Is it safe to use Creative's Alchemy program in conjunction with Oblivion? Does Oblivion use DirectSound? I tried Alchemy with Fallout 3 and it caused intermittent lags and crashes there hence why I ask about Oblivion before trying it.

So far as I know it is. I've been using Alchemy (X-fi) all along without noticeable adverse effects. As I recall there is or was a mod designed to further enhance EAX 3D sound effects in the game that was noted for potentially stability issues. I never tried it so can't say for sure.

If you do try Alchemy, make sure it contains an Oblivion 'Profile'.

Oh, is yours one of Creative's standard hardware-accelerated sound card models rather than one of the few low-end CPU-bound models? Don't know that this makes any difference Alchemy wise. Just curious.

-Decrepit-

Yeah I know to add a profile for the game etc. my sound card is a high end Auzentech XFI Forte sound card.

I gave it a whirl and did not like how it sounded at all D: sounded terrible.

Funny...that was my initial reaction too. First time I tried it I found things balanced oddly. After only a few minutes I exited the game and disabled my Oblivion Alchemy profile. Sometime later I again decided to take the plunge, for potential CPU-drain reduction. This time I stuck it out despite my misgivings. Once acclimated I decided the sound was no better or worse than normal, just different. (Seems to me I needed to readjust FOOTSTEP volume via the game's Option Menu before being happy with Alchemy...but it's been a while. A LONG while.) It is, of course, perfectly legitimate to prefer the 'different' sound of vanilla Oblivion over Alchemized Oblivion.

-Decrepit-