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How much does a new sound card really help?

post #1 of 33
12/14/11 at 1:43pm
Thread Starter 

I just bought my first pair of expensive headphones-ATH-M50s. I realized that my old MP3's sound bad now so I had to seek out a bunch of .FLAC files. Then I realized that I have an old inexpensive sound card in my computer and since I do most of my music listening through my computer I thought I was short changing myself. Someone else told me that cables make a difference too, something called Monster cables?

 

Does anyone here know how much of a difference a new ($150) sound card makes? And cables? Recommendations would be nice too, thanks!

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post #2 of 33
12/14/11 at 1:49pm

Monster cables are a no-no.

 

A good dac/amp would help. If you can find a sound card that has a good dac and amp in it, it should help. It would help more as you go to more expensive headphones. The M50s are pretty good alone, but you will see some improvement with a DAC and amp.

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post #3 of 33
12/14/11 at 1:57pm
Thread Starter 

is this good? http://www.amazon.com/PCI-Express-XONAR-ESSENCE-STX-90-YAA0C0-0UAN00Z/dp/B001OV789U/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1323503739&sr=8-15

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post #4 of 33
12/14/11 at 1:58pm

The Essence STX is very good. Overkill for M50s, but you'll be able to upgrade in the future without worry. That's a good price, too.

 

A high output impedance of 10.7 ohms is its biggest weakness. Not an objectively good thing for the M50, but it shouldn't change the sound too much.


Edited by Head Injury - 12/14/11 at 2:00pm
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post #5 of 33
12/14/11 at 1:59pm

Yes, there's improvement using a dedicated soundcard over onboard. With a good soundcard there's more clarity, and depth. You can take a look at the Xonar Dg (a good one for the M50's), which have a built in headamp. Im not very experienced with cables.. 

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post #6 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:01pm
Don't worry about cables, change your sound card.
 

STX is very good for the price.

 

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post #7 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:02pm

Xonars are very good sound cards, and that is a very good Xonar.

Do you play video games on your PC? Do you have or would you ever want a surround sound setup? Do you ever listen to music through an MP3 player?

I'm wondering whether you'd be better off with a sound card, or external DAC/Amp.

 

If you play games, the sound card will be better. If you want a surround sound setup, the sound card would be better. If you listen to music through an MP3 player, the portable DAC/Amp would be better, and if you want to spend less money, the portable DAC/Amp would be better. Also, if you ever listen to music through your laptop, the portable DAC/Amp would be better.


Edited by Taowolf51 - 12/14/11 at 2:03pm
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post #8 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 

I do play video games. I don't care much about surround sound since I have nowhere to put the speakers. I do sometimes listen to mp3s but I do it off my smartphone.

 

the xonar dg is the one that costs $20 on amazon, right? It's hard for me to believe something that costs $20 will really improve the sound on my computer that much.

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post #9 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RZZZA1 View Post

I do play video games. I don't care much about surround sound since I have nowhere to put the speakers. I do sometimes listen to mp3s but I do it off my smartphone.

 

the xonar dg is the one that costs $20 on amazon, right? It's hard for me to believe something that costs $20 will really improve the sound on my computer that much.


The jump from onboard sound to a $20 sound card is probably larger than the jump from a $20 sound card to a $200 sound card.

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post #10 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:08pm
Yes, it is one of the best if not the best on the market. It will also last you into the future when you get some higher impedence headp mayhones. There are alternatives but I think they are either sidesteps or downgrade. The imouprovment you see should be moderate at best with the M50. But with some other headphones you will have drastic improvementa. Like I said, I think it is a great future investment.
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post #11 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head Injury View Post

The Essence STX is very good. Overkill for M50s, but you'll be able to upgrade in the future without worry. That's a good price, too.

A high output impedance of 10.7 ohms is its biggest weakness. Not an objectively good thing for the M50, but it shouldn't change the sound too much.

I believe it has an output control. You can put it on low medium or high so it suits the can.
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post #12 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RZZZA1 View Post

I do play video games. I don't care much about surround sound since I have nowhere to put the speakers. I do sometimes listen to mp3s but I do it off my smartphone.

 

the xonar dg is the one that costs $20 on amazon, right? It's hard for me to believe something that costs $20 will really improve the sound on my computer that much.



Xonar is a whole range. The one you specified is pretty damn good. I would choose a Xonar over an X-Fi.

The $20 one would be okay, it wouldn't have that great of a DAC or Amp on it, though. The one you linked to would, but is pretty expensive. The Xonar DX is kinda the middle of the two, and I'm personally going to pick one of those up myself for games. I use a portable DAC/Amp called the Fiio E7 for music.

 

Most Xonar sound cards have something called Dolby Headphone, which helps a lot when gaming with headphones.


Edited by Taowolf51 - 12/14/11 at 2:12pm
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post #13 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:12pm

A sound card can only go so far, if your source are mp3s you dont have much of a choice.

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post #14 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Dawk20 View Post

I believe it has an output control. You can put it on low medium or high so it suits the can.


I wish this rumor would die already.

 

The gain setting has absolutely nothing to do with the output impedance. Nothing. The card needs a high output impedance because of the chip it uses. The gain setting only determines how much voltage the card draws. In other words, its maximum volume. The recommended impedances next to each gain setting are misleading and meaningless. They're only suggestions.

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post #15 of 33
12/14/11 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head Injury View Post


The jump from onboard sound to a $20 sound card is probably larger than the jump from a $20 sound card to a $200 sound card.



If that's the case then I'll just buy the $20 Xonar now and put off buying the more expensive one until later. Thanks for the advice.

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