Are sound cards worth it?

[Aphelion]

Long running debate (21 pages and over 500 posts so far) on this subject here,

Onboard Sound Vs. Add in Sound Card - Guru3D.com Forums

That whole thread would be moot if they listened to a 24-bit well mastered wave file using my RME PCI card vs. the built in Realtek audio. Even those with considerable hearing loss would notice the difference.

That said, I'm speaking only of the analog outputs.

Digital output would be closer but due to the inferior digital clock of the Realtek (jitter & poor filtering) a decent audio card will still fare better.

Ap

 

[sygnus21]

That whole thread would be moot if they listened to a 24-bit well mastered wave file using my RME PCI card vs. the built in Realtek audio. Even those with considerable hearing loss would notice the difference.

Yeah.... that's like me saying the whole gaming section would be moot if people read my tips on troubleshooting game issues

At any rate as stormy said, and you quoted....

Long running debate (21 pages and over 500 posts so far) on this subject here,

Onboard Sound Vs. Add in Sound Card - Guru3D.com Forums

No need in reinventing the wheel

 

[Wishmaster]

I have the X-Fi extreme gamer currently.

Im not a major audiophile , and do not have high quality speakers. They are lower end 5.1 PC speakers, average at best.
Still, something like a core 5.1 soundtrack from a movie at 640kbps VS 448kbps I can barely tell the difference.
Its also hard for me to tell much difference between a good ripped 320kps MP3 and a FLAC version. (Although the FLAC does sound slightly better.
But I understand the speakers are likely the culprit here.


None-the-less, even with MP3s I can tell a difference between onboard and and my Xtreme gamer.

The sound card sounds much clearer & cleaner to me. Also, things such as THX software to adjust distance and angle of speakers works quite well too and helps a lot.

IMHO, the soundcard does make a significant difference. Although as already pointed out, you may not realize the full benefit of it if you do not have high end speakers (like me ) but it will help.

i would say if you use speakers built in to the monotior or something like a cheaper set of 2.0 ones however, you may not notice any improvement at all.

 

[reasoner]

get a Delta 2496 - this is a pro card at consumer prices

reasoner

 

[Aphelion]

get a Delta 2496 - this is a pro card at consumer prices

reasoner

Good little basic stereo card! Low noise, excellent sound.

Ap

 

[Aphelion]

That whole thread would be moot if they listened to a 24-bit well mastered wave file using my RME PCI card vs. the built in Realtek audio. Even those with considerable hearing loss would notice the difference.

Yeah.... that's like me saying the whole gaming section would be moot if people read my tips on troubleshooting game issues

Ha! Like anyone is going to listen to someone over 40 much less 55 anyway, what was I thinkin'.

Ap

 

[smarteyeball]

Motherboard + digital out to 5.1 HTIB = stereo out for games/music

Dedicated SC + dgital out to HTIB = 5.1 in games / software option to output stereo to four/five speakers for 2 ch sound sources. X-Fi Crystalizer also improves sound on low BR sources and low quality speakers.

Dedicated SC + Decent set of cans = Still better than on-board.


Easy argument for my needs.

 

[Layback Bear]

I get it now. A quality sound card with quality speakers will improve the sound. Some times I'm just slow.

 

[grimreaper]

I use the X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 sound card, and I can tell you without a doubt, what a comparable difference (my setup is a PC home theater using some high end components) so that will add to the quality obviously.
I'm an audio freak, love my trance, and hip-hop, the bass is tight and clean...no hiss, no crackling, nothing.
So yes, sound cards, are definitely worth it!

 

[hawkin90]

I replaced some suckish card I don't remember the name of with my creative soundblaster x-fi titanium pro and well, to say it the least, the difference was huge. I play with headset in games and just in games like oblivion and fallout3 the sound quality was much much better. So yes, sound cards are worth it!

 

[AaronDude]

I was using an external, don't know if you can call it a real sound card, creative x fi. It was pretty expensive being in the 50 dollar range. I bought it cause I thought it would fix the sound on my other new machine, that I've since trashed after multiple trips to the repair center(no replacement for you!). I bought a compaq for 300 bucks that performs miles better. I believe there is no improvement over the sound quality other than a loss of a very faint hiss with the creative x fi. In fact I really think my IDT onboard audio might be better. I've tried the x fi with generic drivers and their drivers (btw the internal card mem came with a virus on it but it was easily removed) and I actually think the generic windows 7 drivers sound better with it. I kind of want to use the dang thing though because of the price but I just don't hear anything better coming out of it. BTW I just use two speakers or a set of headphones.

 

[snipermouse]

been out of town for a few days but i'm back and today i just finished installing my new card. I ended up going for the Creative XFI-Titanium Fata1ty camp1on series, a little more $ than the origial but i wanted volume control and headset jacks at the front of my pc. As i said in my earlier post i think its a case of suck it and see...let me just OMFG wow!! Mp3's played through itunes are clearer and crisper than ever. For instance where i notice it is the clarity of sybols, hihats and the drums in general. Havent even tweaked the EQ yet!! The guitars especially the acoustic's sound awsome, all this with the same 2.1 logitech speakers, can't wait to get my hands on some nice BOSE jobbies!! Theres a lot of settings to play with but so far i'm very pleased. Had no problems installing the card or driver box, and the internet update for software drivers was also straight forward. Cant wait to crank up BFBC2, should sound great.

A big thanx to all for your comments and input, much appriciated
cheers to all

 

[sygnus21]

I'm glad you like the card. I really is a great sounding card.

BTW did you see this part of my post here My thoughts on Creative’s X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Vista Forums, where I said you could use your case's front header with the card?

At any rate enjoy.

Peace

 

[grimreaper]

BTW did you see this part of my post here My thoughts on Creative’s X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Vista Forums, where I said you could use your case's front header with the card?

At any rate enjoy.

Peace

I just read your post on VF great article sygnus21
As a proud owner of this sound card, I cannot express how satisfied I am with the performance, the clarity, the highs are crisp, the bass deep = one happy guy

 

[sygnus21]

Thanks. As one who enjoys music, especially jazz, this card really shines. To be honest I was kind of surprised. I've owned several generations of Creative's soundcards, and this one definitely stands out musically. The soundstage and clarity is impressive.

And thanks for compliments on the article.

Peace

 

[Pieloi]

So we conclude that Realtek is awful compared to a decent soundcard or even low-midrange at that.

Yet what of these more recent motherboards containing integrated Creative Chipsets ?
Example being Asus CROSSHAIR IV FORMULA 890FX Socket AM3 8 Channel.. | Ebuyer.com , as you see it supports a few features which once upon a time were only available via a soundcard (or dodgy software)
EAX, X-FI etc.

Would you think that there will be a hugely noticeable difference between a Realtek HD or say a cheap card such as a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 OEM PCI Soundcard | Ebuyer.com , would they be equally up to par ?
Although I can only suspect certain features to be absent.

Because recently I've been looking at such integrated solutions primarily because most motherboards offer terrible crossfire/SLI PCI/PCI-e placement (can't fit the card in while using crossfire).

 

[sygnus21]

That's really going to take some comparative testing to determine which sounds better.

For what it's worth, I still have not heard my on-board sound system on my Gigabyte motherboard so I cannot tell you how good or bad it is. I simply prefer standalone soundcards.

My two cents.

 

[xarden]

+1 for add-on soundcards.
+1 if it has SPDIF or optical I/O's.
-1 for onboard regardless of analog or digital I/O's

My 2 cents.

 

[stormy13]

Pieloi that board and any other like it with the SupremeFX audio on it do not have integrated Creative audio on them. What they all have is either a Soundmax or Via based audio chip on them, and they are ussing what is known as X-Fi MB which is nothing more than a software package.

For what it's worth, I still have not heard my on-board sound system on my Gigabyte motherboard so I cannot tell you how good or bad it is. I simply prefer standalone soundcards.

Same here. Last onboard I tested was the Realtek ALC850 and it was so bad, I haven't even tried the onboard on the last 3 motherboards I have owned.

 

[JonM33]

hi all, with todays mobo's and onboard HD sound are sound cards still worth the money?
I'm currently looking at a Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium PCIe Fatal1ty Pro for around $175 AUD. My pc is mostly used for gaming and listening to music. I'm pretty fusy when it comes to sound quality and not real happy with the music quality out of itunes. Gaming sounds good though espesially in BFBC2 (sounds awsome, but thats in the game with 1 processor taken up by sound alone...great job EA!!!) The speakers i have at the moment are a pair of logitech desktop speakers and a floor sub. Would buying better speakers improve the sound or should i upgrade to a soundcard and new speakers??

Any thoughts guys would be great on brands, setup and experiences good or bad?
Are the drivers for sound cards a pain in the a*#s??
Almost forgot, whats the power draw on these things?

cheers

What type of Logitech speakers? The best 2.1 Logitech speakers are the Z-2300. For the money they are probably the best PC multimedia speakers you can get.

What motherboard do you have so that we know which onboard you have? Most Realtek is decent audio. My Asus P5Q PRO Turbo has good VIA onboard audio.

I would avoid anything with Fatal1ty in it's product name.