• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PC Sound cards. Do you still use them?

K

King Al B

Member
I bulit a new PC about 3 years ago, I thought the onboard sound would be good enough being a mid to high end gigabyte motherboard. (Realtek) I was using the same speaker setup and it just didnt sound right, i listen to alot of music with my PC. I messed with drivers and settings for quite awhile.

Long story short took my OG Audigy Platinum out of my old Pentium 4 PC, and it was so much better. And i am not a Audiophile or anything, but the difference was quite noticeable.
 
C

Ceej

Member
Using my 4-year-old Xonar Xense (glorified STX) with a Nuforce HA200 Amp and my Sennheiser HD650s. I really wanted to go external DAC to further improve quality, but I'm having some kind of fucked up background noise problem with my system. Thought it was the amp, but don't have it with my surface 3 or iPhone direct.
 
L

luka

Loves Robotech S1
i haven't even used any internal sound cards in the last 10 years, let alone onboard. had an external usb all-in-one device for a while, then last year upgraded to a higher end DAC/AMP stack.

if you're only worried about performance, onboard is fine. if you give a damn about quality, get an external DAC.
 
SliChillax

SliChillax

Member
Ceej said:
Using my 4-year-old Xonar Xense (glorified STX) with a Nuforce HA200 Amp and my Sennheiser HD650s. I really wanted to go external DAC to further improve quality, but I'm having some kind of fucked up background noise problem with my system. Thought it was the amp, but don't have it with my surface 3 or iPhone direct.
Click to expand...

You do realize that there's a high chance it's the Xense? Sound cards usually suffer from this.
 
B

Bruzur

Neo Member
Sound Blaster ZxR, here.
And a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990's plugged directly into the card.
Phenomenal soundstage with no compromises.
 
T

terrible

Banned
I still have a Xonar DG in my computer but I only use the mic port on it since I have a USB DAC and tube amp for my headphones.
 
Agent_4Seven

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
I've ASUS ROG VII Ranger and integrated audio is really good on this board, but my second and newely build media center PC has really shitty integrated audio compared to integrated audio on my Ranger, so... I need to buy sound card for it now.

Btw, I know there's also USB sound cards available but... are they actually good compared to very good PCI / PCI-E ones?
 
F

Falk

that puzzling face
Agent_4Seven said:
Btw, I know there's also USB sound cards available but... are they actually good compared to very good PCI / PCI-E ones?
Click to expand...

The difference in latency/etc between PCI and USB/Firewire nowadays is nonexistent. In fact, many professional-grade multi-in/out audio interfaces on USB exist (I'm using one right now)

It really boils down to the DAC components themselves, and how shielded the electronics are from noise and/or other computer component activity - highly independent of whether the unit is internal or external.
 
E

enemy2k

Member
Nah, not anymore. My xfi extreme gamer was pci only and my new motherboard only has pci-e so went with the motherboard audio. Or I use my Logitech USB dongle.
 
G

Gruso

Member
I bought one of these for my laptop recently:

nVw1AAI.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F7120TQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's not audiophile gear, obviously. But it's clean, quiet, and a step up from the stock headphone output. Plus, volume knob! At $30 I recommend it to anyone who wants to dip their toe in the waters of external cards.
 
L

Luigiv

Member
Nope. I'm using USB speakers with an inbuilt DAC, so I literally have no use for a sound card (not that I would bother with a soundcard otherwise).
 
JRW

JRW

Member
I use both, an X-Fi XtremeMusic card for driving my headphones + games,and I'll use onboard whenever I'm watching movies or gaming on the Plasma (Optical Out from onboard to my Receiver, which the X-Fi lacks).

I just have to go into control panel / sound and change the default playback device when I want to switch.

Still hanging onto the X-Fi because it has vastly superior analog out quality for driving headphones vs. any onboard i've owned, Kudos to Creative for still supporting it 10 years later with Windows10 drivers lol.
 
D

deoee

Member
Still using my Creative X-Fi Titanium I got like 100 years ago.
There was no new drivers for Windows 10 when I last checked, but there are plenty of modded drivers (PAX drivers for example) which make it work on modern systems.
 
G

Grassy

Member
I've had an Asus Xonar Essence STX for a few years now and it's great. It's connected to a Schiit Valhalla 2 tube preamp/headphone amp and my monitors.

Tovarisc said:
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.
Click to expand...

I've been using Uni Xonar drivers since I upgraded to Win 10 last year, they're great -http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
 
Sanpei

Sanpei

Member
I am using Gold Wireless Headphones....As you know it connects thru a usb dongle

So if i buy an internal sound card, can i use it with Gold ? How usb dongle works in this kind of situation ?

Should we select sound card from properties or what ?
 
G

Gruso

Member
Sanpei said:
I am using Gold Wireless Headphones....As you know it connects thru a usb dongle

So if i buy an internal sound card, can i use it with Gold ? How usb dongle works in this kind of situation ?

Should we select sound card from properties or what ?
Click to expand...
No, if it's USB then it is effectively already an external sound card. No ability to (or advantage in) using additional hardware.
 
C

Crzy1

Member
I used to, but recently removed it after it was having issues with Windows 10. I do like the sparkle that Creative's software could add to sound, but it wasn't worth the headache. I have a WA7 Fireflies and Geek Pulse Xfi that I use for headphones and just use onboard audio for my speakers now. Would look into a 5.1 receiver, but they're all too big to put at my desk.

Edit: I also use Nvidia's audio over HDMI to my TV setup, which is alright as well.
 
M

Mr Swine

Banned
I own a Sound Blaster Z and it offers 5.1 sounds for my headphones (downsizing or whatever it is called) and no mobi offers that yet. Also the sounds is clearer with the sound card compared to my mobo
 
E

Engell

Member
Gunharp said:
I am not an expert. But setup and testing methodology is everything. Looking at your image, I have no idea what you measured. So much in testing is important, I don't know much about it unfortunately. But I do know that to even trust someones RMAA results I would have to know the absolute levels used, load applied, PC sound hardware used, and settings of the PC and device being tested.
Click to expand...

I didn't have to be an expert to listen to my headphones(K7XX) to determine that my E5 was making crap, and that was the only reason i actually measured it @50% vol low gain also tested line out, and then retested it all to be sure. Must say i was shocked as the E5 actually comes with very high recommendations from sources like headfi and i bought it based on that information. Also tried uninstalling reinstalling drivers, made sure firmware was updated and tried it on a win10 (laptop) and a win7 machine (desktop).

Could be that my unit was defective, but i doubt it.. later found one single youtube review that mentions that it is v shaped output even when you disable everything. but yes basically all other reviews of this unit, are positive.

maybe it could be fixed with some hacked drivers or some other magic, but it should work as advertised out of the box. My onboard and my new Micro IDSD have no problems generating a satisfying result in the same test with both measurement and listening.
Also tried the E5 with Rainbow 6 Siege, and had a harder time hearing other players position.. it was all very strange, so i returned it.
 
Sanpei

Sanpei

Member
Gruso said:
No, if it's USB then it is effectively already an external sound card. No ability to (or advantage in) using additional hardware.
Click to expand...

Thanks...So no need to buy a sound card for me then. There will be no gain for me..Gold Wireless audio qulity is fine already
 
petran79

petran79

Banned
I am sure than even the old Soundblaster 16 card I was using for MS-DOS and Windows had better sound output quality than those Realtek onboard cards.

Now I am fine with USB headsets and some 2.1 old Logitech speakers with subwoofer I bought 10 years ago.
 
L

Lain

Member
I still use a soundcard. I wouldn't feel complete without one. I remember when I got my first 386sx with a SoundBlaster 2 soundcard, instead of having to rely on the PC speaker. I'll probably never go without a dedicated soundcard.
 
Cute Dragon Here

Cute Dragon Here

Member
Using the onboard audio here. Though admittedly it's on the high end due to it being one of these boards with Asus' SupremeFX audio solutions (which really is a very good Realtek audio implementation).

The weird thing is, I haven't been using a dedicated sound card for a very long time, since about 2006 or some such - just as HD audio was getting common. Most stuff just sounded OK, though, until this motherboard. Now I'm very hard-pressed to find even a reason for more given my current audio hardware... Maybe in the future I'll want one, but for now, that's not the case.
 
L

LordCiego

Member
Personally I havent used a sound card since a Sound Blaster 16. If you are gaming and not using headphones for most people its better to invest in better speakers than on a sound card.

If you are using heaphones its another story but in my case I use usb headphones for convenience.

And reading this thread its seems that a DAC its better than a soundcard anyway.
 
A

AllenShrz

Member
Sound blaster Zx here, sounds really great as long I turn off the "features", I pair it with the se846. Amazing sound all around, the best I have ever heard.
 
C

Crzy1

Member
Durante said:
Oh which output hardware? Onboard couldn't even drive my headphones at reasonable volume.
Click to expand...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733.html

They actually test on some expensive hardware. When the test was done, the HD800 was (and still is imo, $5000+ headphones be damned) the cream of the crop for accuracy. I can attest that they sound like shit from a bad source, however, very unforgiving of the source material. It's been a couple of years since I read the whole article, so I don't remember most of the methodology.

In the past couple of years a lot of companies have doubled-down on their DAC/Amp combos and headphone makers are steadily making more expensive "better" products, but I haven't heard a lot of them so it's hard to say how they actually sound. I know when I backed the Geek Pulse it was meant to be a fairly cheap headphone amp that was supposed to create an environment that mimicked loudspeakers, and morphed into an extremely expensive high-end product without said mimicking feature. A lot of high-end audio is, indeed, snake oil, 99% of the time the solid state dac/amps I've used all sound the same (tubes are a different story). Most of the reviews you'll end up reading are from people who either paid money for a product or have been provided the product for free to review it, so this particular test is still interesting since the opinions are from people who don't really have any stake. The placebo effect is still very strong when it comes to something as subjective as audio, though.
 
H

hobblygobbly

Member
I have an external DAC/amp for my Sennheiser HD 598s due to its impedance, that's about it since onboard can't drive it (plus there was interference). I've had these cans for a long time now and use it for other stuff as well.
 
L

Lain

Member
Engell said:
are you sure? there are 4 years between those two products.
would make sense if it was soundblaster 1.0
Click to expand...

I went to look at dates, and it could have been a SB Pro 2 instead. I got that PC between 93/95. It was a huge upgrade for me, but it was old when I got it (and a disappointment, because I wanted a dx, the soundcard was the best thing about it).
 
A

Arkanius

Member
Still rocking my X-Fi Titanium

CMSS-3D is the best thing if you want to use good stereo Headphones for gaming. HTRF needs to take a huge jump into gaming again.

We seriously regressed in audio technology in the past decade.
 
kraspkibble

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
the one and only time i've bought a sound card was when i blew the audio on the the motherboard of a computer i had about 10 years ago. i tried plugging my guitar amp into the PC and it got fried.

however, recently i've been thinking about getting a sound card for my PC. i enjoy my music but wouldn't call myself an audiophile. i'm worried if i buy one that i won't even be able to tell any difference. i listen to music mostly through speakers but have also been thinking of buying a decent pair of headphones (look at audio technica ath m50x). so really just not sure if it's worth the money.
 
R

runningjoke

Member
Grassy said:
I've had an Asus Xonar Essence STX for a few years now and it's great. It's connected to a Schiit Valhalla 2 tube preamp/headphone amp and my monitors.

I've been using Uni Xonar drivers since I upgraded to Win 10 last year, they're great -http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
Click to expand...

Those drivers wouldn't install for me, but the official Asus drivers do. (when W10 first because available I had to modify the inf, but now they just work)
 
A

Arkanius

Member
blly155 said:
the one and only time i've bought a sound card was when i blew the audio on the the motherboard of a computer i had about 10 years ago. i tried plugging my guitar amp into the PC and it got fried.

however, recently i've been thinking about getting a sound card for my PC. i enjoy my music but wouldn't call myself an audiophile. i'm worried if i buy one that i won't even be able to tell any difference. i listen to music mostly through speakers but have also been thinking of buying a decent pair of headphones (look at audio technica ath m50x). so really just not sure if it's worth the money.
Click to expand...

For that purpose, maybe an external DAC+Amp is better suited.

https://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo-revb/

I'm a great fan of the ODAC+O2 Amp, I built one myself and the audio quality is already on the max you can get before entering the magical world of placebo Audiophile bullshit
 
C

~Cross~

Member
Ive tried 3 different mobos over the past 4 years and neither of them can drive my headphones like the 20 buck SIIG sound card I have. No contest, if you are using headphones with higher impedence, you HAVE to use an amped sound card. Using most mobos will cause them to sound muted even at max volume, barely any bass, weak mids.

M50s arent even that hard to drive, but they just sound bad with on board.
 
D

Doc_Drop

Member
I use an M-Audio ProFire due to doing music projects and it's fantastic. I would advise anyone even mildly into audio to invest in an external soundcard like that, they're not too dear these days and it results in a high quality and versatile
 
D

dr. apocalipsis

Banned
It makes zero sense to use a discrete sound card if you are going to use digital output.

Nowadays, you only want a soundcard for improved dacs and analogue output direct to amplifier/headphones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PC Builders - Consider Investing in Dedicated Sound
2
95
4K
Puscifer replied
Couch PC Gamers - How do you do it?
2 3
108
5K
Buggy Loop replied
New to using Realtek audio. I am coming from a sound blaster Zx (which is now dead). Need help!
2
467
nightmare-slain replied
So i'm planning for a new PC build soon and i realise i have to get rid of my old soundcard :(
2 3
137
8K
cinnamonandgravy replied
Ser 5 Max an example of the future of the PC?
49
2K
Topher replied
Top Bottom