external sound card recommendations needed

timeless

New member
Member
VIP
Local time
10:58 PM
Messages
637
l know its better to have internal sound cards, however due to the fact l swap and change between my laptop and PC l tend to opt for an external sound card since l have less messing about with speaker connections and less messing around and moving the PC to access the connections.

basically lm looking for a sound card that will give me settings to upmix the audio as it kinda seems my current creative soundblaster live 24bit external while compatible with CMSS doesnt have windows 7 support, so lm looking for an external sound card that supports windows 7 which will allow me to upmix because l have these 5.1s and much of my video content annoyingly only plays only through the front speakers even with ffdshow audio settings set to speaker fill regardless of if l use WMP or MPC-HC.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
CPU
Intel i5 4440 3.10ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H
Memory
Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory Kit 1.5V
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Graphics 4600 (on board)
Sound Card
External Creative Soundblaster
Monitor(s) Displays
32" TV
Screen Resolution
1360*768
Hard Drives
Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5inch SATAIII SSD
1 1TB WD WD10EADS
3 1TB WD WD10EZEX
PSU
Coolermaster GM-Series 550W Semi Modular
Case
Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
Cooling
5x 120mil (Arctic F12)
Keyboard
Microsoft Curve 2000 v1
Mouse
Trust MaxTrack Mini Mouse - 6 button(s) - wired - USB
Internet Speed
34Meg
Antivirus
Bitdefender 2017
Browser
Firefox
The ASUS XONAR sound cards are popular, based on posts on this forum. Soundblaster's used to be the most popular sound cards but I see more and more other brands being used.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own Build
OS
Windows 10 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7 6700K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
Memory
16GB Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card(s)
Intel CPU Graphics
Sound Card
RealTek
Monitor(s) Displays
27" Dell S2719dgf
Screen Resolution
2560X1440
Hard Drives
1 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Pro
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Insider
2 TB drive for backup
PSU
EVGA Supernova 750G2
Case
BeQuiet Silent Base 600
Cooling
Deepcool Captain 120EX
Keyboard
Microsoft Wireless 2000
Mouse
Microsoft wireless
Internet Speed
100 MB/sec (Cable)
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes
Browser
Edge/Firefox
Other Info
Cakewalk (Sonar) by BandLab and Studio One 4.1 Pro recording studio software. MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface, Frontier Tranzport wireless control unit, Behringer X-Touch Control Surface.
Five USB connected optical drives for CD Audio production using Nero BurningROM
problem is lm not looking for something internal, but something l could change to the laptop when required.. something with the ability to upmix to my 5.1s

my current external card does have the ability to do it, but it seems the support for doesnt go past WinXP.. but one of the requirements (Creative Basic audio) which doesnt seem to support Win7, but it refuses to install so lm unable to use the CMSS feature and as of yet lve been unable to get ffdshow to extend audio to all my speakers and from what lm reading lav wont do it either.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
CPU
Intel i5 4440 3.10ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H
Memory
Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory Kit 1.5V
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Graphics 4600 (on board)
Sound Card
External Creative Soundblaster
Monitor(s) Displays
32" TV
Screen Resolution
1360*768
Hard Drives
Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5inch SATAIII SSD
1 1TB WD WD10EADS
3 1TB WD WD10EZEX
PSU
Coolermaster GM-Series 550W Semi Modular
Case
Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
Cooling
5x 120mil (Arctic F12)
Keyboard
Microsoft Curve 2000 v1
Mouse
Trust MaxTrack Mini Mouse - 6 button(s) - wired - USB
Internet Speed
34Meg
Antivirus
Bitdefender 2017
Browser
Firefox
Take a look at Behringer USB external sound cards.

I've used a UFO 202 model with success. About $35, the last I checked.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
bit out of my price range or at least the one l found is at the moment due to the recent upgrade.. so wont have much spare for a little while.

the only one l found was: Soundbox Pro External USB Sound Card, 24 bit 192 KHz Audio, 7.1 Channels: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories


that said, l seem to have had some luck with ffdshow l think.. turns out the version of MP-HC that came bundled with CCCP was an x64 version, after downloading the 32bit version and finding the ffdshow codecs in there l decided to install the x64 ffdshow and it seems audio is coming out of all speakers now.. or at least l can feel the vibrations from the speaker which l couldnt before.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
CPU
Intel i5 4440 3.10ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H
Memory
Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory Kit 1.5V
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Graphics 4600 (on board)
Sound Card
External Creative Soundblaster
Monitor(s) Displays
32" TV
Screen Resolution
1360*768
Hard Drives
Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5inch SATAIII SSD
1 1TB WD WD10EADS
3 1TB WD WD10EZEX
PSU
Coolermaster GM-Series 550W Semi Modular
Case
Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
Cooling
5x 120mil (Arctic F12)
Keyboard
Microsoft Curve 2000 v1
Mouse
Trust MaxTrack Mini Mouse - 6 button(s) - wired - USB
Internet Speed
34Meg
Antivirus
Bitdefender 2017
Browser
Firefox

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
I'm not a Behringer fan. They look great and have good spec's but generally poor software and support.

I'm a musician and also have a recording studio. Other than "economy" musicians or recording studios most will not have Behringer.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own Build
OS
Windows 10 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7 6700K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
Memory
16GB Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card(s)
Intel CPU Graphics
Sound Card
RealTek
Monitor(s) Displays
27" Dell S2719dgf
Screen Resolution
2560X1440
Hard Drives
1 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Pro
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Insider
2 TB drive for backup
PSU
EVGA Supernova 750G2
Case
BeQuiet Silent Base 600
Cooling
Deepcool Captain 120EX
Keyboard
Microsoft Wireless 2000
Mouse
Microsoft wireless
Internet Speed
100 MB/sec (Cable)
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes
Browser
Edge/Firefox
Other Info
Cakewalk (Sonar) by BandLab and Studio One 4.1 Pro recording studio software. MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface, Frontier Tranzport wireless control unit, Behringer X-Touch Control Surface.
Five USB connected optical drives for CD Audio production using Nero BurningROM
Timeless, sorry to ask, but I'll like to learn something new.
Are you're looking for an interface (input, output or both?) to link the computer to an audio amplifier?
Does this hardware interface also comes with a management software?
As I haven't seen laptops with audio fiber connection, can't you use a HDMI (are they bidirectional?) to connect your computer to an amplifier?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    custom build
    OS
    Windows 7 HP 64
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4200MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Asus Q550LF
    OS
    Windows 7 Pro
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800MHz to 3.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs +
    1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
From his posts, I assume he is looking for a USB connected external sound "card" that he can use on both computers (plug it into whichever one he wants).
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own Build
OS
Windows 10 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7 6700K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
Memory
16GB Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card(s)
Intel CPU Graphics
Sound Card
RealTek
Monitor(s) Displays
27" Dell S2719dgf
Screen Resolution
2560X1440
Hard Drives
1 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Pro
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Insider
2 TB drive for backup
PSU
EVGA Supernova 750G2
Case
BeQuiet Silent Base 600
Cooling
Deepcool Captain 120EX
Keyboard
Microsoft Wireless 2000
Mouse
Microsoft wireless
Internet Speed
100 MB/sec (Cable)
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes
Browser
Edge/Firefox
Other Info
Cakewalk (Sonar) by BandLab and Studio One 4.1 Pro recording studio software. MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface, Frontier Tranzport wireless control unit, Behringer X-Touch Control Surface.
Five USB connected optical drives for CD Audio production using Nero BurningROM
indeed, its as fireberd says, l wanted something that l could move between PC/Laptop, mainly because its so much easier to access speaker connections from the front than digging round the back of the PC..

this is what l currently use: Creative Worldwide Support >


however it seems the speaker fill option or CMSS as they like to call it hasnt been supported since WinXP.. tho there is some work around for vista the drivers will likely be very out dated not to mention one of the prerequisites was installing the Basic Audio suite which doesnt want to install on Win7.. that said l have somewhat achieved my aim in getting audio to fill my speakers using ffdshow tho l cant remember how l did it lol.. it just sorta started working after more playing in the settings tho it would be interesting to have a newer external sound card purely because mines so outdated.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
CPU
Intel i5 4440 3.10ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H
Memory
Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory Kit 1.5V
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Graphics 4600 (on board)
Sound Card
External Creative Soundblaster
Monitor(s) Displays
32" TV
Screen Resolution
1360*768
Hard Drives
Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5inch SATAIII SSD
1 1TB WD WD10EADS
3 1TB WD WD10EZEX
PSU
Coolermaster GM-Series 550W Semi Modular
Case
Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
Cooling
5x 120mil (Arctic F12)
Keyboard
Microsoft Curve 2000 v1
Mouse
Trust MaxTrack Mini Mouse - 6 button(s) - wired - USB
Internet Speed
34Meg
Antivirus
Bitdefender 2017
Browser
Firefox

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own Build
OS
Windows 10 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7 6700K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
Memory
16GB Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card(s)
Intel CPU Graphics
Sound Card
RealTek
Monitor(s) Displays
27" Dell S2719dgf
Screen Resolution
2560X1440
Hard Drives
1 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Pro
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD for Win 10 Insider
2 TB drive for backup
PSU
EVGA Supernova 750G2
Case
BeQuiet Silent Base 600
Cooling
Deepcool Captain 120EX
Keyboard
Microsoft Wireless 2000
Mouse
Microsoft wireless
Internet Speed
100 MB/sec (Cable)
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes
Browser
Edge/Firefox
Other Info
Cakewalk (Sonar) by BandLab and Studio One 4.1 Pro recording studio software. MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface, Frontier Tranzport wireless control unit, Behringer X-Touch Control Surface.
Five USB connected optical drives for CD Audio production using Nero BurningROM
been looking on the UK site, things really annoyingly have gone up quite a bit... l'll keep my eyes open to be honest and see how things go.

===
edit:

managed to find a brand new Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro on Ebay which is supposedly unopened very cheaply.. granted theres still 5 days left, but loose nothing if l dont get it.. seems to be compatible with Win7 in the sys requirements, however l shouldnt count my chickens before they hatch.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
CPU
Intel i5 4440 3.10ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H
Memory
Corsair 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory Kit 1.5V
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Graphics 4600 (on board)
Sound Card
External Creative Soundblaster
Monitor(s) Displays
32" TV
Screen Resolution
1360*768
Hard Drives
Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5inch SATAIII SSD
1 1TB WD WD10EADS
3 1TB WD WD10EZEX
PSU
Coolermaster GM-Series 550W Semi Modular
Case
Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
Cooling
5x 120mil (Arctic F12)
Keyboard
Microsoft Curve 2000 v1
Mouse
Trust MaxTrack Mini Mouse - 6 button(s) - wired - USB
Internet Speed
34Meg
Antivirus
Bitdefender 2017
Browser
Firefox
Back
Top