Sound Card for AudioEngine A5+

[Majesticii]

When i bought the A5's i had a i5-760 system with a ASUS Xonar D1. When i upgrade to my haswell system i had to ditch the D1 (only 1 model board with a pci-slot), so i opted for a board with a good onboard. I chose the Asrock Z87M-Extreme4. But suffice it to say.. it just doesn't sound the same.

I'm looking to buy one of these 2 models:
ASUS Xonar DGX
ASUS Xonar Dx

It is purely for music, i don't really game that much anymore anyhow. My question is, which one would you recommend. And if you have other suggestions, i'll be glad to hear it aswell.

Regards,
maj.

[pansertjald]

i would defently go for this card Creative Sound Blaster ZxR

Look at the review.

[Majesticii]

Yeah, i guess i did forget to set a budget. Let's say we keep it under 100 euro.

[Deleted]

DX/XD is better if you don't need a headphone amp, DGX is better if you do need one. With that budget I'd take a look at Fiio's offerings, namely Fiio e10.

[apepi]

Creative Sound Blaster Z worked for me, The Asus cards never worked for me.

[Deleted]

Creative Sound Blaster Z worked for me, The Asus cards never worked for me.

Nfi how you ended up with that conclusion, Sound Blaster is bad choice unless you have more money than sense.

[pansertjald]

Yeah, i guess i did forget to set a budget. Let's say we keep it under 100 euro.

then go with the Z model.... it has build in headphone amp. i run with one i have not had ANY problems with it, and the sound is superb.

not trying to be a creative fan boy here, but the new line of cards from them, is amazing and the drivers works perfectly.

[apepi]

Nfi how you ended up with that conclusion, Sound Blaster is bad choice unless you have more money than sense.

I bought 3 asus sound cards, none of them worked for me. I am not saying asus is bad, but it is just bad for me.

[Majesticii]

Creative does have a notorious track record of poor driver support after a new windows hits..

DX/XD is better if you don't need a headphone amp, DGX is better if you do need one. With that budget I'd take a look at Fiio's offerings, namely Fiio e10.

I rarely use my headset. So yes, it would be mainly for my A5's. Haven't thought of a seperate DAC though. However, the A5's are good, but are they good enough to notice the difference between a DX and a premium DAC. I see AE also ships out DAC's, but i feel like they're overpriced.

[shnuggle]

I have a asus phoebus and never getting a asus card again, no driver support since launch. I will trade it for a creative Z? any takers!?!

[Majesticii]

Would it also be interesting to purchase a proper audio cable, say like a AudioQuest Evergreen or Golden Gate Jack-> RCA.
I would have no idea how this would affect the quality, since i have none laying around.