Games:

This is what the AC-1 is specifically targeted at. Directional accuracy, being able to hear a light footstep coming up the stairs behind you while you are looking out a window. That’s what it comes down to. How is the AC-1 at keeping your butt out of harms way?

Counter-Strike:Source

+    Battlefield 2142

+ Razer AC-1 = ?

In a word, excellent. I don't think I've heard any of my games sound this good before. I was expecting a lot from Razer after the claims and hype they've made over this card. I don't think they have dropped the ball on any of it. Everything sounds like I think it should, I didn't notice anything like a gun in Counter-Strike sounding weak or anything like that. Even when you get multiple people shooting at you, you can still pick out what weapon is shooting, from what direction, and how close they might be. There was never a point with lots of sources of sound that I sat up and went “wait a minute, wasn't that suppose to make a sound or something?

I can't give you anything quantifiable for the sound itself, though there are a few things about the card and drivers I will say.

For one, EAX 2.0 compatibility, it's a nice feature to have. I don't know if it is doing the exact thing that EAX specifically wants, but all the EAX 2.0 games I have, did not complain when I selected it I've seen games that will have fits if you don't have a sound card that can do what it wants, others just sound terrible, even if they wouldn't use the extra features anyway. There are obviously features they don't have. Such as EAX 3 or higher. Other games like Battlefield 2142 that partnered with Creative to have “X-FI” features and detection, though I'm pretty sure they legally can't do anything about that.

Performance:

Buck naked

The main chip

One more thing it doesn't have; compatibility issues. No program complained, crashed, or otherwise hiccuped during my testing. I can give you absolute horror stories about Creative cards and drivers over the years. They are, in my opinion, only JUST getting to the point where I don't EXPECT their cards or drivers to screw something up. And they've had a monopoly on the market almost since they started. Does the phrase “Squeal of death” from the Audigy 1 send a shiver up anyone else's spine? For Razer, in their FIRST attempt at a sound card not to have a single crash, seems very impressive given my other experiences.

Conclusion:

If someone asks me a quick question “Is this worth getting for my system?” My answer is a simple “Yes, by all means”. This is a VERY viable replacement for any Creative Audigy and Audigy 2 sound card, and a huge upgrade from on board sound.

To get into it a little deeper, do I think you HAVE to partner it with Barracuda HP-1 headphones? No, I don't think you do. I personally don't prefer headphones when listening to music or gaming, unless I'm at a LAN party or something similar. If you want to use headphones, would I recommend them? Yes, yes I would. They are meant to partner with the AC-1, and the quality is very high (plus only having to plug in one connector for surround sound and a microphone is much nicer than fumbling behind a computer trying to remember what plug goes where) There are probably better headphones out there, but I have no doubt they cost much more than I'm willing to pay, and probably aren't meant to be used off a normal sound card anyway.

Default screen

Bass and equalizer

All extra windows

What would I look to improve on if I was Razer? Well for one, their driver control screen is very crowded, with more options than you can shake a stick at, and very little explanation as to what everything really does. There are also buttons that I had no idea were there in the first place, till I just started clicking everywhere just to see what happened. One button is completely unmarked, and another blends in almost completely. Some look like they should be buttons but aren't, while others are just too small.

What it comes down to with the complexity, is that spent a long time tweaking settings, and then was still unsure if it sounded better or worse, and then I still had another thousand or so combination of settings to use. That’s my big complaint about the whole thing. Once I got everything setup the way I liked, I didn't have to do anything else.

Looking at Razers past products and history, I have no doubt they will keep improving the AC-1 and HP-1. Razer has taken itself from being a small niche market company, into what I think is now a company on the verge of becoming the benchmark for the rest of the market to look up to.