Do I need a soundcard?

[Gilbert_pwns]

I play games like BF3 regularly. I watch a ton of youtube videos and I listen to music everyday.

I only have a 2.1 speaker system and skullcandy headphones. Would I benefit at all from a discrete soundcard?

 

[Forceman]

Biggest benefit you'd see from a soundcard would be Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D for the headphone use. The quality difference would be there, but not as noticeable. I'd pick up a Asus Xonar DG(X) and give it a shot.

 

[atarione]

with a run of the mill multimedia 2.1 speaker set and skullcandy headphones I don't think you will be able to hear much difference

however the aforementioned DG(X) are dirt cheap so they could be worth a shot.


if you got (wanted to get soon) some better headphones / speakers the differences over onboard audio would become more apparent.


I have two different sets of Bookshelf speakers hooked up to my pc (why?? because I can ) Vintage JBL L1 bookshelves w/ Pionneer SA-710 and also Polk T15 speakers (currently hooked up to my SMSL SA-S3 t-amp and sometimes to a SX-780 receiver.


I have a Xonar DG which was able to provide a noticeable increase of sound quality using this gear... with my old Z560 multimedia speakers it didn't make f*** all difference. I also have (i actually use this more for music) a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 DAW which sounds way better than the DG when using it as a DAC ...which is good cause it cost $140 vs $15 for the DG after a rebate


but my point is how much improvement you see with a dedicated sound card or external dac is going to depend on what is down stream from it amp / speaker /headphone wise...

 

[Gilbert_pwns]

So I got the Xonar DG and I don't know if it's a placebo effect but I think it sounds better. I think any static I had before is gone. The sound is much clearer and louder. Though, I did spot some Creative Fatality cards for the same price. I wonder if they would have been better?

 

[Impulse]

Not really, they're comparable at best, the Xonar will work much better with quality headphones if you ever upgrade.

 

[Blkout]

There's a noticeable difference to me using onboard sound vs a dedicated Creative X-Fi card on my Logitech Z-560 speakers as well as my Sennheiser 590 headphones.

 

[TheMusketeer]

The chances of having a drastic change in what you are hearing now through your dedicated sound is very minimal. Unless, you get some expensive speaker setup or headphones and pair it up with a decent sound card like a HT Claro, then you would hear a bit more depth to your music. However, sound is extremely subjective, so I don't know if you will be able to notice a drastic change or not.

 

[BigBeef]

if you think it sounds better, but aren't sure, then you probably need new headphones.

There's really 2 main components here: sound card and headphones. You improved the sound card with minimal change in quality, so you probably need to improve the other.

I have the same card you bought. For a short time I was using onboard audio with my Sennheiser HD555's (a respected headphone by many) while I waited for mine to arrive. The difference when I plugged it in was night and day, for real. Sounds and clarity I couldn't hear before with onboard audio in games, music, and video.

If you have a Xonar, a sweet card btw, with minimal sound improvement, then I think you need new headphones. My 2 cents.