Asus Soundcards - which one to buy?

[Heizoel_Walther]

Hey guys, I am new to the whole soundcard and awesome quality stuff so don't throw too many numbers at me or at least explain them.

 

I think about getting a soundcard preferably from ASUS because Linus is recommending them. But feel free to recommend something else.

Right now I have this onboard audio controller => VIA VT2021 and a Logitech G430 headset (the Dolby surround one).

 

I'd also want to know with which price level (for the sound card) I start hearing a (big) difference to the Logitech solution now, if you mean a soundcard is necessary for me and if and how I can use the front audio jacks on my case with a soundcard.

[Jogostar]

none.

simple as that.

[defunkt]

ha..haha. no. It won't make any difference.

[saudivip]

get a good headphone first with a mod mic if you need one , and dont get a sound card get a usb dac instead like the fiio e10

[Osmium]

Logitech headphones need no AMP or sound card to hear any improvement. What you hear is what you get. I'd suggest buying some sweet headphones instead of a soundcard.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

none.

simple as that.

ha..haha. no. It won't make any difference.

 

Wow, I really did believe it would get better after Linus ranted about it on the latest Stream, I guess not. How about you help him out then instead of just ridiculing him?

[ThorBuildingLegos]

How about: wrong motivation for actually getting a PCIe sound card. What are your actual needs? I don't suppose you have a powerfull amplifier hooked up to Harman Kardon speakers, have you? If it's a regular surround sound system then the audio chipsets the passed 5 years have been more than acceptable. I'm running my chipset in a 2 channel, 24 bit, 96000 Hz quality. That's more than ample for most audio formats.

 

That being said if it's for musical needs external soundcards are usually the best way to go. I'm looking for a soundcard with 4 jack inputs and built in amplifier to support 4 instruments... a tall order, I know... expensive as well. But external solutions are much cheaper. You just need a firewire input or card and you got professional level audio capabilities.

[Sheldon_King]

I'd also want to know with which price level (for the sound card) I start hearing a (big) difference to the Logitech solution now, if you mean a soundcard is necessary for me and if and how I can use the front audio jacks on my case with a soundcard.

I won't touch the if you need one set of the question, as that is up to you. You likely will not hear the difference with a basic Logitech headset though. 

 

As for the front panel question, most if not all sound cards have the same HD connector as motherboards do. You just have to connect the wiring harness to the port on the card, and the front panel ports will operate. (same as it does with the motherboards ports).

[defunkt]

Wow, I really did believe it would get better after Linus ranted about it on the latest Stream, I guess not. How about you help him out then instead of just ridiculing him?

I don't watch the stream.. What did he say?

[ShearMe]

Hey guys, I am new to the whole soundcard and awesome quality stuff so don't throw too many numbers at me or at least explain them.

 

I think about getting a soundcard preferably from ASUS because Linus is recommending them. But feel free to recommend something else.

Right now I have this onboard audio controller => VIA VT2021 and a Logitech G430 headset (the Dolby surround one).

 

I'd also want to know with which price level (for the sound card) I start hearing a (big) difference to the Logitech solution now, if you mean a soundcard is necessary for me and if and how I can use the front audio jacks on my case with a soundcard.

 

Good headphones and a good mic will improve your sound vastly more than simply adding a soundcard.

 

I don't watch the stream.. What did he say?

 

"I'm disappointed in youz guise fo' not being nicer." Trash talking the OP is not what this forum is for.

[ThorBuildingLegos]

I don't watch the stream.. What did he say?

 

Basically that the current members of the forum are rather hostile towards newcomers and regulars, not being able to stick to a specific subject or actually providing any help in the matter, which is counter-productive. So I'm guessing he wants you to rephrase what you previously stated?

[Osmium]

I don't watch the stream.. What did he say?

He said to stop crapping on people who bought soundcards(actual words but not actual quote).

 

He is not saying you can't recommend not buying soundcards but don't be a dick if the person wither bought one or is planning on buying one. 

 

    "You catch more bees with honey than vinegar" (actual quote).

[madknight3]

I don't watch the stream.. What did he say?

 

If you, or anyone else, wants to hear it then here is the link starting at the time. Think it's about 6 minutes long.

[Lauen]

some thoughts I have: if you're using low impedance headphones (usually under 80 ohms is considerered "low"), I'd advise against getting a soundcard, as most of them have a high output impedance, which can F up some stuff (or so I've been told). Also, soundcards (compared to external dacs/amps) get a lot of interference from things like graphics cards, maybe wireless network cards in PCI or PCI-E. like my old soundcard, I got some sort of interference, almost like coil whine, going through the mic, so people on skype got weird sounds varying in pitch, the pitch was "locked" with the FPS I got. higher FPS gave me a higher pitched noise, going through my mic, so people on Skype heard it. 

 

as usual, I forgot everything I had thought of when writing this. I'm beginning to wonder if my short-term memory is broken. 

[ForsakenLive]

The best upgrade you can find when shopping for audio is going for a good Speaker/Headphone, they are the ones that drive the sound. A separated Headphone with a Mic is always a better choice, there are not good headsets unless you go really high end (like a Sennheiser PC360 which is really expensive).

If you feel good with your headset and don't want to change it, you can get a DAC+AMP that is not plugged inside your PC, but external connected to USB. These require no drivers, have no incompatibility issues or bugs, and do the job better and cleaner (also louder) than a sound card would. A good example of this is the Fiio E10 (around $70). 

If you don't want to expend that amount of money, or really don't want to add another thing to your desk, you can grab a soundcard, but take in mind that they won't be such great performers compared to external solutions. However it will still be an upgrade compared to your onboard audio.

You can get Asus Xonar DGX sound card ($40) if you don't really have much budget, but even a Asus Xonar U3 ($40 too), it's a external USB  dac+amp, would be a better choice. 

[bowleggedcat]

Wow, I really did believe it would get better after Linus ranted about it on the latest Stream, I guess not. How about you help him out then instead of just ridiculing him?

 

Umm, no one is ridiculing him. At all. 

[t0wer]

using a usb headset, a soundcard will have no effect.

even if it did, I'd recommend buying better headphones first as you will notice a much bigger difference.

[Aphexx]

Umm, no one is ridiculing him. At all. 

+1 whats worse is all the rash of people antagonizing the situation even further 

 

and my standard answer is always upgrade your headphone followed by possibly a second headphone before a soundcard or dac. and from what I've seen about the logitech 430 230 I really doubt any improvement will be made by upgrading the soundsource

[Heizoel_Walther]

Well thanks guys, especially to Lauen and ForsakenLive! You gave me great answers

[Pez510831]

This doesn't have to do with sound, but I wanted to state that I find it funny how everyone here treats Linus like a god. That everything he says is finite. He is a person, very intelligent and knowledgeable, but open to opinion as much as we are. That being said keep your minds open and Linus keep up the good work.

[mr moose]

Umm, no one is ridiculing him. At all. 

true, but the problem is that we have had an influx of people recently who believe that unless we are completely pacifying the OP with rubbish feel good advice (no matter how wrong or costly it is) then we are antagonizing and ridiculing. 

 

Please people, there are only so many ways you can tell someone they have been given bad advice or are wrong without it being taken either out of context or taken as offensive.  Most of us really only want to help, but the fact of the matter is that if what the OP is asking for is not the best solution, then why would it be expected that we don't tell him? In this thread he does not already own the sound card and therefore advice not to buy one is not only perfectly acceptable but If I were the OP I would hope someone would tell me not to spend $$ on a card that won't improve my situation. And to add to this the OP actually asked us all to feel free to recommend something else if there was a better option, so here is mine:

 

If you don't need a mic (or are happy to keep using your current mic just leave it on the desk and point it toward you) then I recommend putting your money into better headphones. after that if your onboard audio is still letting you down I would start looking at external dacs.

[h264]

Wow, I really did believe it would get better after Linus ranted about it on the latest Stream, I guess not. How about you help him out then instead of just ridiculing him?

 

Basically that the current members of the forum are rather hostile towards newcomers and regulars, not being able to stick to a specific subject or actually providing any help in the matter because it's counter-productive. So I'm guessing he wants you to rephrase what you previously stated?

 

right. let's do that.

 

anyways...

 

To the OP, I agree with the other posters, but I'll also add that your onboard is fine unless your headphones/speakers don't get loud enough.  There are a lot of answers to questions like these in the FAQ me and a bunch of the "regulars" maintain, so be sure to check that out as well.