Is a sound card worth it?

[Static]

So I've been debating whether to buy the Creative Sound Blaster Z and put it on my Maximus VI Formula or not. Thing is, I tried the on-board sound, and it's great, but the problem is that the amplifier option on the Realtek driver just won't work if I plug the headset in from the rear. I tried different versions of the driver but it just won't work. I just can't stand seeing the headset plugs from the front of the chassis. Probably an OCD thing.

Should I even expect an even better sound quality from the Sound Blaster over the on-board sound (SupremeFX)? You guys think it's worth it? By the way I'm using the Sennheiser PC 350 Special Edition but I'm planning on getting the ModMic pretty soon.

Thanks in advance.

[Biernot]

Probably not worth it, because the onboard sound is already quite decent.

Question: Do you need the extra headphone amplification? Is the sound not load enough?

[Static]

Question: Do you need the extra headphone amplification? Is the sound not load enough?

I really do. The sound is extremely low even with max volume. :/

[Ghâzh]

Absolutely not worth it, the sound quality might even be worse then the build in dac on Maximus VI Formula. If the sound isn't loud enough it's probably problem with faulty hardware, especially if the front panel ports do work. I'd advise to RMA the motherboard first and if it still doesn't fix it consider alternative products. BUT, the rear ports should work just as well / better then the front ones.

[Deleted]

I thought it was only the front ports that were amplified to stop you blowing up an amp/speakers if the rear port was boosted 10x higher than usual?

[Static]

Absolutely not worth it, the sound quality might even be worse then the build in dac on Maximus VI Formula. If the sound isn't loud enough it's probably problem with faulty hardware, especially if the front panel ports do work. I'd advise to RMA the motherboard first and if it still doesn't fix it consider alternative products. BUT, the rear ports should work just as well / better then the front ones.

Problem is, I did contact ASUS and all I got is the typical "make sure your driver/BIOS is up to date" response, which was on Monday. I sent another e-mail but I've yet to receive another response from them. Also just recently I remembered that one of my friends is actually using a Sound Blaster Z, so I'll probably visit him and borrow his and try it out on my PC, then decide whether it's worth getting one or not.

- - - Updated - - -

Well folks, I tried my friend's Sound Blaster Z. There really isn't much difference in terms of sound quality except that the Z provides a bit more Bass. I found a store which has only 1 Sound Blaster Z left in their stock for 60$, brand new. I don't know but that seems to be a great deal, so I might actually pick it up tomorrow and just be done with the sound department.

[Deleted]

If anything just pick up a cheap Asus Xonar DGX with built-in amp.

[Ghâzh]

I thought it was only the front ports that were amplified to stop you blowing up an amp/speakers if the rear port was boosted 10x higher than usual?

This makes no sense whatsoever. Why would they even add rear ports if there was no amplification? What stops you from connecting your amp/speakers to the front ports and blowing them up? Why would anyone who was concerned about audio quality use the front ports instead of the rear ports and add cable noise? Bottom line, the user manual says nothing about such thing, no, this is just bogus.

Well folks, I tried my friend's Sound Blaster Z. There really isn't much difference in terms of sound quality except that the Z provides a bit more Bass. I found a store which has only 1 Sound Blaster Z left in their stock for 60$, brand new. I don't know but that seems to be a great deal, so I might actually pick it up tomorrow and just be done with the sound department.

Well it's your money, if you wanna waste it away, go ahead. That sound blaster card isn't going to help you at all, if anything it reduces your sound quality by introducing signal resistance. Yes the bass is going to sound louder because that's one of the Sound Blaster amp's sound characteristics. However you are going to accomplish pretty much the same thing with a software equalizer if you like the bass. Doing that inside the amp is just ruining the original sound signal, it's not how it's supposed to sound like.

Really, buying the Sound Blaster card would be more like a band-aid solution instead of actually fixing the root of the problem. Your rear ports should work and if they don't it's either a hardware fault, driver related or something software side you have over looked. I'd stay in contact with the customer support and see if they have any other advise to offer when you tell them that you've double checked the driver.

[Deleted]

I mostly bought mine because of the software that comes with it, which DOES make a difference.

[Deleted]

[Static]

Well it's your money, if you wanna waste it away, go ahead. That sound blaster card isn't going to help you at all, if anything it reduces your sound quality by introducing signal resistance. Yes the bass is going to sound louder because that's one of the Sound Blaster amp's sound characteristics. However you are going to accomplish pretty much the same thing with a software equalizer if you like the bass. Doing that inside the amp is just ruining the original sound signal, it's not how it's supposed to sound like.

Really, buying the Sound Blaster card would be more like a band-aid solution instead of actually fixing the root of the problem. Your rear ports should work and if they don't it's either a hardware fault, driver related or something software side you have over looked. I'd stay in contact with the customer support and see if they have any other advise to offer when you tell them that you've double checked the driver.

Appreciate the response.

As I mentioned previously, I've yet to receive a response (well, a better response) yet, and judging from my previous interactions with their customer service, I doubt to get anything good from them.

Either way, I'm planning to build another PC next month for my house while moving the current one to my work office. The next motherboard most likely won't have anything special in terms of audio, so it's a good deal to grab this one for 60$ now and use it on the upcoming build. What do you think?

@Notarget: Hey man, thanks for passing by. For some reason the video is just a white square box and unable to click on it. Happened ever since I updated Chrome. Would you be kind and post a link to the video?

[Release]

Dude just pick up an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 all you'll ever need from a sound card and shouldn't be more than 30 dollars.

[Airwaves]

My current PC hasn't got one, But my old one did. I kind of miss having it. Sound was so much better especially since I use my PC for music all the time.

[Deleted]

That video is a bunch of horse shit, you should remove it from your post as it's just going to further confuse the OP with misinformation.

[Deleted]

That video is a bunch of horse shit, you should remove it from your post as it's just going to further confuse the OP with misinformation.

You should probably explain why it's "horse shit" before you run of and accuse someone of spreading misinformation. I will gladly removed anything that is sincerely considered misinformation, I have no intention of misleading anyone.

[Faithh]

You should probably explain why it's "horse shit" before you run of and accuse someone of spreading misinformation. I will gladly removed anything that is sincerely considered misinformation, I have no intention of misleading anyone.

It's Teksyndicate. That's why. Whats the point of giving the video the title "gaming audio is BS" when theyre saying all the time that soundcards wont make the difference but DACs would? That guy on the left just works for a brand that makes DACs. Its obvious that Logan got paid for this and Logan is just ignorant if it comes down to hardware.

It just contains nothing more than misinformation as usual from Teksyndicate: http://www.overclock.net/t/1455764/l...it-again/0_100

[Ghâzh]

I think the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=d1rXcJuEsy0) has some good points but it's overall pretty flawed and one sided. That's my opinion anyway but then again my technical knowledge on the audio stuff is rather lacking and it's hard to argue against some things they talk about since I don't have a full understanding on the subject.

What I'd personally take from the video is that most of the time people don't need a soundcard, especially a cheap one. It might not make a noticeable difference quality wise since it's easy to colour the sound and make people think that what they hear is better even though the actual quality isn't. It might also introduce problems like additional microphonic noise. I mean I'm using a Xonar Essence STX myself and I can say that there's a minimal difference between the onboard sound quality and this. If someone asked me if they should buy the same one in hopes of improving the sound I'd answer that only if they can justify the cost for a small difference. For myself personally it's more of a nice visual touch then anything practical since it does look rather sleek.

Either way, I'm planning to build another PC next month for my house while moving the current one to my work office. The next motherboard most likely won't have anything special in terms of audio, so it's a good deal to grab this one for 60$ now and use it on the upcoming build. What do you think?

Yeah really not a fan of those Creative cards for the reason I already stated earlier. Makes the sound too "bassy" and isn't isolated that good so there might be background noise. I'm also only basing this on things I've heard other people say so I might be completely off but it's my opinion anyway, take from that what you want.

[Deleted]

It's Teksyndicate. That's why. Whats the point of giving the video the title "gaming audio is BS" when theyre saying all the time that soundcards wont make the difference but DACs would? That guy on the left just works for a brand that makes DACs. Its obvious that Logan got paid for this and Logan is just ignorant if it comes down to hardware.

It just contains nothing more than misinformation as usual from Teksyndicate: http://www.overclock.net/t/1455764/l...it-again/0_100

Bold part is the best argument I've heard in a long time.

I obviously presented the video as absolute truth and to be blindly trusted, even though I did mention earlier to buy a cheaper Asus Xonar DGX.

Even your "evidence" shows they don't all agree but hey, who cares it's It's Teksyndicate. That's why.

As Ghâzh touches on, not everything stated in the video should be eaten raw, just like everything isn't wrong/misinformation. There is clearly no easy and correct answer to when it comes to audio.

[Deleted]

Is a sound card worth it audio quality wise? No, not really. However theres only so many features an integrated chip does. It really brings a whole other level of comfort and control when you have an actual DAC sitting on your desk. Especially if you happen to have very resistant headphones and need some amplification; basic USB powered DACs usually do the job.

I bought my Tascam US-100 many years ago to hook up my active speakers to and it's been great for headphone use also. I like the fact that it has a 3,5mm input for my phone and gives me controls to adjust the mixing between the phone (podcasts or music) and the sounds from my computer (this mixing is done in the DAC and does not go through the PC). It also has a microphone input, but I think it's only for powered microphones.

Today, I'd probably look at some "gaming" related DACs such as soundblasters and stuff like that. Just remember to ignore all claims of any "better sound quality". It all sounds the same as long as there aren't any actual manufacturing faults with the components. Make sure all bass adjustments and such are turned off and concentrate on just using an equalizer if you need any corrections.

[Faithh]

Bold part is the best argument I've heard in a long time.

I obviously presented the video as absolute truth and to be blindly trusted, even though I did mention earlier to buy a cheaper Asus Xonar DGX.

Even your "evidence" shows they don't all agree but hey, who cares it's It's Teksyndicate. That's why.

As Ghâzh touches on, not everything stated in the video should be eaten raw, just like everything isn't wrong/misinformation. There is clearly no easy and correct answer to when it comes to audio.

Uhm Teksyndicate is showing a 350% fps difference between a 8350 & i5, that should say more than enough about their ignorance. Theyre not a credible source and everything they post is mostly flawed, honestly theyre nothing more than just an entertainment troll channel with some pc components as background. You just cant generalize that soundcards are a waste, your ears might have to be trained to even notice the difference for instance you might won't notice the difference in the beginning but if you're after some time on a different system with the same speakers you wouldn't stand the quality of onboard audio anymore.