PowerColor Devil HDX PCIe Sound Card Review

If onboard audio just isn't cutting it for you anymore, the crew at Overclockers Clubs has published a review of the PowerColor Devil HDX PCIe that you might want to check out.

When you think of PowerColor, you normally think of a manufacturer that as of late has really pushed the envelope with the Devil line of custom designed AMD-based video cards. You would not think of PowerColor as a company that was ready to deliver the next part of the gaming centric product line and put together a well built and designed PCIe-based sound solution. Surprise!

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Looks pretty nice and considering the lack of attention internal soundcards have had for some time, a welcome addition, especially as it is aimed at the upper end.

The only sad point is the use of a 24bit DAC rather than 32bit.
Not because it lacks the ability to play 32bit files (which are rare) but because the volume control will reduce the quality of 24bit music unless playing at max output.
A 32bit internal DAC has an extra 8 bits to use for the volume control so 24bit audio is disturbed less.

Price dictates the component use though and for such a seemingly good card, it is well priced.

Nenu said:

Looks pretty nice and considering the lack of attention internal soundcards have had for some time, a welcome addition, especially as it is aimed at the upper end.

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The reason that sound cards don't get much attention is that they don't sell very well. Most people are happy with integrated sound and in order to get sound that's significantly better you need to target a $200 or so price point. It's mostly a law of diminishing returns problem.

I personally, would rather save the slot in my motherboard than get a sound card, even if it was free. Realtek's integrated solutions are better than the sound cards I used to buy anyway, the drivers are even better (because Creative Labs can't write drivers worth a damn).

The DAC is what matters, the only freaking thing that matters. Samsung Galaxy S1 and S3 used Wolfson DACs and still provide the highest quality digital to analogue sound conversion of all cellphones and mobile devices as far as I know. This card uses that, so that is a really great sign.

But for $159, if you want even better quality and components worth their weight for real, look toward PCI soundcards for music production (M-Audio Delta 2496) if you have a slot free or a similar USB soundcard. Bringing a proper DAC in is a huge step forward in PC-focused PC-user-targetted audio hardware, along with the price even then. If this was a desktop unit they could have made up a plastic chassis and asked $400+ for it which companies regularly do and people who should have known better happily buy it.

Ooon the other hand, why would you be using analogue output from your soundcard TYOL 2015 if you have the ability to go digital? Bad Company 2 was the start of the game sound engine evolution, go digital and reap the benefits.

I'm still using my old Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD

My understanding at the time was that its burr-brown DAC's were pretty damned good.

That being said, it's still a PCIe sound card, and as such sits on the noisy PCIe bus.

I kind of wonder how it measures up to the latest and greatest.

The best way to get good quality sound out of a computer, would be to use an optical out, and have an external DAC, like the Schiit Audio Bifrost, but I'm not sure I want to spend another $350 on audio while mt Titanium HD still works

Nenu said:

The only sad point is the use of a 24bit DAC rather than 32bit.
Not because it lacks the ability to play 32bit files (which are rare) but because the volume control will reduce the quality of 24bit music unless playing at max output.
A 32bit internal DAC has an extra 8 bits to use for the volume control so 24bit audio is disturbed less.

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Do any DACs offer actual 24-bit resolution? If noise & distortion limit resolution to ~20 bits, does your point still hold?

HammerSandwich said:

Do any DACs offer actual 24-bit resolution? If noise & distortion limit resolution to ~20 bits, does your point still hold?

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The resolution difference can certainly be noticed.
Check out high end Blu Ray players with 24 bit and 32bit DACs.
For those with 24bit, reviewers noticed how only higher volumes didnt reduce quality.
Noise floors are only part of the story.