Audio New sound card or a speaker ?

hector19

hector19

| Crafted for Gaming |
Adept
Hello Techies, need your help again :)

Is adding in a dedicated sound card needed anymore or its better getting quality speakers? :huh:

My Current Specs : Creative Augidy 4Zs and creative M3500 5.1 Speaker system.

What am planning ?

I have a Budget of 20K. What servers as a better Upgrade ?

A new Sound Card or a New Speaker system ? OR a Combo with in 20K ?

i've eyed on Logitech Z550 and Creative X-fi Titanium HD ( Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD - The audiophile's choice )

Howz this Combo ? Can u suggest a better one ? Max i can stretch is 25k :no:

What i also have in mind is an ASUS XONAR & Logitech new arrival logitech z906 :p .

Am not a Audiophile just an avid music listener . But would consider buying High-end Head phones in futures which would be a decent buy to these so to buy Sound Cards :)

----------- EDIT --------------

Very sorry forgot to mention this :(

Keen Req are for GAMES & MOVIES too :p . am mainly lookin in to a 5.1 decent setup .



Thank you :tongue:
 
Get the Asus Xonar Stx first. It is a very balanced and neutral sound card which can drive almost any headphone in the market. It gives an excellent sq for speakers as well if your getting 2xactive speakers. For passive speakers you might need a power amp but the Xonar Stx would still serve as an excellent Dac.

Iirc it should cost around 8k.

Now coming to speakers, have a look at the likes of M-audio's, swans, audioengine and krk for SQ.
 
Benny Correct me if im wrong, but the z550 is a 5.1 system and the stx is more inclined towards stereo sound.. So is the case with the st too.
For a 5.1 setup or for music via speakers, i seriously feel the creative sound-cards out perform the asus ones. Ofcourse the min we get into high end headphones, thats a different story altogether.

OP, ur trying to get the best of both worlds into 1 and it might be a tough choice to make for ya.
If incase you change your mind later and opt for a stereo setup, go for the Asus xonar essence ST eyes closed
 
Since the OP mentions himself as music listener and makes no mention of gaming/movies, I'l assume so and clearly suggest a Xonar Essence STX for a 10k headphone + 15k 2.0 speaker setup. Will push the budget upwards of 20k for now, but will justify itself after the headphone purchase.
 
I hope this helps

I have the following setups:

Laptop> USB> FiiOE7 as DAC> FiiO E9 line out>Logitech Z5500 / Denon 1507> 7.1 speakers
Computer 1> Audigy 2ZS > digital coaxial > Z5500
Computer 2> M audio Revolution > 7.1 analog > Denon
Asus O play Air > optical > Z5500
Hifiman HM601> EHHA 1 headphone Amp > HD650 Headphones
Panasonic Bluray Player 7.1 channel analog > Denon 7.1 channel

Endless permutations and combinations.......

At 25000
For Music Go for a dedicated 2 channel setup
Asus Xonar STX as DAC> 2 channel Amp (Sonodyne)> Audioengine Speaker Pair / Tannoy / Wharfedales / Q Acoustics

For Movies and gaming
Asus 7.1 channel card / Creative 7.1 channel card > Z5500

Hope it helps
 
your current soundcard is fine, and any sub 20k surround setups will not be able to make you notice the difference between the audigy 2ZS ( there is no 4ZS AFAIK) and the xonar.

My advice : blow it up on a decent hi fi stereo setup. screw being an audiophile. A decent stereo setup would do you a world of good. then you can think of getting a decent card ;)
 
So Is it like for music its Xonar and for gaming/movies its X-Fi titanium?

Can you tell me how a gaming requirement is different from music requirement?
 
^^ for gaming and movies a surround sound system 5.1 is much better than stereo system as games have positional audio and movies are encoded on 6 channels.

Music is usually encoded into two channels , hence a quality stereo setup serves the purpose.

X-fi cards definitely have upper hand in games/movies wheres as Asus cards excels in music with quality cards like ST and STX.
 
Very sorry forgot to mention this :(

Keen Req are for GAMES & MOVIES too :p . am mainly lookin in to a 5.1 decent setup . ( Edited the main post ).

As for the ASUS Xonar do they support 5.1 surround or just Audiophile support ? :S
 
Get a 5.1 setup that accepts digital inputs so it can decode the Dolby D/DTS signals from your console/media player/PC.

There is a world of difference between a cheap 5.1 setup that accepts analog inputs and a system that accepts digital inputs. In my case, I had the Inspire 5200 around 9 years back and had used it with a SB Audigy card for almost 3 years. It was certainly good and was a notch better than the 2.1 setups for watching movies and playing games. 9 years hence, I got hold of a Philips HTiB that accepts digital inputs and seemed like one of the better investments I've made after the display. Complements all the devices neatly! I own 2 consoles and both of them are connected to the display via HDMI which supports audio passthrough via Optical out. The HTiB is connected to the display via Optical out.

You own a PS3 IINM so get hold of the Z906 once it hits the shelves and if the pricing is right. There is no point in getting a Z5500 now even if it ends up cheaper. There've been several instances of the backlight failing and the entire set being replaced. Not worth the hassles since Logitech has declared it as EOL. A stereo setup would ruin the experience of watching a movie or playing a title.

Initial reviews for Z906 aren't any bad either - Review - Logitech Z906 speakers Review | Electronista

An alternative will be cheaper HTiBs from Denon/Onkyo but will set you back by 25k.

EDIT: In any of the cases above, you will NOT need a sound card nor would it do any good if you were to add one since the audio is untouched when it is passed as a digital signal so the DAC onboard the sound card is pointless.
 
Thanks Buddy cleared everything.

So u say even the Creative X-fi Titanium HD wont be much of help to me ? Forget ASUS XONAR.

as for the Alternative, i already have a pioneer HTiB, this Z906 is for my room only :) To blow me Neighbors away :D
 
^Yes. The signal is digital and if that is passed via the optical/coaxial out of your motherboard or from a sound card, there are no differences. The sound card plays a role if it's DAC is being utilised. In this case, the DAC is bypassed.
 
any setup with digital outs is only as good as the DAC's in it. are the DAC's in a 16K HTIB better than a mid end soundcard? The CS 4392 is not that bad :)
 
hector19 said:
So is there a Sound card that does a DAC to 5.1 setup ? Does Creative offer that ?
Click to expand...
dude the dac is the chip which converts the digital signal to sound :) all soundcards have them. digital speakers have them built in

@ gannu, I guess I'm getting old :ashamed:
 
Thanks all for your help and clearing my doubt.

I've zeroed in on Z906, any idea on its pricing and availability ?
 
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