Best soundcard for z906 speakers

[DocYoda]

I have the z906 coming up for my workstation build

 

Specs:

X99 e ws 

6850k

64GB RAM

GTX 1080

2x 6TB ultrastar hgst

2x 512GB 850 pro

 

What soundcard would you suggest for 5.1 setup for the z906 logitech?

 

I will be doing premiere pro, music and gaming. Do I need to do SPDIF or analog? Not much of an audiophile here so I have no clue which works best. Any suggestions on a soundcard that would give the z906 its performance? 

[done12many2]

The z906 has two digital optical inputs so all you need to do is run a SPDIF cable like the one pictured from your on-board sound to the z906 speaker set.  

 

Absolutely no need for an aftermarket sound card as it will sound no better than the on-board sound card.

 

 

[Randomguy1911]

You should already be good to go.

Mainboard has an optical out, Z906 has an optical Input (3 and 4 on the IO picture).

[DocYoda]

11 minutes ago, done12many2 said:

The z906 has two digital optical inputs so all you need to do is run a SPDIF cable like the one pictured from your on-board sound to the z906 speaker set.  

 

Absolutely no need for an aftermarket sound card as it will sound no better than the on-board sound card.

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, Randomguy1911 said:

You should already be good to go.

Mainboard has an optical out, Z906 has an optical Input (3 and 4 on the IO picture).

Thank you so much for the replies. Any optical cable that I should consider or any will do? Is SPDIF better than analog?

 

Ive seen alot of people insisting having a dedicated soundcard e.g. creative sound blaster rx, xonar essence..etc and they claim to have better sound quality and performance in doing audio editing working altogether with premiere. 

[Randomguy1911]

SPDIF is lossless. You don't need to get a dedicated soundcard but if you feel unhappy with the performance after a week you can still get one later.

[DocYoda]

1 hour ago, Randomguy1911 said:

SPDIF is lossless. You don't need to get a dedicated soundcard but if you feel unhappy with the performance after a week you can still get one later.

Thank you. I will try without a dedicated soundcard for awhile

I would probably be getting these...

[Gordon Bennett]

6 hours ago, done12many2 said:

Absolutely no need for an aftermarket sound card as it will sound no better than the on-board sound card

That's a load of nonsense!

 

A 'decent' discreet soundcard will always produce better sound than on-board sound. Always! Your MoBo uses a Realtek® ALC1150 chip. Its specification is less than that of for instance, the SoundBlaster Z (which I have).

 

And your suggestion that SPDIF will always produce the same sound is also nonsense. The SPDIF format is unable to re-produce 5.1 sound in PCM, and instead must use the AC3 or DTS codec. S/PDIF only supports the following formats:

Single channel PCM (Mono)
Dual channel PCM (Stereo)
Compressed bitstreams (AC3/DTS) up to 48Khz/16bps

 

So, no you're talking nonsense!

 

That said, it will make no difference if the O/P is using a pair of $50 speakers or £20 headphones. But if using decent headphones (above $50) or speakers (above $100) you will certainly notice the difference using a $50+ soundcard, even with fairly small files like flac instead of MP3!

[done12many2]

11 minutes ago, Gordon Bennett said:

That's a load of nonsense!

 

A 'decent' discreet soundcard will always produce better sound than on-board sound. Always! Your MoBo uses a Realtek® ALC1150 chip. Its specification is less than that of for instance, the SoundBlaster Z (which I have).

 

And your suggestion that SPDIF will always produce the same sound is also nonsense. The SPDIF format is unable to re-produce 5.1 sound in PCM, and instead must use the AC3 or DTS codec. S/PDIF only supports the following formats:

Single channel PCM (Mono)
Dual channel PCM (Stereo)
Compressed bitstreams (AC3/DTS) up to 48Khz/16bps

 

So, no you're talking nonsense!

 

That said, it will make no difference if the O/P is using a pair of $50 speakers or £20 headphones. But if using decent headphones (above $50) or speakers (above $100) you will certainly notice the difference using a $50+ soundcard, even with fairly small files like flac instead of MP3!

 

Nice speech.

 

Where was it that I said that the SPDIF of an on-board sound card and discrete sound cards will produce the same sound? 

 

Generally speaking, when people answer a question within a specific thread with regards to a specific configuration, it is assumed that we are talking about THAT specific configuration.  Not all and not in general.  He is not using anything fancy and will not notice a difference.  My statement stands specific to this thread.

 

Nice assumption on what sound card I'm using.  I happen to have the same card that you subtly mentioned owning.  It's sitting on my desk until I figure out what to do with it.  I don't actually use my computer for listening to music.  I have other stuff for that.  With that said, I opted to remove the Sound Blaster in favor of the on-board audio due to the fact that I'm only using a cheap Bose Companion 2.1 setup with my main rig.  Guess what?  In my case, as in the OP's case, it won't make a difference with our specific setups.

 

When I create a thread stating that generally add-in discreet sound cards are inferior or sound the same as on-board audio, feel free to repeat what you just did.  

 

Otherwise, take a break on policing the internet.  You're going to work yourself up into a frenzy.  

 

 

 

 

[Gordon Bennett]

7 hours ago, DocYoda said:

Do I need to do SPDIF or analog? Any suggestions on a soundcard that would give the z906 its performance? 

Sorry, missed that bit...

 

Analog, always! It's the only way to feed PCM sound over 5.1 speakers, and your speakers being very good, you will notice the difference.

 

I have the Sound Blaster Z (not the ZxR, which is exactly the same as the Z, just with a few more bells & whistles which I don't need, but you might want to consider). I gave the Xonar card a miss, but others seemed to swear by it. I wouldn't go for anything older than the SoundBlaster Z, so ignore the X-fi, Recon cards etc.

 

I have the Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 speakers, which are technically almost identical to yours (in terms of sound reproduction, not connectivity), and you will notice the difference between on-board sound and a discreet card!     

[Gordon Bennett]

12 minutes ago, done12many2 said:

 

In my case, [I'm only using a cheap Bose Companion 2.1 setup] as in the OP's case, it won't make a difference with our specific setups

 

You're going to have a heart attack if you carry on.... So, calm down!

 

Perhaps you missed the title of the post; "Best soundcard for z906 speakers"

 

They are 5.1 THX certified speakers! Not the tinny 2.1 speakers you have! That small yet very important fact seems to have been lost on you. Ho hum....

[Dackzy]

wtf happened in here.

Just use onboard optical with these speakers, no need for a sound card

[Dackzy]

OP if you are really serious then save up the money you have for a sound card and then get better speakers in the future

[DocYoda]

Thanks for the inputs. Now I am more than confused. Lol. So if I use SPDIF thru my mobo onboard soundchip... you mean I cant utilize 5.1 capabilities of my z906 speakers? 

10 hours ago, Gordon Bennett said:

A 'decent' discreet soundcard will always produce better sound than on-board sound. Always! 

 

And your suggestion that SPDIF will always produce the same sound is also nonsense. The SPDIF format is unable to re-produce 5.1 sound in PCM, and instead must use the AC3 or DTS codec. S/PDIF only supports the following formats:

Single channel PCM (Mono)
Dual channel PCM (Stereo)
Compressed bitstreams (AC3/DTS) up to 48Khz/16bps

 

What soundcard would you recommend? I intend to use my system for video and audio editing, games and music. Considering you stated that a discrete card is always better. Thanks

[Gordon Bennett]

4 hours ago, DocYoda said:

if I use SPDIF thru my mobo onboard soundchip... you mean I cant utilize 5.1 capabilities of my z906 speakers? 

It depends what you mean by 'utilize'. As I said above:

 

"The SPDIF format is unable to re-produce 5.1 sound in PCM, and instead must use the AC3 or DTS codec. S/PDIF only supports the following formats:

Single channel PCM (Mono)
Dual channel PCM (Stereo)
Compressed bitstreams (AC3/DTS) up to 48Khz/16bps"

 

If you're okay with those limitations, then S/PDIF is fine. However if you want 'full 5.1' (ie the ability to reproduce 5.1 sound without limitations, like in for instance DTS-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Atmos), then S/PDIF is not an appropriate choice as it will limit the ability of the speakers to re-produce the sound exactly as intended. With your speakers, you will notice a difference between analogue & digital, and that's why I recommend against a S/PDIF lead, but I recognise its a load easier to set-up with far fewer unsightly wires, but is your concern audio or housekeeping? 

Quote

What soundcard would you recommend?

Again, as I said above:

 

"Your MoBo uses a Realtek® ALC1150 chip. Its specification is less than that of for instance, the SoundBlaster Z"

 

Now to be fair, the Realtek chip offers almost as much as the Z on paper, but I haven't looked at your MoBos implementation of it, but I have yet to see a MoBo where the seating/shielding is as good as the max speciation of any Realtek chip, which is why I always recommend a discreet card on any decent set of home speakers (which you have).

 

'Nuf said...