Laptop speaker system

[j3ff86]

I just got a laptop for college which has crappy speakers.. and I'm looking for a usb sound card and some good headphones for watching dvds and gaming.

First, is this usb card any good?
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-118-107&depa=0

Or should I get a real 5.1 usb card? Any real difference?

And I was looking at these 5.1 gainward headphones
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=26-106-450&depa=0

Is it better to get really nice stereo headphones like sennheiser or do 5.1 headphones really work well?

Thanks

 

[j3ff86]

hmm looks like that gainward has 3 plugs.. I guess I need a real 5.1 usb card?

 

[CodeWaste]

You should probably tell us how much money you want to spend before we start making recomendations. I personally am a bit of an audiophile and things can get expensive fast.

 

[GodsMadClown]

Is it better to get really nice stereo speakers...

Yes.

...or do 5.1 headphones really work well?

No.

What is the budget? In all likelyhood, it would be better to get a pair of decent stereo headphones and/or a decent pair of speakers. Then, if you desire, you can get a USB audio device to upgrade your output. An interesting product line is the HeadRoom BitHead and the HeadRoom Total BitHead. They are headphone amps integrated with a USB sound device.

Of course, I havn't heard either of them, so I can't say exactly how they sound. I'm just pointing them out to interest you.

 

[j3ff86]

Most I'm willing to spend on headphones is $40-50 and same for the usb card.

 

[GodsMadClown]

Then perhaps you should forget the USB soundcard and just get a $80-100 set of headphones.

 

[j3ff86]

Does that turtle beach card really work though? Has anyone used one? If it does, I think I'll get it with these:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=26-106-324&depa=0&manufactory=BROWSE

And if not, maybe these:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=26-106-391&depa=0