Audio What Soundcard....?

S

saneguy

Disciple
I am currently using the on-board sound (Realtek) on my desktop. Its a ABIT IP-35 PRO Motherboard. Using Altec Lansing 5.1 speakers. The current rig was set-up in 2008. So far I have been quite satisfied with the sound. Although at high volumes at times it would click..but it was working fine for movies and music alike.

Off late there has been some issue with the on-board sound, where in it reads only 2 sets of speakers at one time...either the front and rear and / or center. Read up a lot online about the issues and most people said there is not much that can be done. Its case of the sound just dying. Tried a lot of stunts already but just cant get all 3 to work together as was the case earlier.

So thats why I need to put on a new soundcard. Can someone suggest some good soundcards compatible with this mobo? Budget largely aint a constraint but its more of a value for money bargain.

I have DJ Decks that I have connected using the line input and at times I do play them for some entertainment. Other than that I extensively use the sound for music / movies and games... Also sometime in the near future I would look to upgrade / change the rig completely so it would be helpful if the card can be used with the existing board as as well some of the recent boards. Dont want a situation where I need to compromise on either the new board or let go of this new card that I buy...

Thanks !!
 
IMHO, the best bang for the buck soundcard is the Asus Xonar DX. But its very difficult to procure it. Most vendors seem to need 1-2 weeks to order the card if you are ready to shell out some advance.

I'm overly generalizing:

You'll want to use Asus cards if you are concerned about soundquality, or music.

You'll want Creative/Azuntech soundcards if you are looking for gaming or movies.
 
There are a lot of cards that perform very well for the price you pay for them, making a whole lot of card fall into the Value for Money segment...

for eg. for me the Asus Xonar Essence STX/ST (http://www.techenclave.com/dealers-paradise/asus-xonar-essence-stx-st-soundcards-185847.html) are damn good cards for the mullah you are paying, even though is they are costlier than many soundcards out there, but still you can consider them as value-for-money product considering the price-performance ratio...

Please mention a budget/price range so that members at TE can help you out more efficiently....

Peace.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Gryph0n said:
IMHO, the best bang for the buck soundcard is the Asus Xonar DX. But its very difficult to procure it. Most vendors seem to need 1-2 weeks to order the card if you are ready to shell out some advance.

I'm overly generalizing:
You'll want to use Asus cards if you are concerned about soundquality, or music.
You'll want Creative/Azuntech soundcards if you are looking for gaming or movies.
Click to expand...
So you are telling, u can't play games efficiently with the Xonar's and Creative/Azuntech soundcards aren't good enough for listening to music....:huh:
 
^^^i don't think Gryph0n meant games not running efficiently on those cards...but just that the way the cards are built,the sound seems to be favourable for a few purpose...some for movies,some for music n so on!!!
 
Thanks for the prompt replies folks..I was thinking of the Asus Xonar Essence STX as well. I am happy to wait for a while before the card comes. Sound quality definitely matters more so far as music is concerned for me. I believe this costs around 8k-9k which is fine for me considering the reviews and raves following this card :D

However, would this card be compatible with the board? Since this is a new card I am presuming if and when I go in for a new rig it should be compatible with that but considering the fact that my current board is 3 yrs old I am hoping it works well with that as well.

Also another N00b question: I saw the the pictures of the Xonar and the back as well. Traditional sound cards have jacks for Front Speakers, Rear, Center, Line, Mic and Headphone. Obviously I dont see that. So if I were to connect my Altec PC Speakers (Which has a separate jack for each unit - front, rear, center) I guess they do have some cables included in the box to be able to manage that. Correct? :huh::huh:
 
Hi,

Yes there are sepearte jacks for front , rear ,center , mic in jacks for the cards and essence stx is said to have a seperate headphone ampliier jack as well so if u ahve the neccesary cables along with you , u can connect ur speakers to the sound card , i really doubt u wil get cables free ( all i got with my xonar dx was a rca 2 cable to 3.5mm jack convereter)
 
saneguy said:
Thanks for the prompt replies folks..I was thinking of the Asus Xonar Essence STX as well. I am happy to wait for a while before the card comes. Sound quality definitely matters more so far as music is concerned for me. I believe this costs around 8k-9k which is fine for me considering the reviews and raves following this card :D

However, would this card be compatible with the board? Since this is a new card I am presuming if and when I go in for a new rig it should be compatible with that but considering the fact that my current board is 3 yrs old I am hoping it works well with that as well.

Also another N00b question: I saw the the pictures of the Xonar and the back as well. Traditional sound cards have jacks for Front Speakers, Rear, Center, Line, Mic and Headphone. Obviously I dont see that. So if I were to connect my Altec PC Speakers (Which has a separate jack for each unit - front, rear, center) I guess they do have some cables included in the box to be able to manage that. Correct? :huh::huh:
Click to expand...

The Xonar DX is a multi-channel SC. It has multiple jacks for different channels.
The Essense ST/STX are a 2.0/2.1 channel SC. They don't have different jacks for different channels, by default.
I believe that the ST can take an add-on daughtercard to work as a multichannel SC, but am not sure if STX too can do same.

Between the ST&STX, the ST has an older PCI interface, while the STX has a more futureproof PCIE interface. On the other hand, the ST is said to have better jitter control than the STX. You just cant have your cake and eat it too.

demonic

Re: What Soundcard....?
^^^i don't think Gryph0n meant games not running efficiently on those cards...but just that the way the cards are built,the sound seems to be favourable for a few purpose...some for movies,some for music n so on!!!
Click to expand...
Right on. Basically, what I meant was the way the manufacturers designed the cards are different.

So you are telling, u can't play games efficiently with the Xonar's and Creative/Azuntech soundcards aren't good enough for listening to music....
Click to expand...
You are drawing wrong conclusions. What I was talking about was the overall design orientation of the manufacturers.

As for playing games efficiently, Microsoft changed the API for sound processing long ago with Vista. That levelled the field for everyone since EAX was no longer supported or fast.
 
Right. This puts things more into perspective. I think I will have to have a look at the Xonar DX series then. Coz now and even later I plan to keep / upgrade to a 5.1. Been quite used to that sound now and would be difficult to transit to a 2.1
 
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