Best Soundcard

[orangecat]

Again i'm posting asking for help because I'm to lazy to do the work myself and everyone on this forum is awesome. So I have been using onboard sound for many years the last time I had a sound card was back when I had a Soundblaster 16 I think it was called. So I have a fairly good pair of speakers and a real good receiver but I'm using onboard sound. I want to get a dedicated Sound card so I can disable my onboard and have good quality audio. I notice some fuzzing and when i play a bunch of sounds it gets a bit unclear sounding. I know its not my connected audio devices I have checked that all and its fine with everything else so i assume it's just a case of crappy onboard audio picking up interference from the other components I am looking for a sound card similar to the Xonar STX but maby not so high end or expensive any thoughts?

PS: I do play games but I don't use surround sound because I don't believe it help in any way nor do i own a surround sound setup its just 2 channel for me and I'm thinking of buying the STX unless someone can show me a card that would be a better choice for the same money or less.

[h264]

I'd reccomend the original PlayStation 1 with the RCA output jacks for your CD player. Those compressed Digital files just can't match a good CD. You'll have great audio with a setup like that.

http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/708play/

I hope this helps.

[t0wer]

I've used a ps1,

but I'd go fiio e7, e10, or e17 or if you can solder a grubdac.

[Liam-Wabbit]

I use the creative fatality X-Fi(no xram) really good sound quality it has 3 modes: music production mode, game mode and film mode. I've got mine set into music and production most of the time as I use the line in to DJ and make music using computer. The X-Fi crystal cleans up MP3 sounds and makes it sound clearer. I have this turned off , because there a slight delay, which I notice when beat matching. but if your looking to just listen to music , then the crystal a cool feature specially with low bitrates off YouTube or radio sites (cleans the sound)For making music , the connections on most of these creative labs cards are just wrong , I can't place 2 high value high/performance sound cables side by side as the line in right next to the speaker out, which is annoying, as good cable make a huge difference to sound as well

[Liam-Wabbit]

I'd reccomend the original PlayStation 1 with the RCA output jacks for your CD player. Those compressed Digital files just can't match a good CD. You'll have great audio with a setup like that.

http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/708play/

I hope this helps.

I've still got my PS1 mk2 , which was the large version, just less the laser problems

[Williamchan87]

eo7k is always a good way to get decent sound for low price, I personally have my computer hooked up to SONOS then into headphones. But one thing is doesn't matter how good your soundcard/DAC is if you have bad speaker or headphones

[GoodBytes]

I use the creative fatality X-Fi(no xram) really good sound quality it has 3 modes: music production mode' date=' game mode and film mode. I've got mine set into music and production most of the time as I use the line in to DJ and make music using computer. The X-Fi crystal cleans up MP3 sounds and makes it sound clearer. I have this turned off , because there a slight delay, which I notice when beat matching. but if your looking to just listen to music , then the crystal a cool feature specially with low bitrates off YouTube or radio sites (cleans the sound)For making music , the connections on most of these creative labs cards are just wrong , I can't place 2 high value high/performance sound cables side by side as the line in right next to the speaker out, which is annoying, as good cable make a huge difference to sound as well [/quote']

Yes, great sound card as long as:

-> You do not upgrade or re-install Windows, as Creative pulled all traces of the drivers. (Creative always does this when a new version of Windows is released (unless it's a few month apart.. Creative is nice then), to force you to buy a new sound card.

-> You do not upgrade your computer. X-Fi is EXTREAMLY hardware picky. A simple RAM upgrade can make the sound card output crackle, or pop, or simply not work.

-> Piss poor circuit design makes the sound card the able to freeze. I mean at hardware level.. this means a reboot wont' solve it. You need to turn off the computer, and switch the power pf the PSU off, and wait until the motherboard has no more power... and then power it back up. Very annoying. Known problem. In my case, it occured several minutes of playing audio after the computer wake up from sleep. This is hardware specific, as mentioned, the card is extreamly hardware picky. Some people don't have this problem. I didnt' have it on my AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939, but did on my Core i7 930.

-> Drivers are heavy, bulky, makes Windows slower to starts, and resource hog.

-> Report a problem that you are facing, nicely, about a Creative product on the forum for help, or request beta drivers? Simple! Don't bother, as you are immediately be ban for "Saying false issues about high quality Creative products".

Yes you have alternative drivers, which Creative tried to stop by taking the creators to court, but that didn't end well for Creative.. but that's not the point, it's the principal.

[Blade of Grass]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

[h264]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

they really make your headphones POP!

[Blade of Grass]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

Holy shit! I have never heard of that problem....

But they added relays to all their amps now, so that shouldn't happen. Also, it's apparently common with a bunch of different amps. And as general use goes, you shouldn't have headphones plugged in while turning on/off your amp.

You always turn on an amp, and then the speakers, you always turn off the speakers and then the amp. Or instead of turning off and on the speakers, think of it as unplugging.

Maybe I just do that because of my past in working in AV (my bands concerts, and all my school's events).

[Blade of Grass]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

Holy shit! I have never heard of that problem....

But they added relays to all their amps now, so that shouldn't happen. Also, it's apparently common with a bunch of different amps. And as general use goes, you shouldn't have headphones plugged in while turning on/off your amp.

You always turn on an amp, and then the speakers, you always turn off the speakers and then the amp. Or instead of turning off and on the speakers, think of it as unplugging.

Maybe I just do that because of my past in working in AV (my bands concerts, and all my school's events).

[h264]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/562736/what-causes-this-amp-related

You should have heard of it. This schiit is what made NwavGuy famous in the first place.

>you shouldn't have headphones plugged in while turning on/off your amp.

>There's an interesting irony here. There are some amps, including the AMB Mini3, that can allegedly be damaged by unplugging the headphones with the amp powered on. But with the Asgard things are reversed. You're supposed to unplug the headphones with the amp on. Obviously neither situation is ideal if getting it wrong can cause damage. And it's a lot of wear and tear on the headphone jack unless you just leave the amp on 24/7.

>Sooner or later, it's likely you'll get it wrong, the power will go out, or whatever. And it might just take once to damage your headphones.

straight out of nwavguy's mouth

[Liam-Wabbit]

I use the creative fatality X-Fi(no xram) really good sound quality it has 3 modes: music production mode' date=' game mode and film mode. I've got mine set into music and production most of the time as I use the line in to DJ and make music using computer. The X-Fi crystal cleans up MP3 sounds and makes it sound clearer. I have this turned off , because there a slight delay, which I notice when beat matching. but if your looking to just listen to music , then the crystal a cool feature specially with low bitrates off YouTube or radio sites (cleans the sound)For making music , the connections on most of these creative labs cards are just wrong , I can't place 2 high value high/performance sound cables side by side as the line in right next to the speaker out, which is annoying, as good cable make a huge difference to sound as well [/quote']

Yes, great sound card as long as:

-> You do not upgrade or re-install Windows, as Creative pulled all traces of the drivers. (Creative always does this when a new version of Windows is released (unless it's a few month apart.. Creative is nice then), to force you to buy a new sound card.

-> You do not upgrade your computer. X-Fi is EXTREAMLY hardware picky. A simple RAM upgrade can make the sound card output crackle, or pop, or simply not work.

-> Piss poor circuit design makes the sound card the able to freeze. I mean at hardware level.. this means a reboot wont' solve it. You need to turn off the computer, and switch the power pf the PSU off, and wait until the motherboard has no more power... and then power it back up. Very annoying. Known problem. In my case, it occured several minutes of playing audio after the computer wake up from sleep. This is hardware specific, as mentioned, the card is extreamly hardware picky. Some people don't have this problem. I didnt' have it on my AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939, but did on my Core i7 930.

-> Drivers are heavy, bulky, makes Windows slower to starts, and resource hog.

-> Report a problem that you are facing, nicely, about a Creative product on the forum for help, or request beta drivers? Simple! Don't bother, as you are immediately be ban for "Saying false issues about high quality Creative products".

Yes you have alternative drivers, which Creative tried to stop by taking the creators to court, but that didn't end well for Creative.. but that's not the point, it's the principal.

Never had this problem, and this is my 3rd build with this sound card. I've still got my Augigy 4 and that still works fine and has a better 3.5 jack placing. just as well you can use more than one sound card in windows ect

[Blade of Grass]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

Well, they did fix it by adding a mute relay to the amp.

And just because he said it doesn't mean its right :)

I've heard from many working professionals in the AV industry about proper "etiquette" for turning on and off the sound system. You always make it so no popping noise is possible.

[h264]

I'd say look into Schiit Audio, they make great performing and looking equipment.

[url=http://schiit.com/]http://schiit.com/[/url=http://schiit.com/]

Yes, that proper etiquette is to protect your hearing. Anytime you plug new headphones into a new amp, you should ALWAYS turn the volume to 0 before you plug them in as to prevent damaging your ears if they are turned up too loud for the new headphone (or speaker). It's in my Beyerdynamics AND AKG user manuals.

Nothing to do with protecting headphones from bad amps. Only way to do that is to not plug them in.

Schiit is far from the only company to not include headphone protection for either better sound or simplicity, but I'm glad they added a relay.

However, the magni and modi are still missing a lot of things, like a gain switch or connection cords. The $200 price tag on the "Schiit Stack" has a major asterisk: might cost another $30-$40 in cords. Not to mention you're stuck at 6x gain, and that's a bit much for me and most people with low impedance high efficiency headphones.

Well, Nwavguy liked DRM, and I still don't agree with him on that. His audio knowledge is solid, however. What headphone amp sound card manual included such information, anyways? Most of them show you plugging in the headphones before you even boot the computer. That can't be right, can it?

[That Norwegian Guy]

Don't get anything gaming oriented. Go with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. It's for musicians, but much better sound than even the Asus Essence One for half the price.

[m0n5t3r]

I use the creative fatality X-Fi(no xram) really good sound quality it has 3 modes: music production mode' date=' game mode and film mode. I've got mine set into music and production most of the time as I use the line in to DJ and make music using computer. The X-Fi crystal cleans up MP3 sounds and makes it sound clearer. I have this turned off , because there a slight delay, which I notice when beat matching. but if your looking to just listen to music , then the crystal a cool feature specially with low bitrates off YouTube or radio sites (cleans the sound)For making music , the connections on most of these creative labs cards are just wrong , I can't place 2 high value high/performance sound cables side by side as the line in right next to the speaker out, which is annoying, as good cable make a huge difference to sound as well [/quote']

Yes, great sound card as long as:

-> You do not upgrade or re-install Windows, as Creative pulled all traces of the drivers. (Creative always does this when a new version of Windows is released (unless it's a few month apart.. Creative is nice then), to force you to buy a new sound card.

-> You do not upgrade your computer. X-Fi is EXTREAMLY hardware picky. A simple RAM upgrade can make the sound card output crackle, or pop, or simply not work.

-> Piss poor circuit design makes the sound card the able to freeze. I mean at hardware level.. this means a reboot wont' solve it. You need to turn off the computer, and switch the power pf the PSU off, and wait until the motherboard has no more power... and then power it back up. Very annoying. Known problem. In my case, it occured several minutes of playing audio after the computer wake up from sleep. This is hardware specific, as mentioned, the card is extreamly hardware picky. Some people don't have this problem. I didnt' have it on my AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939, but did on my Core i7 930.

-> Drivers are heavy, bulky, makes Windows slower to starts, and resource hog.

-> Report a problem that you are facing, nicely, about a Creative product on the forum for help, or request beta drivers? Simple! Don't bother, as you are immediately be ban for "Saying false issues about high quality Creative products".

Yes you have alternative drivers, which Creative tried to stop by taking the creators to court, but that didn't end well for Creative.. but that's not the point, it's the principal.

I've never experienced any problems. I am using the Creative X-Fi Sound blaster Titanium HD

[orangecat]

Thanks for all the reply guys but no one seems to have a good idea what a good sound card is. I am not looking for a headphone amp I just want a sound card for now that will produce clean no hiss sound.

[h264]

Thanks for all the reply guys but no one seems to have a good idea what a good sound card is. I am not looking for a headphone amp I just want a sound card for now that will produce clean no hiss sound.

Does your onboard have a digital out? Does your receiver have a digital input? if so, use that.

if not, read, I don't know, any of the other 10+ threads for our recommendations.

[Blake]

output through toslink, a digital signal, straight to a receiver. More money you spend on the receiver/speakers the better the sound you get (same thing h264 said).

-Could use the RCA connector... but then you gets the RF interference