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Is a Sound Card worth it over Onboard?

jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
I have a 650w Denon 5.1 Surrond Sound system with a Powered 8" Sub.

I am currently using HDMI out from my Biostar board. Its used 90% for Movies and 10% for Gaming. Mostly DTS and Dolby.

I am wondering if a Dedicated sound card would improve anything? Or is it not worth the money?

I've never used anything but onboard sound so I'm curious if I'm missing anything.
 
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For gaming and Blu-ray, absolutely. I highly recommended ASUS's Xonar line of products, you can jump in and give it a try for around $25 with the DG model, if you like it, you can always upgrade to the more expensive cards.
 
if you have a decent onboard chip and cheap speakers then definitely not.
Onboard audio is pretty good these days, at least if you have anything but the cheap mobo's no doubt.
but i don't buy the cheaper mobo's so i dunno how good or bad their onboards are, i would assume they would use older realtek or one of their lower tier models.

If you really want to have quality sound, you need some decent cans or speakers, a good source in addition too. not your 128 MP3 collection either. But theres always that guy here who will say how they got some $20 walmart specials and upgrading to thier Xfi, they could tell HUUUGE differences is full of crap. They hear the audio enhancements like Crystalizer, warping the original quality and not the actual source itself.
 
I'll need to do some research then.

My cheap motherboard has a VIA VT1708B chip on it.

My last board was an Asus Crosshair IV and I don't really notice a difference, but I wasn't using at the same time.
 
if you are leaving your computer digitally to the denon then no a new card won't really improve on the sound quality.
 
JSt0rm said:
if you are leaving your computer digitally to the denon then no a new card won't really improve on the sound quality.
Click to expand...

This is what I thought.

I've read this statement many different places, but sometimes here conflicting things.

I am hooked up by HDMI out.
 
HDMI out means your computer does no audio processing and all decoding is done by your receiver. So no, a sound card won't do anything.
 
repoman0 said:
HDMI out means your computer does no audio processing and all decoding is done by your receiver. So no, a sound card won't do anything.
Click to expand...

Thank You for the clarification.

I set everything software wise to untouch my signal out as well.

My Receiver changes between DTS, Dolby and PL II on its own when reading signals.
 
Check your HDMI audio settings too. Mine let me set to 24 bit 48khz, but the default was 16 bit 44khz. Not sure if there is a benefit to 48khz since most sound files seem to be 44khz.
 
48khz would be a benefit as all film and tv audio should be at 48khz unless its higher but it will never be 44.1khz
 
It will be hard to top Denon's build-in DACs with a sound card, you might even make it worse. Forget about Asus or Creative line of sound cards, you will need to go with pro-audio sound cards to make a noticeable difference in sound quality (if any at all, not sure how good are those re-branded Boston Acoustic speakers in your Denon set).

My suggestion: if you're happy with your system, continue using digital out and leave it alone. If you want better sound, consider upgrading the front left and right speakers to some nice bookshelf speakers.
 
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Are you going to connect it via digital with your sound system as well?
If you got cans and like the 3d sound effect in gaming then a sound card with a headphone amp will do.
But your using a digital connection so you got to ask which is better
Your Denon Sound system vs a sound card.
Whats the name of your receiver so that I can have a look at its specs.
 
adam_the_giant said:
I'm using a $600 plus tax Sound System I bought from Best Buy... Not sure if that's considered cheap as I'm not an audiophile.

All I know is its way more sound then I need. It replaced a Sony HTIB setup I had last year and blows that thing out of the water.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Denon+-+...&skuId=2371083
Click to expand...

that system is better than what any sound card would do for ya. :thumbsup:
i bet that sounds pretty sweet cranked up with BF3 😀

Something you might be interested in btw. I have a Clark Synthesis Tactile transducer i got from Parts express secured to the underside of my chair, powered by a dayton sub amp.
what this does is really let you feel the low frequencies. Explosions...etc
I really like it, kinda like a rumble pad for your ass. thought i'd mention it.
 
Even if there is a difference you probably wouldn't notice it.

(For a digital signal that your PC will not be decoding)
 
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For digital out no, for analog yes. I love my Xonar STX but i utilize the analog RCA outs to a decent class A/B amp and a set of home made bookshelf speakers.

If i was using the digital out to a receiver i would not bother with a sound card.
 
Onboard sound has gotten better over the years, but if you are an audiophile with higher end equipment onboard will NOT cut it. Unless you plan to output digital, but that's a bad move unless you have a really high end receiver or an external DAC.

You want to output ANALOG from a high quality sound card, like an HT OMEGA card for the absolute best sound quality. Some people even replace the opamps on the sound card to make it sound even better.

Sound cards have phenomenal DAC's for their price.. you seriously have to spend over $600 or so on a Marantz receiver before you start to match the DAC of a quality sound card. So take advantage of it.

I'd also avoid Creative X-Fi cards.. I don't know why these cards are so popular.. honestly, going with any other card than an HT OMEGA is a huge mistake right now.
 
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