Need help choosing a sound card. - Page 2

No, I know the PC360 aren't USB, I was talking about that USB set you said your friend has. But then I realized you were talking about your friend also having a set of PC360 that he plugged on a USB card. My bad

I really didn't read it right :) But getting them for 150 is quite nice.

Ah, nice deal. Still, you will eventually have to consider getting a headphone amp, as you move on the audio ladder, gear will become more power hungry, and driving them straight from a soundcard won't be enough. And yes, it's recommended to have separate card and amp, as you can fine tune the sound, purchasing just what you want, not getting hardware that might not perform according to your preferences.

What kind of games do you play?

I can understand that. I'm just telling you about headphone amps because there are quite some people that get new headphones and feel very unsatisfied with them, when in fact the headphones were running straight from iPods or soundcards, and sometimes the headphones just required a little more power, power that could be had for very little money. I don't want to make amps out to be a hugely essential part of a rich audio experience, but they do improve sound on to a degree, depending on the headphones they're driving.

WoW is a very unfortunate case, as Blizzard butchered the sound engine when they went from WotLK to Cata :S People go through hell in order to enable better audio cues, reverbs and such on the current sound engine.

That's a rather tricky question you're asking :) Audio improvements can't really be measured by the same standards of video, for instance. What might be a big change for me, might be minimal or even go unnoticed by you, or the exact opposite ;) But how can I put it? Well, I find the Titanium HD to have a punchier sound, and a slightly warmer signature by default, with all effects turned off. After you fiddle with them (if you like it), then the sound does feel quite different, for better or for worse really depends on your own preferences. Though, one thing you have to keep in mind is that the Titanium HD is a stereo output card, which works great for headphones and stereo speakers, but it's not meant to directly plug 5.1 speakers, for instance. I don't find that much of a concern for me, but for some it could be troublesome, even if the audio could be passed through a digital connection.

About WoW, I think hearing what's going on where can be helpful. And about the soundtrack, let's just say you never played it with a custom soundtrack, and I'm not talking about muting WoW's soundtrack and playing your tracks on the background.

If you're indeed planning on using stereo only (2.0/2.1) setups like headphones and speakers with/without sub, the Titanium HD would be a very good choice, and the best choice for gaming. Even for mic usage, a good soundcard does help. So, if you're willing to get the Titanium HD, you won't be left wanting more... at least on the time being, because in the event you're not aware, there's a dangerous thing going around these parts... it's called upgraditis :O

And I do like to help out others whenever I can, just like I was helped out quite a bit when I first got here, and still am, actually. Head-Fi is a rather different forum than many others I've seen, where it's indeed a pleasure to share knowledge as well as existing a high level of tolerance regarding just about any subject. As you keep coming around, you'll see it more and more, and do check all the sections Head-Fi has, you might end up finding things you never knew you were interested in the first place.