super-famicom
Member
If you need to increase the volume to very high levels to get your headphones loud enough, you may need an amp.
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PC Sound cards. Do you still use them?
- Thread starter nkarafo
- Start date
If you need to increase the volume to very high levels to get your headphones loud enough, you may need an amp.
nkarafo
Member
Sounds great, i'm sold.
I will be able to compare the sound quality this way too.
SolidSnakeUS
Member
I still use my HT Omega Striker 7.1. It's still using a PCI slot too.
LostDonkey
Member
I use a tiny pair of Dell desk speakers on my rig so no lol.
mostly headphones though.
mostly headphones though.
Very few soundcards, even back then significantly reduced cpu usage unless you're comparing it to early ac'97 on a cyrix. Creative haven't produced a competitive product in a VERY long time, and after they fucked over their competition that actually was making revolutionary products, I'd never give them a dime.
As others have said, if you want top notch audio I'd get an external dac.
DJ_Lae
Member
If your TV is anything like mine it will only output stereo through its audio outputs, so you'll need to hook the HDMI directly into the receiver and then pass video to the TV from there.
When you connect though the Receiver, you need to go to playback settings, and configure the output for 5.1.
The TV is passing audio via Optical or HDMI ARC to the Rx? If optical, it only supports 2.0 PCM.
On the 2nd part, have you tried changing the refresh rate? is 24hz the only option? What is the output? Onboard GPU or dedicated GPU?
Specifically related to Audigy, I used those for a while, but ditched them so fast when I finally put two and two together and realized a lot of the issues I was having were related to Audigy's inability to do 44.1kHz, and a really piss-poor (at the time, no idea if 2.0 fixed it) real-time resampling algorithm.
External DAC is the way to go nowadays, if you're (rightfully) concerned about on-board sound chips being a little iffy in quality.
External DAC is the way to go nowadays, if you're (rightfully) concerned about on-board sound chips being a little iffy in quality.
I'm not an audiophile (or else I would have sprung for a $500 external DAC or something), so subjectively I can only say that it does sound better than the onboard sound. However, I use the "surround" and "crystallizer" features which, naturally, modifies the sound considerably.
I haven't actually used the onboard sound for... oh, at least a few years, so I would have to do a test to do a proper comparison. All I know is that the Z works for me.
Oh, and don't worry about my ears. I keep the volume well below loss-of-hearing levels.
The Z works fine. I actually have to turn down the volume to something like 33% to keep it from getting too loud now, haha.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
Sounds like you can either:
- Upgrade your receiver to support 60fps @ 4K
- Use the sound built into your motherboard and route it to the optical port on your receiver for 5.1 surround
- Purchase a sound card to do the same thing if your mobo doesn't support it
Yep this,
I haven't bought a dedicated soundcard since that time that MS did that, and I use to get mid-highend ones with every build It really really retarded sound design in games, I don't think we've even caught back up yet. External DAC are great for driving lower impedance headphones, and providing a cleaning, hiss free sound, especially noticeable if you have any half decent gear downstream
Yeah, that's what I'm doing now.
I have my PC hooked up to my TV via HDMI and then I get video/sound by sending it through my receiver. TV is also hooked up by HDMI.
I've tried changing the refresh rate. I have Titan X sli so it's a bummer.
I linked my receiver. I can do 60fps @4K but if I connect my PC to my receiver directly through HDMI I get a terrible refresh rate and it just won't change for some reason. I also have optical audio but that sound seem to work which is why I'm looking into possibly get a soundcard.
External DAC & Amp is the way to go. I'd highly recommend either the o2+ODAC or Schiit Stack.
There are some older games that highly benefited from sound cards through DirectSound3D and OpenAL, but that's in the past now. You can also pick up a Roland MT-32 for some fantastic DOS sound.
There are some older games that highly benefited from sound cards through DirectSound3D and OpenAL, but that's in the past now. You can also pick up a Roland MT-32 for some fantastic DOS sound.
dmix90
Member
I think TV's cant passthrough anything but stereo via HDMI. If you connect through receiver try to mess with Custom Resolution Utility. I personally had to use it to get rid of dreaded 59hz issue, it also removed 3D support(basically made pc think that it is connected to regular monitor) but i dont care about it atm.
Your Rx has HDMI 2.0 so will do 4k60 8bit RGB.
It should work: PC->Titan->HDMI->Rx->TV
Edit
You might need to set this in nvidia CP
Output Y'CbCr 4:2:0 instead of RGB, as the Titan is HDMI 1.4, it cannot do RGB 4k60.
kinaesthete
Member
Dunno if you'll get an noticeable boost in quality from an early 2000s dedicated card to a modern one but in my experience the difference between onboard and even a cheap dedicated card is appreciable. I listen to music on my PC as much or more than gaming, both only with a pair of mid-range headphones, and after building a new machine in 2014 and skipping a soundcard was a noticable step down in quality from my last setup. Popping in a cheap X-Fi was all it needed.
The Baron Count
Member
I bought a Soundblaster Z not too long ago. It seems silly for me to have a good PC setup with mediocre onboard audio.
As stated many times, the extra options that the software allows are great though the SBZ pro studio stuff has been pretty damn buggy for me at times. The best part is I have my consoles connected to my monitor which means they are right next to my PC so I can run the audio from them into my sound card and then any tweaks or settings that I use on my PC will also apply to the sound for my consoles.
As far as sound quality is concerned, there was absolutely a difference between the onboard audio and the sound card. I don't know if I would have noticed it without a good set of headphones though. I use Sony MDR-7506 headphones which are studio headphones and have incredible clarity so the difference was very noticeable.
The difference is clearly not what it used to be of course. Onboard audio has come a long way, but there is an improvement to my ears. Probably not what most would consider colossal, but it's there.
As stated many times, the extra options that the software allows are great though the SBZ pro studio stuff has been pretty damn buggy for me at times. The best part is I have my consoles connected to my monitor which means they are right next to my PC so I can run the audio from them into my sound card and then any tweaks or settings that I use on my PC will also apply to the sound for my consoles.
As far as sound quality is concerned, there was absolutely a difference between the onboard audio and the sound card. I don't know if I would have noticed it without a good set of headphones though. I use Sony MDR-7506 headphones which are studio headphones and have incredible clarity so the difference was very noticeable.
The difference is clearly not what it used to be of course. Onboard audio has come a long way, but there is an improvement to my ears. Probably not what most would consider colossal, but it's there.
paperspace
Member
I'm using a Sound Blaster Z for the features and headphone amp, and I'm very satisfied.
Can't say how much of an improvement it is over Audigy 2003 specifically, but it's a nice upgrade coming from integrated motherboard sound.
Can't say how much of an improvement it is over Audigy 2003 specifically, but it's a nice upgrade coming from integrated motherboard sound.
The Lamonster
Member
Anyone using the new Sound BlasterX G5?
What about with a console?
Only pointing this out to avoid confusion in case there are any audio noobs lurking.
What about with a console?
Probably doesn't need to be said, but you don't need an amp for speakers. Just a DAC.
Only pointing this out to avoid confusion in case there are any audio noobs lurking.
Depending on the model you can connect them via USB or optical (S/PDIF) or even coaxial to your PC. You can then choose to use them in the windows control panel.
You can use two devices at the same time but it requires some fiddling around.
Some headphones are a lot more power hungry than others and will require a powerful amp to reach a decent listening volume. If your amp is underpowered for your headphones you'll need to use crank it quite far and it's quite likely it'll start distorting the sound.
Fixed for accuracy. You can buy passive speakers that will require a power amp.
nkarafo
Member
Yeah i think i share the same experience.
Onboard sound produced noticeable noise / whine in my headphones during heavy CPU / GPU load.
So i got an ASUS xonar card for 25 bucks.
Before that, onboard sound was fine.
If my current headphones die, i'll just be using my PS4 wireless headphones via the USB dongle, so the card has an obvious expiration date.
So i got an ASUS xonar card for 25 bucks.
Before that, onboard sound was fine.
If my current headphones die, i'll just be using my PS4 wireless headphones via the USB dongle, so the card has an obvious expiration date.
protomouse
Member
Onboard DACs are shite, and not worth wasting a good pair of headphones on. I have a Focusrite Saffire Pro hooked up (primarily for DAW purposes), and that works.
I still have my Audigy 2. It was a great card, but I wouldn't put it in a new build even if I could. Creative EOL'd it some time ago.
I'm only familiar with music equipment, I'm afraid. If I was looking for something else, I'd either get a decent USB DAC or just HDMI out via the GPU.
I still have my Audigy 2. It was a great card, but I wouldn't put it in a new build even if I could. Creative EOL'd it some time ago.
I'm only familiar with music equipment, I'm afraid. If I was looking for something else, I'd either get a decent USB DAC or just HDMI out via the GPU.
natsuyasumi
Member
Got a $30 Xonar DGX a few years ago. It was great having headphone 7.1 virtual surround via Dolby Headphone. I really became more appreciative of good audio in games, and was surprised at how many games come up lacking in that area. (Worst mess was BioShock 2, whose audio was just broken in various ways.)
Late last year after some research I acquired a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, because of its good rep, because it's the last Creative card to support EAX in hardware (for my late '90s to mid-'00s games, here's an interesting hardware vs. software example video), and so I could try CMSS-3D virtual surround. While I like my new setup I actually feel that Dolby Headphone, for all its reverb, gave me more of a directional surround effect. Still need to try more games though.
Twice the X-Fi has just disappeared from Windows, only fixed by driver uninstall / reinstall. Known issue that just happens sometimes, apparently.
Late last year after some research I acquired a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, because of its good rep, because it's the last Creative card to support EAX in hardware (for my late '90s to mid-'00s games, here's an interesting hardware vs. software example video), and so I could try CMSS-3D virtual surround. While I like my new setup I actually feel that Dolby Headphone, for all its reverb, gave me more of a directional surround effect. Still need to try more games though.
Twice the X-Fi has just disappeared from Windows, only fixed by driver uninstall / reinstall. Known issue that just happens sometimes, apparently.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
Looking at the reviews that model seems to suffer from some HDMI handshaking issues. That might be affecting your refresh problem. I'd call Denon about that issue.
Also, as far as your optical audio not working properly, be sure that:
A - You haven't disabled onboard sound in the BIOS
B - You turn off HDMI audio through the Nvidia control panel
I run a separate sound card personally (Sound Blaster Z) and have to disable the sound output on my GTX 970 or sound doesn't work properly. There is an audio section in the Nvidia CP.
I've only seen this in Windows 10 and I attributed it to Creative's new W10 drivers. Seems stable now, though.
nkarafo
Member
Well actually, if i get an external device, i will have 3 in total along with the HDMI output (which i do use with some programs)
Bah, I had been looking for a small amplifier for my desktop for a while but everything was too big. Didn't know I should have been searching for a DAC instead. Oh well, better late than never. Any recommendations?
http://heavy.com/tech/2015/10/best-digital-audio-converter-dac-usb-audiophile/
(I have an old SB X-Fi sitting in my misc computer parts box - I just took it out to improve ventilation when I switched to SLI video cards and have been going with the motherboard's built-in audio since then)
http://heavy.com/tech/2015/10/best-digital-audio-converter-dac-usb-audiophile/
(I have an old SB X-Fi sitting in my misc computer parts box - I just took it out to improve ventilation when I switched to SLI video cards and have been going with the motherboard's built-in audio since then)
The Lamonster
Member
That's funny. I actually had the word "powered" in there but edited it out to keep it simple.
nkarafo
Member
There are some decent third party drivers/patches for this line of cards, if that's what you mean. I currently use them without problems.
PC games usually only have uncompressed sound, and the bandwidth for uncompressed 5.1 is higher than what optical supports. That's why you need something like Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect, as they encode the audio on-the-fly for your optical cable.
Try using the modded driver I posted on the first page.
I'll have to check them out then. Only thing I want left for my setup is surround sound.
Evolution of Metal
Member
Realtek sucks dick!
Do those gaming/high-end motherboards that come with Creative or similar sound chips use a much better driver software?
Do those gaming/high-end motherboards that come with Creative or similar sound chips use a much better driver software?
I have ASUS Xonar Essence STX sitting on table. Had to leave it out from current rig when updated to W10 at same time, there was no drivers for sound card. I really should look if ASUS has done drivers for it, would improve audio quality by a notch for my Sennheiser headphones.
natsuyasumi
Member
For me it was in Win7 x64 running the latest DanielK drivers.
I bought a FiiO E10K Amp/DAC a few days ago. It sounds great but I've noticed that whenever I scroll through a page that has a lot of images, there's a buzzing noise. It's only noticeable when I don't have music or a video playing in the background which I usually do anyway but it's still quite annoying. Any idea what the cause might be? It's only when I scroll though, everything's normal otherwise.
Razzorn34
Member
Asus Xonar DGX atm. I'll be using a card until onboard actually catches up. It still isn't there yet for anyone who is actually into audio. Yes, there still is a noticeable difference.
Most people just running a cheap pair of PC speakers are probably fine with onboard audio though.
Most people just running a cheap pair of PC speakers are probably fine with onboard audio though.
I'm still using an Audigy 2 ZS myself. I remember another thread about this here where a lot of people simply ditched sound cards in favor of on-board stuff. I would prefer to have something since there's some issues with static or noise from on-board sound.
I plan on building a new PC sometime by the end of the year and I'm ready to ditch my Audigy 2. I'm no audiophile, but I would like something a little better than on-board audio. I usually use headphones (not super high quality ones), but still use speakers once in a while. What's the simplest solution? I would like to at least match the audio quality I have with my current Audigy 2. Some examples on newegg or something would be great so I can get a feel for pricing.
I plan on building a new PC sometime by the end of the year and I'm ready to ditch my Audigy 2. I'm no audiophile, but I would like something a little better than on-board audio. I usually use headphones (not super high quality ones), but still use speakers once in a while. What's the simplest solution? I would like to at least match the audio quality I have with my current Audigy 2. Some examples on newegg or something would be great so I can get a feel for pricing.