see how it compares to my current ASUS Xonar Essence ST Headphone 7.1-Channel Audio Card for Audiophiles. (It should be noted that the Xonar Essence ST is a PCI card that I believe is out of production, but still available for purchase. It has been replaced by the ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card which, like the Titanium HD, is PCI-E based.) Both cards are advertised as geared towards "audiophiles" and manufactured with high-end components. They are designed to primarily support headphones and/or analog stereo 2.0/2.1 speakers. They do not come standard with analog outputs for 5.1/7.1 speakers, but do support multi-channel digital output via optical TOSLINK. The Xonar Essence ST also supports digital output via a coaxial connection and an optional Xonar HDav Multi-ch Extension card to provide analog output supporting up to 7.1 channels is available. Both cards include built-in headphone amps, but the one in the Xonar Essence ST/STX is more robust. The SoundBlaster Titanium HD employs the venerable X-Fi chipset and supports all versions of creative's EAX feature - if you do a lot of PC gaming, this card may be your best option. The Xonar Essence ST does provide good surround sound support via Dolby ProLogic IIx and limited EAX support via DirectSound 3D game extensions.
This is purely a subjective review - it is based soley on my personal impressions as received through my ears - your preferences/impressions may be different. I primarily listen to music and play the occasional game, so I'm most concerned with high quality sound. My speakers are Klipsch ProMedia 2.1. Both cards installed easily and I experienced no issues with installing the related software/drivers. For the Titanium HD, I left everything at its default setting in the Entertainment module - no equalization, environmental or tone adjustments. Let me start by saying the Titanium HD is the best-sounding SoundBlaster card ever made. For music, the highs were crisp, mid-range just slightly muffled, the bass very solid, but not overpowering and the positioning stellar. I could easily discerne each instrument. The overall soundstage was very good. For gaming, you simply cannot beat SoundBlaster for EAX and positional audio in the games that support it. With the Xonar Essence ST, for music - the highs were slightly better, the mid-range better, the bass excellent and positioning equally good. The overall soundstage of the Xonar Essence ST was simply better to my ears. (Please note: for a head to head comparison, you need to select the "Hi-Fi" DSP Mode in the Xonar software which clears all effects to make the analog output quality as high as possible.) For gaming, using the "GX" or "Game" DSP Modes provided excellent positional audio, though not quite to the level of the SoundBlaster card.
Overall, I prefer my existing ASUS Xonar Essence ST (and the SoundBlaster will be returned). For music, it outperforms the SoundBlaster Titanium HD - granted, not by a lot. The H6 Multi-Channel Extension Card is also a plus for the Xonar Essence ST. For gaming, I have to give the edge to the SoundBlaster Titanium HD - that said, there are cheaper SoundBlaster cards designed specifically for gaming. In summary, you won't be disappointed with either card. If you are a frequent gamer and use headphones or 2.0/2.1 analog speakers, get the Soundblaster. If you are in to music and an occasional gamer, I highly recommend the ASUS Xonar Essence ST/STX.
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The Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD provides the highest quality audio playback of any sound card Creative has ever introduced and includes THX TruStudio PC audio technology, bringing together two of the most respected names in sound quality to provide an unparalleled audio experience on the PC. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD features audiophile-grade components for high-quality playback of music, games and movies, including 122db SNR Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs), the highest signal-to-noise ratio ever produced by a Creative sound card.
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