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Sound Card Recommendations

F

Floppington

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Joined
Nov 14, 2011
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Hi, I'm looking to finally upgrade the sound on my PC from onboard audio. I currently have an old Logitec x530 5.1 speaker system. However, I plan to eventually get some quality speakers that one would find in a home theater system. I'd like a sound card that supports both the a 5.1 computer speaker setup, as well as a home theater setup with bookshelf speakers, amplifiers, etc. My budget for the sound card is $150, but I can be flexible. I'm by no means an audiophile, but I can certainly tell the difference between onboard audio and having a sound card.

The Creative Recon3D Fatal1ty card looks like it can support my needs for supporting computer speakers, as well as theater speakers. However, I'm just wondering if it's overpriced for my needs ($140 from Amazon).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060SXDRI

Can I get away with something cheaper like an ASUS DSX and buy some sort of converter when I eventually get new speakers?
 
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It is horrendously over priced and in my opinion there is no reason at all to purchase a creative product.
Avoid the driver issues and all the other typical creative issues and look at other manufacturers.
Creative is no longer the industry standard at any price point. Yes, i am bias against creative.
What type of converter do you think you will need to purchase to feed a home theater/amp setup?
 
If you plan to eventually get home theatre speakers (which involves a good 5.1 or 7.1 receiver too) don't bother with getting a soundcard. Use digital out on the onboard audio to receiver and use the DAC in that. Spend the money you save getting better speakers. Speakers make up about 80-90% of sound quality. There is no difference in digital out from a sound card and digital out on onboard.
 
matteos said:
If you plan to eventually get home theatre speakers (which involves a good 5.1 or 7.1 receiver too) don't bother with getting a soundcard. Use digital out on the onboard audio to receiver and use the DAC in that. Spend the money you save getting better speakers. Speakers make up about 80-90% of sound quality. There is no difference in digital out from a sound card and digital out on onboard.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the advice. I can live with my onboard audio, I just figured having a sound card could improve the experience when I finally do get home theater speakers.

I've been following the other recent threads on [H] about speaker. They focus primarily on the speakers, and not anything related to amps/receivers. Just to get an idea, if I have a budget of $1000, what percentage of that should I be spending on the speakers vs the amp vs the receiver?
 
While the exact ratios can slide around, here's the rough breakdown of my 5.1 setup (thrown together about a year and a half ago):

~$250 - Receiver (Denon AVR-591)
----------<current equivalent: Denon AVR-1513 -- though I'd bump up to the AVR-1613 for the Audyssey MultEq feature; it helps tame terrible room acoustics>
~$200 - Subwoofer (Bic Acoustec H-100)
----------<current equivalent: Bic America F12>
~$350 - Satellites (Polk Audio Monitor II 40/30/CS2)
----------<still available>
~$150 - Crap (cables; adapters; speaker stands and accessories; shipping & sales tax; etcetera)
----------<some things never change>
 
There will be soon a new Creative soundcard - ZX or ZR codename. Seen them on IFA in Berlin, though they don't want to give much details. Already got invitation for their official release in Poland on 18th September.

Judging from looks, the top of the card is very similar to Titanium HD, but I'll tell you more when I get more data.

On your place I'd wait those few days to see, if its worth waiting, or is TitaniumHD still best choice :)
 
Floppington said:
Great, thanks for the advice. I can live with my onboard audio, I just figured having a sound card could improve the experience when I finally do get home theater speakers.

I've been following the other recent threads on [H] about speaker. They focus primarily on the speakers, and not anything related to amps/receivers. Just to get an idea, if I have a budget of $1000, what percentage of that should I be spending on the speakers vs the amp vs the receiver?
Click to expand...

I'd say $800 for speakers $200 for an amp

But take a look for used on craigslist, you can pick up some great deals.

Go to accessories4less to pick up a receiver if your buying new, very good deals there, $200 should do it. Denon, yamaha, some onkyo (a few models have issues with HDMI), Harman Kardon, marantz all make some good stuff.

Steer clear of ALL home theater in box type things, even the good ones. It's better to get a great center and front speakers and add later with cash than compromise and get something less good as you will spend more later upgrading and have problems trying to sell.

audioholics do pro reviews so take a look there before you buy any speaker
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers

For budget speakers say you have $600 for 5 speakers, $200 for an amp and $200 for a sub. I'd recommend these.
http://www.fluance.com/svhtb-surround-sound-home-theater-speaker-system.html

but if you up your budget a little more, hold off on the sub for a while you can get better. Aperion, EMP, RBH and axiom all make good stuff.
Piece together a nice EMP system. I like having tower speakers for the front to listen to stereo music but some people don't and prefer satellites and sub.
http://www.emptek.com/bookshelf.php

For subs, SVS, Velodyne, Hsu and some emotiva seem well regarded especially for the money.
 
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Snufykat said:
It is horrendously over priced and in my opinion there is no reason at all to purchase a creative product.
Avoid the driver issues and all the other typical creative issues and look at other manufacturers.
Creative is no longer the industry standard at any price point. Yes, i am bias against creative.
What type of converter do you think you will need to purchase to feed a home theater/amp setup?
Click to expand...

Creative never made great soundcards but I will say I have an mp3 player by them that is 8 years old and still going strong.
 
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Go with a Asus Xonar Essence STX. I think it is by far the most flexible card out there in terms of outputs and presets. They're usually about $180 but it's not difficult to find one for around $150. There are always people selling them on the Head-Fi forums for $120 to $150. I've seen them go as low as $100 on Head-Fi. I've had mine for 3 years now and I know for sure I won't ever be upgrading my sound card.
 
Buy used receivers and speakers. Stuff 10 years or older will still work great for you.
 
Remember this though, you need a sound card to get real 5.1 in games. Otherwise, you will get stereo or a fake 5.1 via digital. Onboard analogue 5.1 still sounds like shit.
 
just get a cheap sound card. biggest improvement will be with speakers.
 
spaceman said:
Remember this though, you need a sound card to get real 5.1 in games. Otherwise, you will get stereo or a fake 5.1 via digital.
Click to expand...

Not if you use HDMI to a receiver. Of course that assumes you have a compatible video card.
 
matteos said:
Creative never made great soundcards but I will say I have an mp3 player by them that is 8 years old and still going strong.
Click to expand...

Me too, got two Creative Muvo's that are still the perfect supplement to my phone or any other more elaborate player...

Runs for nearly 10 hours off a rechargeable AAA so the battery will never go bad and I can take half a dozen if I'm going camping or whatever, it breaks apart into a thumb drive so I never have to fetch a cable to transfer music from my PC or tablet dock, and it takes a licking. I actually stopped using it for running and got a Sandisk Clip Zip for that since the Muvo's much more valuable for traveling and I want it to last.


Anyway, as far as sound cards, the only reason to spend more than like $75 on one is if you're either A) gaming with good quality headphones or B) running some bookshelf speakers off analog with a cheaper amp and you also game with headphones so you don't wanna go with a USB DAC and give up surround sound virtualization. So really it's more like one reason IMO...

You could work around both scenarios too by adding a discrete headphone amp to a cheaper sound card and/or getting aa USB DAC for the speakers (in place of the sound card)... That being said, the STX is a solid value in that it's a decent headphone amp in addition to a good source.
 
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Any of the better Asus products is a sensible choice really. Just look at the outputs carefully.
 
I rarely game with headphones on, so it sounds like I should skip the sound card and invest that money towards the speaker/amp/subs. I'll continue doing research this weekend. All the suggestions are super helpful, thanks everyone!
 
A good sub can cost as much as five solid speakers, speakers and sub should take up most of your budget. You can get a pretty good receiver for a paltry $200 if you shop last year's models (Denon AVR-1612 is one of the better values out there IMO), good speakers can last a lifetime whereas some of the tech that goes into a receiver changes every few years (new inputs and formats, like HDMI or new versions of it, 3D, new online functionality, etc.).

This year's 1613 for instance goes for $350 (tho you can probably call most stores and ask for a discount on that, that's how it works for Denon and other brands); all it adds over the 1612 is an extra HDMI input in front (replaces the previous front RCA in), smartphone control, and some online streaming/update options... Those are basically newer features that tend to filter down from higher end models as the lines are updated yearly.

As long as it has some solid auto calibration (like Audyssey's MultEQ) to compensate for room size and irregularities it'll be fine. There's varying levels of that, the most basic only calibrates the main speakers, does no bass management, and only takes measures from two room positions for the calibration algorithm; you want at least MultEQ IIRC for better calibration.

The budget split someone mentioned earlier sounds reasonable to me for a first time 5.1 setup... Around 70% of the budget should go to speakers and sub, 20% to the receiver, 10% to sound card and cables and other assorted stuff you'll need or might want (banana plugs, speaker wire, HDMI cables, wire stripper etc.). You can get a pretty rocking setup for just over a grand, or as little as $650 depending on what you spend on speakers and sub.

/random rant: I really dunno why people balk at spending north of $500 on speakers that can last a decade but they spend three times as much or more on TVs and PCs that might only last half as long.
 
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