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
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.
get a Delta 2496 - this is a pro card at consumer prices
reasoner
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.
I get it now. A quality sound card with quality speakers will improve the sound. Some times I'm just slow.
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!
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!
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