Are soundcards worth it?

[SSL]

It would be sad if the mobo brand that touts its audio solution as being the best and makes sound cards and $600 amp/dacs can't pull off powering a HD650 to good enough volume while all other mobos can...

 

Either that, or they are deliberately gimping their motherboards in order to move their useless sound cards.

[JettyLT]

Its just pure marketing.On the asus website, it tells that the maximus VII Hero motherboard has ''best gaming audio'' And that it has some new feature that detects headphone impedance.All the time i connect different headphones it says that headpones are 65 Omh.... Its just pure failure.I've tried everything with settings and it just didn't make anything better.So i managed to buy fiio e10k which was perfect upgrade from the motherboard sound card.Also on my previous computer i had asus xonar dg sound card.

[BoredErica]

Its just pure marketing.On the asus website, it tells that the maximus VII Hero motherboard has ''best gaming audio'' And that it has some new feature that detects headphone impedance.All the time i connect different headphones it says that headpones are 65 Omh.... Its just pure failure.I've tried everything with settings and it just didn't make anything better.So i managed to buy fiio e10k which was perfect upgrade from the motherboard sound card.Also on my previous computer i had asus xonar dg sound card.

I know, I'm not a fan of Asus' audio solutions either. But you would think that a mobo vendor that keeps talking about audio would put more emphasis on it at least, and try to make it work at least decently well. Asus has a nasty habit of simply changing the gain based on "impedance", and it typically makes no sense. Well, my friend has a z97 Asus board, probably not the same model though. I still find it hard to believe that Asus could screw up the audio that badly. But if I end up at my friend's house in the future, I'll bring over my headphones to test them. The HD800s are pretty similar to the HD600s in specs/impedance/blah blah so it should be a fine test. My friend has no complaints about the Asus onboard, but uh... I take his audio opinions with a grain of salt.

[alicskysareblue]

I know, I'm not a fan of Asus' audio solutions either. But you would think that a mobo vendor that keeps talking about audio would put more emphasis on it at least, and try to make it work at least decently well. Asus has a nasty habit of simply changing the gain based on "impedance", and it typically makes no sense. Well, my friend has a z97 Asus board, probably not the same model though. I still find it hard to believe that Asus could screw up the audio that badly. But if I end up at my friend's house in the future, I'll bring over my headphones to test them. The HD800s are pretty similar to the HD600s in specs/impedance/blah blah so it should be a fine test. My friend has no complaints about the Asus onboard, but uh... I take his audio opinions with a grain of salt.

indeed some audiophiles will say you should "break in" your headphones,,,,,it doesnt really work that way

[Skrizzles]

whenever I see a answer like this I have to ask have you ever used one ? 

 

nothing personal but I see a lot of people jumping on to the bandwagon just because some says you shouldnt x you should do y

I used to...back when motherboards didn't have built-in audio(don't ask how long ago that was). But 9/10, when motherboards include something that used to require a separate card, its officially become obsolete as a card. The fact that these continue to even exist today is due purely to marketing hype. Fancy words and phrases like "audiophile", "the best for FLAC", "total immersion", 20hz-20khz(which is industry standard, yet outside the hearing range of most humans) get tossed around so much that they actually convince people to buy them.

 

And then there's re-branding. Creative/Soundblaster was huge at this. Re-branding the same sound card from the previous year, not changing anything.

 

And I'm not taking it personal, but you're missing the point of basically what everyone here is saying - put the money towards something that is actually useful for your computer.

[alicskysareblue]

I used to...back when motherboards didn't have built-in audio(don't ask how long ago that was). But 9/10, when motherboards include something that used to require a separate card, its officially become obsolete as a card. The fact that these continue to even exist today is due purely to marketing hype. Fancy words and phrases like "audiophile", "the best for FLAC", "total immersion", 20hz-20khz(which is industry standard, yet outside the hearing range of most humans) get tossed around so much that they actually convince people to buy them.

 

And then there's re-branding. Creative/Soundblaster was huge at this. Re-branding the same sound card from the previous year, not changing anything.

 

And I'm not taking it personal, but you're missing the point of basically what everyone here is saying - put the money towards something that is actually useful for your computer.

I actually wanted a dedicated headphone amp for my seinheiser 558, my computers front i/o dint work plus I would hear crackling when my speakers (logitech z502's) got too loud, I saw the sound blaster z  on sale  for 70.00 dollars and thought why not.

 

I found it was worth it, and it has nothing to do with a placebo effect,  the sound is genuinely better  and the sound from my headphones is much better as well, louder and with better base. although that could be do to the software.

 

could I have gotten a amp/dac ? yes but that would have actually been more expensive,  the cheapest quality combination that people recommend here is the shiit stack which is about $200 dollar  or alternatively with the preamp,  instead of the modi 2, about 150 dollars, needless to say 70 dollers for  an apparently decent sound card with emi shielding was what I chose,

 

I will say the drivers have problems and that is no excuse, both soundblaster and asus need to get better in that department

[DWN]

Elderago's situation may have been due to 1/2 a dozen different reasons however for most situations soundcards aren't recommended over onboard audio for the past few years ...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1rXcJuEsy0

[xtroria]

If a mobo can't drive a HD650 to loud enough level, there must be something wrong with it. My One+ One can drive HD600 to comfortable listening level, albeit pushing the volume almost all the way up

[Octavialicious]

whenever I see a answer like this I have to ask have you ever used one ? 

 

nothing personal but I see a lot of people jumping on to the bandwagon just because some says you shouldnt x you should do y

I've had a soundcard and I now have a Schiit Stack, not even close

 

 

Sound Cards = ez scam

 

and why would you buy a $70 sound card you could've gotten a FiiO E10K or an smsl sapii

[alicskysareblue]

I've had a soundcard and I now have a Schiit Stack, not even close

 

 

Sound Cards = ez scam

 

and why would you buy a $70 sound card you could've gotten a FiiO E10K or an smsl sapii

because I chose to ???

 

I am happy with my purchase you are happy with your shiit stack. lets leave it to that.

[Octavialicious]

because I chose to ???

 

I am happy with my purchase you are happy with your shiit stack. lets leave it to that.

you can enjoy whatever you wish, but it isn't right to recommend the inferior products to people

[alicskysareblue]

you can enjoy whatever you wish, but it isn't right to recommend the inferior products to people

oh I am

 

by the way when was I recommending anything ? I was  talking about my experience with a sound card,  also this topic is titled "are soundcards worth it" and I posted my opinion that they "could be".

[BoredErica]

because I chose to ???

 

I am happy with my purchase you are happy with your shiit stack. lets leave it to that.

You are entitled to your INFORMED opinion. If you know what's out there and the pros and cons and you still want a sound card for some reason, then that's fine. More often than not, that's not the case.

[elliott35]

No soundcards are all junk. Get an o2+Dac

[SSL]

No soundcards are all junk. Get an o2+Dac

 

Spam, much?

[uofaboy]

While I agree that for the general populace, the onboard audio solution should be sufficient but I have the ASUS Xonar Essence STX and when coupled with my Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones, the sound is just pure bliss!!

[SSL]

While I agree that for the general populace, the onboard audio solution should be sufficient but I have the ASUS Xonar Essence STX and when coupled with my Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones, the sound is just pure bliss!!

 

It's a good thing then that there's top-tier products for the discerning audiophile such as yourself!

[elliott35]

Spam, much?

Youre going to hate this... But: 

 

And no Im not spamming, just as you arent with a comment that says "spam much"

[DWN]

No soundcards are all junk. Get an o2+Dac

 

I agree the o2+dac is the best bang for the buck if you have the money however, even if you have high end gear, most people state that there is minimal difference for most people between a gaming MB sound chip (Z97) playing 320 MP3's and the hundreds of extra dollars spent on an amp/dac playing FLAC. Get a good headset that isn't 600 ohms (80 ohms or less work fine on all modern gaming boards) and enjoy. Done.

[BoredErica]

So many posts, not enough memes... 

[SSL]

I agree the o2+dac is the best bang for the buck if you have the money however, even if you have high end gear, most people state that there is minimal difference for most people between a gaming MB sound chip (Z97) playing 320 MP3's and the hundreds of extra dollars spent on an amp/dac playing FLAC. Get a good headset that isn't 600 ohms (80 ohms or less work fine on all modern gaming boards) and enjoy. Done.

 

So does the Beyer T1, 600 ohms.

[flowalex]

I think it depends on the use, for me I am going to be getting one soon since I need multiple outputs for certain jobs and I find having the on-board and two external for audio out and one for audio in a lot of work to keep track of.  

Here are two images of what I mean right now I only have one output being used and how the devices are used

[KevinTYJ]

Nope never worth it, get a dac and a amp, or a portable dap. Its way worth it and the sound you get from them is just amazing. 

[KevinTYJ]

Well with a good mobo, the FX card is probobly creally good built in, and wiht adjustment to pre amp settings and EQ I think you will achieve the result you want with out spending money on sound card. 

[KevinTYJ]

By the way i love the new format of LTT forum its so much lighter but intelligent at the same time.