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Best value sound card

  • Thread starter Deleted member 96510
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Deleted member 96510

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I'm looking for sound card to replace the onboard sound on my PC. My board has C-Media 8738 5.1 sound built in. I don't care about EAX and all the unnecessary stuff. I mainly listen to music. I have older 25W speakers and a 40W sub. I do need a card with a separate subwoofer output as my sub does not connect to the speakers. I want decent sound in a good price. I also don't feel compelled to jump on the Creative bandwagon. Only if they are the best value out there, but there has to be someone else. My budget is $50 -$100. Any advice is appreciated.
 
in that price range, you can try the MAudio Revo 5.1 or 7.1. I'm not certain, but I think the Chaintech AV710 also have a seperate sub output.

Frankly, you'd probably want to upgrade your speakers before the sound card - just a general rule of thumb.
 
Thanks for the response. I'm actually pretty happy with my speakers. You don't find too many speakers out there that put out much power. Don't laugh, but I have 2 pairs of Advent Powered Partners that were a big hit 10 years ago. At the time they were $399 a pair. If I replace them, I would buy a Klipsch Promedia set, and in that case I would spend more on the soundcard and the replace the whole rig.
 
It's not that I want a budget card, I'm looking for the best value within my budget. If I spend the money on a sound card, I want it to be worth it. Most people would immediately say go Creative, and I agree that there product is excellent. I also believe that there are cards out there that offer almost comparable quality, but at a better price. The price premium of the best is not always worth the difference in quality of the 2nd best.
 
For the best value, I'd either go with the Chaintech AV-710 or the Creative SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit. Both are priced at under $30, and feature very good audio quality as well as discrete subwoofer outputs. If you want something with a little more, like better sound quality on all 6 channels and bass management (useful for home theater), go with the M-Audio Revolution 5.1, at right around $75.
 
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