Good enough soundcard?

[orangecat]

I really want to get away from my onboard audio and use something with better specs but i can't afford an ODAC + AMP from MayFlower Electronics yet and I thought I'd look into a inexpensive dedicated soundcard. I know soundcards don't really have any better sound in comparison to an external solution but my onboard audio has really unimpressive specs so i figured if anything it's just a spec upgrade for my onboard audio.

 

I'm basically looking for the best soundcard under 75$ because i feel like paying more isn't going to get me much of an improvement anyways.

 

I'd like to get the Xonar DX from ASUS but it's a little bit out of my price range for a soundcard. I may also go with the Xonar DGX because it's cheaper and it's specs are still considerably better than my onboard audio solution.

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

What headphones/speakers are you using?

[Minzo]

If you're not experiencing disturbance then you probably wont notice a difference. Just saying.

[Diederik_Gr]

The thing with dedicated soundcards is that they are dying out, onboard audio has catched up, even on lower end motherboards. It's usually better to go with better headphones if you are not satisfied with the sound quality.

[orangecat]

What headphones/speakers are you using?

Sennheiser HD 518's.

[orangecat]

If you're not experiencing disturbance then you probably wont notice a difference. Just saying.

Sometimes i can hear my mouse in my headphones but it doesn't happen all the time.

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

asus xonar and creative recon3d are great soundcards

[weez]

Theres so many good options to choose from. Does it have to be internal? Does it have to be a soundcard? Can it be an external usb amp/dac? If you dont need the features of a soundcard then an external amp/dac would be the way to go.

 

Anyways, here are a few recommendations:

 

Internal Soundcards:

Look used for X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty, Recon3D, Sound Blaster Z

 

External soundcard or amp/dac

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD

Syba Sonic SD-DAC63057

SMSL SD793-II

 

Thats just a few out of the many. 

[Barbados_Clemens]

Technically it is over your price range, but by $4 and I would recommend it.

 

http://schiit.com/products/fulla

 

 

It's from a company called Schiit (yes it's said just like you think it is). But sure awesome company with really solid products. 

 

It's a USB DAC/AMP combo with an adjustable pot, which is really awesome.