Question on Sound Cards

[nDangER]

Hi everyone,

 

Just a quick question regarding sound cards. Do I need to have a good set of headphones or speakers to fully take advantage of them?

Right now I have a Siberia V2 for Gaming and a random pair of Logitech 2.1 speakers.

 

Is it worth getting a sound card considering I have probably low-medium grade headphones/speakers?

I hear Linus is always saying the difference is night and day..but never really mentioned if we need a good set of headphones to fully take advantage.

 

Thanks everyone!.

 

 

[Skyfire]

It'll definitely improve with an aftermarket sound card, but the difference depends on your onboard audio. What motherboard do you have?

[ooiman92]

Yes, I would think that it would improve sound, but if you have a decent sound card, you can play with the EQ and get similar results, though nowhere near as good as the ultra high end headphones.

[fishymamba]

You will not feel as much of a difference, but there will be a difference. You will probably not hear a difference with those cheap 2.1 speakers(I can't tell a difference with mine at all), but you will probably hear a difference with your headset. 
But with those headphones I do not see the point of dropping tons of money on a sound card, I would not buy one over ~60-$80, depending on the one board audio, I might not even get one at all. 

Headphones are most important item when it comes to sound. 

 

Check out this sticky in the audio subforum, this guy put together an awesome collection of frequently asked questions: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/18617-the-audio-boards-frequently-asked-questions-pre-answered/

[Godlygamer23]

Headphones are most important item when it comes to sound.

Depends. If you have a great sound card, but sub-par headphones, you won't notice anything. If you have sub-par sound processing in your computer and great headphones, you're going to notice a difference. The audio will not be that great. Especially if you came from an awesome sound card.