Sound card difference

[Dragonsword]

Question 1: Does the sound card I use matter? Does it matter a lot whether I use a Realtek HD Audio sound card or a seperate sound card?

Question 2: If I use an external amplifier and bookshelf speakers, does it matter which sound card I use?

 

[MajorFubar]

Yes to all of the above. On the whole the sound cards built into PC motherboards are universally shite. Sound quality just couldn't be further down their manufacturers list of priorities so long as it's got magic letters in the name like 'HD' and '5.1 output'. Eyeing-up the specs online of one PC vs another, your typical buyer wants to read about fast CPU/GPU speeds and eye-watering Geekbench tests, not whether the line-outs are hifi quality, so consequently the manufacturers throw their money in that direction while the sound card gets just enough lose change for the audio in computer games to be at least sort of acceptable.

 

[Dragonsword]

I listen to music around 5 hours a day, I watch video's 1 - 2 hours a day and I play games around 10 hours a week. What sound card should I buy?

Currently I'm looking at the Asus Xonar DG, DGX and DSX. Will I hear much of a difference between those 3 cards? Are there better options around this price range?

 

[Dom]

Those cards you mention are probably worse for SQ than your onboard because it goes on a PCI Express slot. The onboard sound chip has it's own pathway meaning better SQ.

Better still.

http://www.cantatis.co.uk/index.php?pag=cms&id=129&p=overture.html

£297 is the cheapest I have seen it and I suspect you would enjoy it alot.

 

[Dragonsword]

Those cards you mention are probably worse for SQ than your onboard because it goes on a PCI Express slot. The onboard sound chip has it's own pathway meaning better SQ.

Better still.

http://www.cantatis.co.uk/index.php?pag=cms&id=129&p=overture.html

£297 is the cheapest I have seen it and I suspect you would enjoy it alot.

Any cheaper options?

 

[Dom]

Try the Asus Xonar DG, looks good, even got an award. Good luck.

 

[kukulec]

I use my system through an Asus DG. Very cheap and really good. The integrated - generally Realtek - options are not in the same league. For such a small money, you can achieve a huge difference in sound quality.

 

[BigH]

The Asus Xonar DG is fine.

 

[Dragonsword]

I use my system through an Asus DG. Very cheap and really good. The integrated - generally Realtek - options are not in the same league. For such a small money, you can achieve a huge difference in sound quality.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H, will it fit in it? Because it's a PCI soundcard. We also have an unused, old Eminent sound card lying in the house, will it be any good? It's called Eminent EM3750. It's also a PCI soundcard, idk if it will fit in.

 

[pauln]

I use my system through an Asus DG. Very cheap and really good. The integrated - generally Realtek - options are not in the same league. For such a small money, you can achieve a huge difference in sound quality.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H, will it fit in it? Because it's a PCI soundcard. We also have an unused, old Eminent sound card lying in the house, will it be any good? It's called Eminent EM3750. It's also a PCI soundcard, idk if it will fit in.

You need the PCI express version of the card so Xonar DSX/DGX or Essence STX if you want the "audiophile" version.

 

[Dragonsword]

What's a better choice, a sound card or a seperate DAC?

I use my system through an Asus DG. Very cheap and really good. The integrated - generally Realtek - options are not in the same league. For such a small money, you can achieve a huge difference in sound quality.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H, will it fit in it? Because it's a PCI soundcard. We also have an unused, old Eminent sound card lying in the house, will it be any good? It's called Eminent EM3750. It's also a PCI soundcard, idk if it will fit in.

You need the PCI express version of the card so Xonar DSX/DGX or Essence STX if you want the "audiophile" version.

Will I hear much of a difference between the DGX and DSX? The DSX isn't much more expensive than the DGX. I mainly use my speakers (around 5 hours a day) and I use my headphones for like 2 - 3 hours a day.

 

[manix]

Probably the easiest way is get something like a Dragonfly. Use it at fixed level straight to the amp with a 3.5mm to RCA cable. For head phones you can just plug them into it and then use the volume control. It will be a big improvement over what you are using at the moment.

You can add the jitter bug too reduce noise from the computer.

 

[Dragonsword]

Probably the easiest way is get something like a Dragonfly. Use it at fixed level straight to the amp with a 3.5mm to RCA cable. For head phones you can just plug them into it and then use the volume control. It will be a big improvement over what you are using at the moment.

You can add the jitter bug too reduce noise from the computer.

But what's a better option, the Dragonfly or Asus Xonar? The Asus Xonar is cheaper so I think I'll go with that.

 

[MajorFubar]

But what's a better option, the Dragonfly or Asus Xonar? The Asus Xonar is cheaper so I think I'll go with that.

I think once you've made that first giant leap up from motherboard audio chips, you're into the realm of 'much of a muchness'. Of course there are differences between decent DACs, but they're comparatively small. Users of really expensive DACs will probably disagree with me and say that when you move into DAC premier league there are 'night and day' differences between those and budget ones. That's their perogative, and they're not necessarily wrong, but it's only because their definition of 'night and day differences' is different to mine.

 

[pauln]

Probably the easiest way is get something like a Dragonfly. Use it at fixed level straight to the amp with a 3.5mm to RCA cable. For head phones you can just plug them into it and then use the volume control. It will be a big improvement over what you are using at the moment.

You can add the jitter bug too reduce noise from the computer.

But what's a better option, the Dragonfly or Asus Xonar? The Asus Xonar is cheaper so I think I'll go with that.

I doubt that you'll hear any difference. The Xonar is less clutter obviously. It should come with a cable to connect it internally to the front panel audio sockets of your PC so you can easily plug in headphones or a mic. If you were using £1000 worth of headphones or speakers I'd say go for a USB DAC instead but I don't know what else you've got or if you're just playing low bit rate mp3's or what.

 

[Zax89swe]

The dragonfly is such a small thing but i still wonder what is best between Xonar essence stx II and Dragonfly red? I currently has the stx II and looking for an upgrade. Do the Dragonfly red use the same dac as the very much more expensive Yamaha cd-2100?

 

[Dom]

The dragonfly is such a small thing but i still wonder what is best between Xonar essence stx II and Dragonfly red? I currently has the stx II and looking for an upgrade. Do the Dragonfly red use the same dac as the very much more expensive Yamaha cd-2100?

I would take a punt on the Dragonfly.