EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

[ShockWolF]

I’m interested in what people think about EAX in games. I’ve only really tried it in Jedi Knight 2 and Battlefield 2 and I’ve found that EAX has actually hindered the sound quality.
I use a Creative SoundBlaster 5.1 card and I own a pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones, which are absolutely fantastic! I thought maybe I could improve it even more by sticking on the EAX. At first I thought it sounded good but later I learned that it just wasn’t practical because it began letting me down.

In normal 5.1 surround I can hear almost everything and from what direction the sound is coming from. For example I can hear whenever the Artillery is being launched and from what direction in the distance.

When I enable EAX with my 5.1 surround some sound is too quiet or don’t seem to sound at all. The artillery in the distance is one of these sounds. All of a sudden I’m hit by artillery and I never even heard it coming when normally I would.

Is this unusual? Any of you having better EAX than me?

[Trevortt]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

I too have tried EAX & i cannot tell the difference. Im currebtly playing BF2 with medium & can hear so much cool stuff.

[Talus]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

I like EAX...the occlusions in particular.

It can help me tell that whether there is somebody firing a gun in front of the building, inside the building, or on the other side of the building

[MisterBubbles]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

What's EAX?

[Talus]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

Oh man..I can't even tell when people are being serious or sarcastic anymore. My sarcasm detector must be broken

Environmental Audio eXtensions (in case you weren't kidding)
Extremely Aweful eXample of sarcasm (in case you were )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_audio_extensions

[ShockWolF]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

I like EAX...the occlusions in particular.

It can help me tell that whether there is somebody firing a gun in front of the building, inside the building, or on the other side of the building

Interesting. Can I please ask ,do you combine your EAX with anything else like 5.1 or 7.1?
Do you hear the Artillery being launched in the distance from anywhere in the map?
What sound card/software are you using for sound?

[Talus]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

Yeah, EAX and 5.1 all the way.

I'm running an X-Fi Xtreme Music on a Logitech Z-5300 5.1 speaker system (or my LTB Platinum 5.1 headphones when I need to be quiet).

Running BF2 in X-Fi and Ultra High audio mode.

I can hear artillery being fired from a fair distance...couple that with a recently capped flag = MOVE, SOLDIER!

I can hear vehicles and armor LONG before they get close.

I can hear snipers from quite a fair distance..couple that with the 5.1 positional audio and I can find 'em every time...even while piloting an attack chopper (my copilot is always amazed)

I can hear footsteps and can even tell if they are in the same room or on the other side of a wall.

If I hear enemy radio chatter with a little echo, I can tell it's coming from within the building or hangar.

BF2 is a GREAT aural experience

[BurnTheWeed]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

Agree with Talus, being able to hear artillery coming has saved me and my squad too many times to count.

[AlphaNut]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

EAX is a great thing but some times a bit buggy in BF2. I have it enabled on my X-Fi.

[Talus]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

I could NEVER get EAX working properly in BFV though shame

[ShockWolF]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

Yeah, EAX and 5.1 all the way.

I'm running an X-Fi Xtreme Music on a Logitech Z-5300 5.1 speaker system (or my LTB Platinum 5.1 headphones when I need to be quiet).

Running BF2 in X-Fi and Ultra High audio mode.

I can hear artillery being fired from a fair distance...couple that with a recently capped flag = MOVE, SOLDIER!

I can hear vehicles and armor LONG before they get close.

I can hear snipers from quite a fair distance..couple that with the 5.1 positional audio and I can find 'em every time...even while piloting an attack chopper (my copilot is always amazed)

I can hear footsteps and can even tell if they are in the same room or on the other side of a wall.

If I hear enemy radio chatter with a little echo, I can tell it's coming from within the building or hangar.

BF2 is a GREAT aural experience

Wow your X-Fi Xtreme Music card must be a damn site better at handling EAX than my Creative card then. Because EAX really seems to screw it all up for me.

However for me just having 5.1 without EAX on seems to work well. I can still hear the artillery, snipers, footsteps and vehicles comming too. Only problem is when there are lot's of noises going on at once like teammates talking, gun fire and explosions everywhere i can easily miss hearing an approaching vehicle and footsteps that can lead to distaster. But then again that's pretty realistic as louder noises do drown out the quieter noises of course.

This is interesting. It means I might actually change my years long trend of using creative cards next time I upgrade my sound.

Cheers!

[Talus]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

The X-Fi series ARE Creative cards

[ShockWolF]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

The X-Fi series ARE Creative cards

OOPS! lol Goes to show I havent kept in touch with recent creative sound card releases doesnt it? :-/

Ah well then I'll change the series and not the brand next time. ;-) My card's about 3 years old now I think. It's just an SB Live! 5.1. I'm guessing the X-Fi series are far superior?

[BurnTheWeed]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

The SB Live is pretty old and EAX is limited on it. I notice a huge difference from my Audigy 2 vs. my roommates Audigy 1. And the X-fi series is suppose to be even better.

[knghtwhosaysni]

Re: EAX, who likes it? Good, bad, indifferent?

OOPS! lol Goes to show I havent kept in touch with recent creative sound card releases doesnt it? :-/

Ah well then I'll change the series and not the brand next time. ;-) My card's about 3 years old now I think. It's just an SB Live! 5.1. I'm guessing the X-Fi series are far superior?

yes the x-fi cards are far superior but come at quite a higher price. :) I think the Live! card can only support up to 64 (might only be 32) 3d voices whereas the X-Fi cards support up to 128. PLus X-Fi has this CMSS technology to make headphones sound more 3D, and a 24-bit crystalizer that makes compressed MP3 sounds seem like uncompressed CD quality.