Sound blaster z vs Gigabyte z370 hd3p

[andybeech]

Sound blaster z sound card or Gigabyte z370 hd3p onboard sound which would you use. I also connect my gaming pc to a splitter which goes to a mixer, sound bar and turtle beach headset. 

or what would you suggest to do as sound setup.

thanks  this is for 2 pc streaming.

[SupaKomputa]

for streaming the onboard is good enough.

get the soundblaster if you enjoy it for yourself.

[andybeech]

6 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

for streaming the onboard is good enough.

get the soundblaster if you enjoy it for yourself.

I currently own the sound blaster z I took it out as originally caused issues when using a single pc, but now changed to 2 pc not sure whether to put it back in.

[SupaKomputa]

not familiar with 2pc streaming, but still i don't see the benefit having it for the second one for streaming.

[andybeech]

2 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

not familiar with 2pc streaming, but still i don't see the benefit having it for the second one for streaming.

In basics terms you have one pc for steaming to twitch and a main dedicated gaming rig, this would be the one I would put the sound card in. 

So would both sound quality be exactly the same?

[SupaKomputa]

yeah i know the concept, so you would be using a obs / capture card from the hdmi?

if that's the case i don't know what benefit from the soundcard other than better mic / sound input (which is hardly measurable), even the onboard is good enough with less problem.

[andybeech]

33 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

yeah i know the concept, so you would be using a obs / capture card from the hdmi?

if that's the case i don't know what benefit from the soundcard other than better mic / sound input (which is hardly measurable), even the onboard is good enough with less problem.

I run the sound from the gaming pc to the mixer which goes to the streaming PC, dont use hdmi sound as I like to have my headphones plugged into the gaming pc via a splitter too all running from the one aux output on the motherboard.

[andybeech]

So do sound cards make any difference nowadays?

[masethekiller]

There is a myth that 'motherboard audio is better now'.  It's not really true, it is a little better than what it was but if you get a dedicated sound card you will notice the difference.  

 

The quality is much better and some like the sound blaster z have a built in amplifier so that is great for headphones.  I got my sound blaster z used for around 30 dollars.  I would say that is a great deal, for 100 dollars new its a good sound card but its a little expensive. I think if you buy any good quality dedicated sound card you will notice the difference. 

[Metallus97]

the only thing to really improve the audio in and output is by going with a external dac/amp combo.

The schiit fulla 3 is awesome at its price and easy peaezzy kicks the soundblaster and anny mobo sound in the nu...

That said, I know its not an internal device but yeha ages better than the qually expensive soundblaster.

 

 

but to take advantage of this you need a nice pair of cans and mic

[andybeech]

13 hours ago, masethekiller said:

There is a myth that 'motherboard audio is better now'.  It's not really true, it is a little better than what it was but if you get a dedicated sound card you will notice the difference.  

 

The quality is much better and some like the sound blaster z have a built in amplifier so that is great for headphones.  I got my sound blaster z used for around 30 dollars.  I would say that is a great deal, for 100 dollars new its a good sound card but its a little expensive. I think if you buy any good quality dedicated sound card you will notice the difference. 

Thanks I might try putting it back in my gaming rig again I brought mine for about £80 new a few years ago and when I upgraded I left it out due to driver issues I had. Would I be best using the headphones out for the setup I have?

11 hours ago, Metallus97 said:

the only thing to really improve the audio in and output is by going with a external dac/amp combo.

The schiit fulla 3 is awesome at its price and easy peaezzy kicks the soundblaster and anny mobo sound in the nu...

That said, I know its not an internal device but yeha ages better than the qually expensive soundblaster.

 

 

but to take advantage of this you need a nice pair of cans and mic

Do like the idea of a dac and amp combo but could never find any that was cheap enough to get I'll check out the one you suggested, are there any other you suggest. Around the£50 - £100 range thanks 

[rice guru]

45 minutes ago, andybeech said:

Thanks I might try putting it back in my gaming rig again I brought mine for about £80 new a few years ago and when I upgraded I left it out due to driver issues I had. Would I be best using the headphones out for the setup I have?

Do like the idea of a dac and amp combo but could never find any that was cheap enough to get I'll check out the one you suggested, are there any other you suggest. Around the£50 - £100 range thanks 

If you can find the fiio k5 pro it should be around that price really good value product sound great. I personally think they sound better than the fulla but is generally more expensive.

[Metallus97]

5 hours ago, andybeech said:

Thanks I might try putting it back in my gaming rig again I brought mine for about £80 new a few years ago and when I upgraded I left it out due to driver issues I had. Would I be best using the headphones out for the setup I have?

Do like the idea of a dac and amp combo but could never find any that was cheap enough to get I'll check out the one you suggested, are there any other you suggest. Around the£50 - £100 range thanks 

Schiit fulla 3 is 99$ and outperforms the k5 recommended above. PLUS you get a realy decent mic input should you need it.

To my ears fulla 2 sounds better than k5 and fulla3 is improved version. On paper its also better. But as with any audio gear its a bit personal taste. 

But the fulla3 has so good metics thats not even funny at 99$ its preeeeety far above everything else at 100$. But as I told already: Sound is personal taste. To my ears the fulla are real nice and more than you’d ever want with up to 400-500$ speakers

 

[andybeech]

8 hours ago, rice guru said:

If you can find the fiio k5 pro it should be around that price really good value product sound great. I personally think they sound better than the fulla but is generally more expensive.

Is the flio k5 pro the one with a docking station on top I seen on amazon.

3 hours ago, Metallus97 said:

Schiit fulla 3 is 99$ and outperforms the k5 recommended above. PLUS you get a realy decent mic input should you need it.

To my ears fulla 2 sounds better than k5 and fulla3 is improved version. On paper its also better. But as with any audio gear its a bit personal taste. 

But the fulla3 has so good metics thats not even funny at 99$ its preeeeety far above everything else at 100$. But as I told already: Sound is personal taste. To my ears the fulla are real nice and more than you’d ever want with up to 400-500$ speakers

 

I couldn't seem to find the fulla 3 on amazon uk? Where is best to find these thanks

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, andybeech said:

Is the flio k5 pro the one with a docking station on top I seen on amazon.

I couldn't seem to find the fulla 3 on amazon uk? Where is best to find these thanks

no thats the fiio k5 , the k5 pro is the one thats not a docking station

[andybeech]

21 minutes ago, rice guru said:

no thats the fiio k5 , the k5 pro is the one thats not a docking station

Can you send me a link uk please 

[rice guru]

4 minutes ago, andybeech said:

Can you send me a link uk please 

damn it's apparently not available 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/K5-PRO-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07WT7TYWY

 nowhere I have seen in the UK has it in stock but it's also unfortunately above your price range.  but honestly if you plan on sticking to the turtle beaches I would stick to what you have

[Metallus97]

2 hours ago, andybeech said:

Is the flio k5 pro the one with a docking station on top I seen on amazon.

I couldn't seem to find the fulla 3 on amazon uk? Where is best to find these thanks

Since your in the EU.... at this time still lol

there is a official Schiit EU store 

https://www.schiit-europe.com

 

[andybeech]

17 hours ago, rice guru said:

damn it's apparently not available 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/K5-PRO-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07WT7TYWY

 nowhere I have seen in the UK has it in stock but it's also unfortunately above your price range.  but honestly if you plan on sticking to the turtle beaches I would stick to what you have

Would look at better headphones later on and I have got a couple of different ones i use. Does look very similar to the docking one though Haha

 

[andybeech]

On 12/15/2019 at 12:10 AM, Metallus97 said:

Since your in the EU.... at this time still lol

there is a official Schiit EU store 

https://www.schiit-europe.com

 

I found the uk store not too bad £110 looks fairly simple to use.

 

What is the advantage of using an amp/dac instead of a internal sound card.

also i do have a pair of sennheiser headphones i use if this makes any difference to the turtle beach ones.

[masethekiller]

Alot of peopel complain about the sound blaster z drivers, I had zero problems with it.  Maybe when it came out it had driver problems, and for an old card, they recently updated the drivers which is a good sign.   I think the software for is good, usaully creative software sucks but this one is pretty good. Like you can change between speakers/headphones with the software and adjust bass and turn on a normalizer, which is good if you want to watch a movie or your playing at night and the 'crystalizer' actually does work.   

 

I've not purchased an external dac, like I said the sound blaster z has one built in.  Thats a key reason I got it, the external one should have no advantage. It's the same thing as an internal one just that you can plug it externally, its the same type of part.  The only advantage is if you have a laptop or multiple computers you want to use it on.  I notice amplifers/dacs tend to be really expensive, I think they are overpriced. 

[masethekiller]

If you want good/affordable computer speakers I highly recommend logitech. You can get great speakers from them under 100 dollars. I use speakers and headphones.  I have sony headphones I bought for 20 dollars and they sound great with the soundcard ,since it improves the sound and amplifies it.   Alot of people go crazy on headphones but I don't think its worth the extra cost. 50 dollars or less and a name brand headphones should be good. 

[andybeech]

On 12/20/2019 at 8:33 AM, masethekiller said:

If you want good/affordable computer speakers I highly recommend logitech. You can get great speakers from them under 100 dollars. I use speakers and headphones.  I have sony headphones I bought for 20 dollars and they sound great with the soundcard ,since it improves the sound and amplifies it.   Alot of people go crazy on headphones but I don't think its worth the extra cost. 50 dollars or less and a name brand headphones should be good. 

Thank you for your help on this I have tried using my sound card though I have noticed that the sound blaster makes a horrible cracking sound at times when watching YouTube where as when I swap back to the mobo that disappears could that be down to a setting I'm using. I currently have a splitter connected to the headphone port that has headphones, soundbar and mixer all connected to it. 

[masethekiller]

Oh that's weird, I am sure you updated the drivers.  My sound card works fine but I have heard of people who have problems with this card.  There are other decent sound cards, ive not tried them but Asus sound cards are supposed to be good. 

[masethekiller]

Do you know how to change the sound format?  You could try to change that to a higher or lower setting.  I have mine set on the highest setting.  I've had problems with this before with sound cards, where if its not set at the right format then some applications sound weird.