Since the all graphics are set to max and the optical experience is just as it meant to be, i'd like to know which is the best setting for the sound configuration so as to have the best perfomance as well. I guess others people would like to know. Personally, i have an SoundBlaster Audigy Live! 24bit that supports all sound options. From what i know:
Dolby Surround
For optimal experience you need either 5.1 speekers or a good headset. Yet, you can simply activate it if you have a card supporting it.
EAX versions
Well, here's my problem, i hadn't any time to search about this tech (and what's the differences among different EAX configs), so, any help is welcome.
My question is which is the best sound configuration for the before-mentioned Soundblaster card. Btw, anyone with a different sound card may ask the same question; i guess there are people out there that know more things about such issues.
EAX is Environmental Audio, it's generally preferred as it simulates audio in environments as needs be... To be honest, the only time I see EAX being used much is in Cinematic mode, same as 5.1 Audio....
Assuming you've got a 5.1 surround sound system...
5.1 being five speakers and a woofer... 2.1, two speakers and a woofer, 2.0 two speaker, etc, etc...
EAX can be 5.1.
For quality Dolby...
For emersion, EAX.....
Heh, you're confusing me here mate :)
I got two speekers only, no woofer, still the audio card can apply all the sound options.
What do you mean about "quality" and "emersion"?
And if i understood well, the EAX numbers refer to the speekers/woofer hardware a user has...
EAX numbers refer to the version...
If you've got 2.0 then I don't recommend Dolby, and EAX will only be a small improvement...
2.1 would be two speakers and a sub-woofer, which I'd really recommend EAX on...
And by quality I mean that Dolby would really refine the audio to a glorious sound, on GOOD speakers... For Emersion I mean that the EAX will simulate the environmental audio based on the environment you're in, so if you want to feel like you're in a forest, it creates an environment in which it sounds like a forest, distorting and manipulating the audio in a way that makes it more emersive...
Very simple. If you have a 2.1 system, then you have two satellite speakers and the woofer.
The first number (out of, say 2.1) signifies how many satellite speakers you have. If you have a simple left and right, you have a 2 sound system. If you have a woofer, that's the .1
Since you say you do not have a woofer, you'll never need the .1 out of any of the setups.
Most common setups: 2 speaker, 5 speaker (left, right, back left, back right, center), 7 speaker (same as five, but add a totally left and a totally right speaker directly to the sides of you), and the woofer if needed.
if you're using crapply little speakers (i.e. they say LabTech), it honestly doesn't matter which options you pick, as your ability to produce quality sounds is greatly stifled, no matter what mix rate, Dolby / EAX, available channels, or anything. You'd be basically limited to the amounts of sounds you want produced (low quality sounds typically restricts the amount of active voices to lower numbers, typically 8 or more commonly 16, where higher quality adds more), and if you want stereo or not.
So you can mix the sound, filter, add as many voices as you want, up the quality to maximum... but, again, if your speakers are only base line speakers (2 watts or less), I'd say simply experiment with different ones until you find one that you seem to like best; you're not going to get the results of the audio filtering (like directing audio signal below a certain hertz threshold down to the woofer... which you don't have).
Dolby Surround
For optimal experience you need either 5.1 speekers or a good headset. Yet, you can simply activate it if you have a card supporting it.
Uh no, you're not going to get surround sound if you only have 2 speakers. You can activate it, but it's not going to work.
Moved to proper section.
The first number (out of, say 2.1) signifies how many satellite speakers you have. If you have a simple left and right, you have a 2 sound system. If you have a woofer, that's the .1
Omg! I learned the whole coding around the speekers/woofers within a second! Thanx mate ;)
My speekers (
http://www.plaisio.gr/IWCatProductPage.process?Section_Id=26176779&Nav_Section_Id=&Catalog_Id=1&Product_Id=255050&Merchant_Id=1&sts_cid=3) are 2x2.5 Watt (5W total), so, maybe i'll grab a 2+1 system for me and my little brother. But, how many are using such a good sound support as EaW (or will be using in the future)?
PS: (because this is too specialised question) Which of the these (
http://www.plaisio.gr/EC_CompareProducts.process?Nav_Section_Id=&Catalogn_Id=1&Catalog_Id=1&Section_Id=26176779&Prod_Id=303353&Prod_Id=83733&Prod_Id=277527&Prod_Id=255117&Prod_Id=267086&x=61&y=42) 2.1 system so you suggest (the last one is 5.1)? I don't know what the RMS thing is, although i guess the higher the better...
RMS is how much power a speaker can handle in watts. More is better.
I also have an Audigy card. With the two speakers you already have (or headphones), you can take advantage of EAX, but not Dolby. I'm using the EAX4 setting in EaW right now. There's a rainy planet in the tutorial that really sounds great with EAX turned on, even with two speakers. Try going to that planet and switch between the Miles Fast Audio and the best EAX version you have available. You'll hear the difference right away. I think it's best with good headphones. EAX adds echoes and makes background noises sound more natural. Like an equilizer setting where you choose between concert hall, outdoor arena, or padded room. The game is coded so that each location sounds like they are supposed to when you have EAX turned on. (a city sounds like a city, a forest sounds like a forest, and space sounds like.... wait a minute, there's no sound in space. Oh well....)
Thanx, i'll give it a try (switching options and check results), since, although i use audio editting tools (Sound Forge) that normally need high quality sound, my tasks are speech editting & clearing (from cassetes, radio speeches etc) so, i never needed a high-end sound system.