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Best Sound Card for Music only

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blackjack2000
  • Start date Start date
For music only, and $100, there's actually the audiophile class E-MU 0404. Do a search at head-fi.org for more info. The nuts over there seems to like it a lot. But if you get the Chaintech AV710, make sure you use Foobar for high sample playback.
 
OnBoard would be the Envy

PCI card would be the M-Audio unless you have and want to spend big $'s
 
Originally posted by: KPSHAH316
what type of speakers?
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ya, what type of speakers? i think speakers are the main thing for quality, go with a real nice 2.1 set-up or if your hardcore get a nice receiver and some big stereo speakers
 
AV710 is great. Use the rest to improve something else (your speakers? a sound card is useless unless your speakers can take advantage of it).
 
imverygifted...
yes the speakers are the 2nd most important thing but if the signals not there the best speakers in the world will sound sh8y!
 
Originally posted by: LED
imverygifted...
yes the speakers are the 2nd most important thing but if the signals not there the best speakers in the world will sound sh8y!
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definitely true, but i bet in general most people will get a better sound from their computer upgrading speakers vs. sound card. I use onboard sound on the k8n neo platinum with klipsch 2.1 promedias and ive never been happier with the sound quality
 
LOL...Klipsch is my brand as well but my Media Rig goes through seperate units and there's no comparison as the seperates move the hair on my arms 😉...Onboard is fine for medium sound but even a Audigy will be a noticeable improvement
 
Originally posted by: LED
imverygifted...
yes the speakers are the 2nd most important thing but if the signals not there the best speakers in the world will sound sh8y!
Click to expand...

I disagree, the speakers are THE most important thing. An average sound card with outstanding speakers (or headphones) will sound much better than an outstanding sound card with average speakers. If either one is complete crap, the point is irrelevant, as obviously the whole will sound bad if either is garbage.
 
Originally posted by: Pariah
Originally posted by: LED
imverygifted...
yes the speakers are the 2nd most important thing but if the signals not there the best speakers in the world will sound sh8y!
Click to expand...

I disagree, the speakers are THE most important thing. An average sound card with outstanding speakers (or headphones) will sound much better than an outstanding sound card with average speakers. If either one is complete crap, the point is irrelevant, as obviously the whole will sound bad if either is garbage.
Click to expand...

I agree, it's all in the speakers... NO soundcard can make some $10 speakers sound good, but a $10 soundcard and leet speakers can sound a lot better.
 
K...CraigRT hook up 1 portable AM radio ($10) to the best Speaks in the world and tell me how great the sound is...Speaks are the 2nd most important in the gift of sound as the reproduction (signal) needs to be there 1st
 
Originally posted by: LED
K...CraigRT hook up 1 portable AM radio ($10) to the best Speaks in the world and tell me how great the sound is...Speaks are the 2nd most important in the gift of sound as the reproduction (signal) needs to be there 1st
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Again, that's an irrelevant arguement. Connect a $20,000 amp/preamp combo to a string and Dixie Cup and see how good it sounds. You have use common sense comparisons, not extremes which won't prove anything meaningful.
 
Originally posted by: Pariah
Originally posted by: LED
K...CraigRT hook up 1 portable AM radio ($10) to the best Speaks in the world and tell me how great the sound is...Speaks are the 2nd most important in the gift of sound as the reproduction (signal) needs to be there 1st
Click to expand...

Again, that's an irrelevant arguement. Connect a $20,000 amp/preamp combo to a string and Dixie Cup and see how good it sounds. You have use common sense comparisons, not extremes which won't prove anything meaningful.
Click to expand...

Yes a happy medium is neccessary and all I stated was the Speaks are the 2nd most important thing to the equation not
I agree, it's all in the speakers... NO soundcard can make some $10 speakers sound good, but a $10 soundcard and leet speakers can sound a lot better.
Click to expand...
Speakers can be replaced but a signal is a signal which determines all on the receiving end...I could hear the other end fine when we did dixie cups and strings but if the person didn't talk there was nothing to hear!
 
Source 1st. Some people like to get a pair of good speakers and work from there. But I believe in crap in crap out. A good amp and pair of good speakers will only accentuate how good or bad your source is.
 
Speakers can be replaced but a signal is a signal which determines all on the receiving end...I could hear the other end fine when we did dixie cups and strings but if the person didn't talk there was nothing to hear!
Click to expand...

That's just as retarded as your first argument. You're not going to get too much enjoyment from a stereo with no speakers attached to it either. You HAVE to have both, and if EITHER are complete garbage, the overall sound will be complete garbage. That's not the point trying to be made, so why do you keep dragging this down to such a level of stupidity?
 
Umm Pariah
what was my 1st argument?...and all I stated was the signal was the most important thing to the sound equation and you brought up the dixie cups if anything is retarded then it would be your thought if you think Speakers are more valuable then the signal its receiving
 
You were the one who brought up the $10 AM radio first, I was just giving the flipside to show you have stupid that comment was. If you read my original post you will see I gave specific levels of quality for each, neither of which were crap. No one is going to spend 2 grand on speakers and then connect them to a $10 AM radio, so why post such idiocy?
 
1st off the $10 remark was in response to CraigRT $10 soundcard remark and you're the one who thinks the Speakers are the most important thing after arrived here in this thread and I already recommended the M-Audio card with the Envy onboard being the best ...maybe I'm wrong there too...Hah and idiocy replys come to those who ask for it and cat them as such! 😛
 
Originally posted by: KPSHAH316
what type of speakers?
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: imverygifted
ya, what type of speakers? i think speakers are the main thing for quality, go with a real nice 2.1 set-up or if your hardcore get a nice receiver and some big stereo speakers
Click to expand...

Sorry for the lax response. I posted this right before I left for a soccer game 😛

To answer the question, I'm not sure how I'm going to set it up yet, but it will probably be connected to large stereo speakers. It might be sent out to a receiver first. If not, would the Chaintech with a really nice set of PC speakers be the best?
 
I agree that for musical sound quality, speakers are #1, soundcards are #2. With a simple 2.1 setup, the speakers themselves are the most important. The sound quality differences between soundcards are much smaller than those between speakers. When you start adding channels and reach 5.1 or 7.1, you'll need a more robust card to take full advantage of those channels. I likely wouldn't spend the money on a high dollar soundcard if onboard solutions would provide simple things like 5.1 upmixing and bass redirection (and DVD-Audio support 😉).

Blackjack2000, if you have a receiver that accepts a digital input and your onboard sound has a digital output, I wouldn't even bother with an additional soundcard.

My HTPC has a Live value w/a Hoontech digital bracket (we're talking cheap). I hook this up to my receiver and music sounds SWEET. If my motherboard had a digital out, I wouldn't even bother with the Live.
 
Originally posted by: beatle
Blackjack2000, if you have a receiver that accepts a digital input and your onboard sound has a digital output, I wouldn't even bother with an additional soundcard.

My HTPC has a Live value w/a Hoontech digital bracket (we're talking cheap). I hook this up to my receiver and music sounds SWEET. If my motherboard had a digital out, I wouldn't even bother with the Live.
Click to expand...

Thanks, maybe I'll get a Wireless Media Player instead...
 
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