Sound card important with amp?

[Funky_Junk]

Im in the process of setting up a bookshelf speaker system on my computer, using a t-amp and a decent pair of bookshelf speakers. Right now I have onboard sound and Im wondering if it would make a noticeable difference to buy an Audigy 4 soundcard. I wasn't sure it would make a difference since the amp alters the sound signal anyway? So is it worth the extra money to get a sound card?

 

[Zero82z]

The amp may alter the signal, but if it's bad in the first place you'll still notice. Unless you have one of the newer integrated Realtek 8-series HD codecs, a good sound card will make a large difference.

 

[phide]

There are processing stages that occur before an analog signal is sent from a sound card. For the most part, we're talking about upsampling, D/A conversion and line out amplification. A good sound card will do the latter two (and, unfortunately, the former as well) well, while a poor sound card or onboard solution will do these functions poorly.

So, yes, a better sound card will make a difference, even if you can't personally perceive it.

 

[Mister X]

So is it worth the extra money to get a sound card?

Yes.
Garbage in always = Garbage out.

If the sound card is going to be used for music only you may be well advised to stick with a budget card like the AV-710.