Sound card worth the money?

[Ciddy]

So I picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD 598s a few months back, and I love them. Just curious: is it worth spending the money for a decent sound card to go with them? I'm comfortable with hardware, but I've always just used onboard sound and never bothered with a soundcard, and I'm not enough of an audiophile to know what most of the settings on an equalizer mean (I usually just play a song and dick around with settings while it's playing until I come up with something that sounds good to me).

I've read a lot of mixed opinions on the topic. Some say the difference in sound quality between onboard and a decent sound card is amazing (especially if you're using a really good pair of headphones like the Sennheisers I have in combination with a good soundcard), and others say you don't really hear it unless you're a serious audiophile.

While I say I'm not an audiophile, I do appreciate good sound quality (especially when I'm gaming), so I'd be willing to spend a few bucks if I heard some favorable opinions on the subject. I've read good things about the Soundblaster Z and Asus Xonar Essence STX (although the latter is kind of expensive). I'm into survival horror and RPGs a lot (where immersion is important, and sound quality helps with that) when it comes to gaming. If I'm willing to spend up to, say, maybe $100 on a soundcard, would I be able to get something that makes much of a difference, or would I just be wasting my money?

This is the motherboard I have now, if anyone is curious about the onboard sound. It's a bit old, but after a recent video card upgrade, my overall build still handles everything I can throw at it quite well.

[Mister K]

If you are using headphones I would suggest getting a good amp instead, I find the boost in volume and what not being much superior to a soundcard, a combination of the two is a plus I suppose.

[Deleted]

If you are using headphones I would suggest getting a good amp instead, I find the boost in volume and what not being much superior to a soundcard, a combination of the two is a plus I suppose.

I agree.
Sounds cards are best used if you are editing music or using a surround speaker system. Headphones don't generally give you a lot of bang for your buck in regards to sound cards

[Netherspark]

Personally I could not tolerate a PC without a good sound card, the difference in quality and control is immense. But you also need good speakers and a proper amplifier else it's just wasted.

If you're only using Headphones though it's probably not worth it.

[Deleted]

I have those as well. They need some extra oomph to sound better.
I always used them with a soundblaster Z, and they sound amazing. I used them once on my laptop and they sounded crap...

I would invest in either a DAC/AMP or something simpler like a Soundblaster Z.

[Cows For Life]

If you are using headphones I would suggest getting a good amp instead, I find the boost in volume and what not being much superior to a soundcard, a combination of the two is a plus I suppose.

Those Senns the OP has won't need one to boost volume. That said I'm using a cheapie Fiio E10K for Senns but more so because I needed the extra outputs for other things. It did mean I no longer had to deal with noisy output via the front panel jacks but that wasn't the primary motivation as I never used them.

[select20]

I didn't used to think so. But over the past 2 years or so I've gotten into sound engineering as a side hobby for my church. After the first year or so of doing that stock motherboard sound didn't bother me. But this past year, I find I'm noticing it pretty bad. Next time I build/buy a PC, I'm getting a sound card with it.

[dbudd424]

Personally I would suggest investing into a decent dac/amp combo. Micca OriGen , Fulla Schiit , or Monoprice DAC are all good choices for what you need.

[Yuyuli]

If you want something, go with a external Amp like the Shiit Magni 2 (100$/149$), not too expensive and it looks very nice on your desk and because it's external... it will last you a long time. Also helps to know that a soundcard is depending on driver support, seriously go with a amp. Realtek solutions have gotten really good over the years so a extra DAC isn't required, especially not for your headphones.