sound card necessary?

[pants18]

I am starting this thread to address a question I've had for a while, that is: is a sound card really necessary (for my setup)? I completely understand that aftermarket sound cards are exponentially better than the on-board sound on most mother boards. However is there a time when the headphones or speakers are the bottleneck rather than the source of the audio? I personally have logitech z623 speakers (not really a big headphone guy) and I'm wondering if i spend money on an aftermarket sound card, like a xonar DG, i will be able to notice a substantial difference in audio quality. Are the speakers good enough that that can produce higher quality audio than what is being fed to them by my mobo? (gigabyte ga-990fxa-ud3) I would have no problem spending 30-40 bucks on a sound card, but if its going to sound the same as my on-board when going through my speakers, then i dont think its really worth it.

[orangecat]

Get a DAC they are better.

[Langdon]

Do not get a soundcard, it will not help at all. If you want better sound, get better headphones or speakers. If it is not loud enough, crackley, or staticy, get an external amp and/or dac, but never a soundcard.

In your case, better speakers would be a better investment.

[MayflowerElectronics]

I am starting this thread to address a question I've had for a while, that is: is a sound card really necessary (for my setup)? I completely understand that aftermarket sound cards are exponentially better than the on-board sound on most mother boards. However is there a time when the headphones or speakers are the bottleneck rather than the source of the audio? I personally have logitech z623 speakers (not really a big headphone guy) and I'm wondering if i spend money on an aftermarket sound card, like a xonar DG, i will be able to notice a substantial difference in audio quality. Are the speakers good enough that that can produce higher quality audio than what is being fed to them by my mobo? (gigabyte ga-990fxa-ud3) I would have no problem spending 30-40 bucks on a sound card, but if its going to sound the same as my on-board when going through my speakers, then i dont think its really worth it.

 

Sound cards are not exponentially better than on-board. Sound cards or by any means any amp/DAC don't benefit speakers, especially not good ones like the logitech's you have. You will notice 0 sound performance increase with any sound card.

 

Get a DAC they are better.

 

You need an amp with a DAC, again, it won't help.

 

Do not get a soundcard, it will not help at all. If you want better sound, get better headphones or speakers. If it is not loud enough, crackley, or staticy, get an external amp and/or dac, but never a soundcard.

 

+1

[helping]

rada rada e10 rada rada don't buy a sound card rada rada improve equipment before source rada rada sound card is bad don't question it

Read the audio subforum more, it will explain in detail and you will see the general consensus of why you don't want the sound card.

I need to start saving a few templates for responses.

[ShearMe]

FYI, bottle-necking is a specific term and does not happen in the audio relm outside of impedance mismatches.

[EmoRarity]

Get a DAC they are better.

More so a DAC only decodes, so dropping $100 on a dac that decodes 24/192 is cool shit. Its only helpful if your music is encoded in something other the 16/44.1

[orangecat]

Sound cards are not exponentially better than on-board. Sound cards or by any means any amp/DAC don't benefit speakers, especially not good ones like the logitech's you have. You will notice 0 sound performance increase with any sound card.

 

 

You need an amp with a DAC, again, it won't help.

 

 

+1

Not all of the time some have headphone amps and dacs built in. Besides he/she was asking about a soundcard so they obviously have headphones or a set of speakers to plug into the soundcard so a DAC would be just fine.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Not all of the time some have headphone amps and dacs built in. Besides he/she was asking about a soundcard so they obviously have headphones or a set of speakers to plug into the soundcard so a DAC would be just fine.

They all have dac's and amps in them or else they wouldn't work. The amps and dacs in them are generally worse than on-board. A headphone amp does not effect any kind of speakers.

[ShearMe]

The amps and dacs in them are generally worse than on-board.

 

Woah, dem be fighting words. Not sure I can agree with you....

[chos5555]

You don't need a sound card, DAC is better

[pierrelucsav]

More so a DAC only decodes, so dropping $100 on a dac that decodes 24/192 is cool shit. Its only helpful if your music is encoded in something other the 16/44.1

*sigh*

Anything above 16bit/48 kHz is a gimmick. It's been shown and shown again with high grade equipment. 

[EmoRarity]

*sigh*

Anything above 16bit/48 kHz is a gimmick. It's been shown and shown again with high grade equipment. 

Only reason to get anything more then a 16/48 is if you are ripping your own vinyls to something higher. 

[ShearMe]

*sigh*

Anything above 16bit/48 kHz is a gimmick. It's been shown and shown again with high grade equipment. 

 

For listening, yes, for recording it can be a good thing.

[t0wer]

For listening, yes, for recording it can be a good thing.

 

at that point wouldn't you be talking about an ADC not a DAC?

[ShearMe]

at that point wouldn't you be talking about an ADC not a DAC?

 

Assuming the product doesn't do both.  B)

[pierrelucsav]

For listening, yes, for recording it can be a good thing.

 

For mixing/mastering, yes. For the final product, absolutely unnessecary.

[pants18]

thanks for all the input everyone. ill look into maybe getting a dac or just better speakers all together.

[SirChillicious]

Get a decent audio interface and some good monitors/speakers and you don't need anything else.