Question Schiit Hel 2 vs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus

[phillyman36]

Hey wanted to know what you all think about the Schiit Hel 2 vs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus for a casual gamer playing games like Fortnite/fps?
Schiit Hel 2 has DAC: ESS ES9018 with TI OPA1656-based filter stage
Sound BlasterX AE-5 has ESS SABRE32Ultra
my Asus z690 mobo has ESS® SABRE9018Q2C DAC/AMP

I know nothing about audio so no idea what any of that means.

I don't listen to hi res music files. Just gaming and youtube videos. Which would be a better choice and why?

 

[killster1]

Hey wanted to know what you all think about the Schiit Hel 2 vs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus for a casual gamer playing games like Fortnite/fps?
Schiit Hel 2 has DAC: ESS ES9018 with TI OPA1656-based filter stage
Sound BlasterX AE-5 has ESS SABRE32Ultra
my Asus z690 mobo has ESS® SABRE9018Q2C DAC/AMP

I know nothing about audio so no idea what any of that means.

I don't listen to hi res music files. Just gaming and youtube videos. Which would be a better choice and why?

what speakers or headphones do you use?

never heard of a casual gamer using such high end sound

soundblasterX g6 looks cool, im sure your onboard will sound great tho. what is the reason for such a high priced external audio? internal electronic interfering?

 

[biostud]

I have the SB AE-7 so here are my two cents.

You have already bought an expensive motherboard with a premium sound solution, and since you’re not into hi-if, buying an extra sound card would be a waste of money.

The DAC produces good sound for both gaming and music, but you can’t customize the sound for different scenarios, while a SB card has included software that lets you tweak it for different games and music, while still producing good sound for both games and music. And since I both game and play all my music in FLAC I went for the SB AE-7.

But unless you have a high grade sound setup and are into that stuff it really is a waste of your money, as your motherboard has a a very good DAC with the Sabre 9018.

 

[Muadib]

I also have the SB AE-7, and I agree with biostud. Post back when you want to go down the rabbit hole of hifi. For what you do, your motherboard sound is more than enough.