Best sound card to go with ATH-AD700 up to $50

Xonar DG, only $30 and packing Dolby Headphone.

You're primarily into games with software-mixed audio, negating the X-Fi lineup's gaming advantages, and even the entry-level X-Fi Titanium tends to cost around $60. Might as well save yourself the cash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NamelessPFG 
Xonar DG, only $30 and packing Dolby Headphone.

You're primarily into games with software-mixed audio, negating the X-Fi lineup's gaming advantages, and even the entry-level X-Fi Titanium tends to cost around $60. Might as well save yourself the cash.

+1
 

They meant that the $30 Xonar DG (which includes a headphone amplifier, although not a very powerful one) should be good enough, unless you want to play games that do not only use software mixing, because for hardware accelerated 3D audio, Creative X-Fi cards and others that are based on the same chipset have an advantage. However, the use of software mixing is actually becoming more common with newer games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Player 2 
Sorry, I'm not sure if I understood it corrrectly. So I can't get much out of software-mixed audio, to the point where a more expensive card wouldn't make a difference? Or is it my budget that limits my performance to the point where the cards I'm able to pay aren't that different from onboard audio to justify a purchase? I don't know my onboard sound specifications, my motherboard is a H55H-M from ECS Elite Group if that helps.

If my games are limited sound-wise (what I find weird, wasn't BF3 supposed to have ultra high quality sound?) could you guys tell me well sounding games just to give an idea?

If my budget is too low, what if I double it, to $100?

Much appreciated quick answers, I'm still waiting any kind of response on other forums!

The VIA audio processor built into your motherboard is half-way decent, but was used because of low cost.

 If it was a TV, it would the cheapest model sold at Walmart.

The Xonar DG, DX, D1, ST & STX all use the same type of audio processing for games (OpenAL, Dolby Digital, etc.)

Most Xonars use the same audio processing chip, the C-Media Oxygen HD CMI8788, the DG uses the older CMI8786.

The STX & ST are designed to use 25-Ohm & 600-Ohm headphones and make them sound good.

The DX & D1 models are really for headphones in the 25 to 80-Ohm range,

 the DG, 25 to 150-Ohm range (give or take)

The STX & ST allow you to swap the three op-amp (operational amplifiers) for a custom sound style.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by stv014 

They meant that the $30 Xonar DG (which includes a headphone amplifier, although not a very powerful one) should be good enough, unless you want to play games that do not only use software mixing, because for hardware accelerated 3D audio, Creative X-Fi cards and others that are based on the same chipset have an advantage. However, the use of software mixing is actually becoming more common with newer games.

Well put.

I actually consider the software mixing trend a regression in PC gaming audio, but I could quickly change my tune if the audio middleware in common use these days went beyond 7.1 and just straight-up offered true binaural mixing, no need for CMSS-3D Headphone or Dolby Headphone support on the sound card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NamelessPFG 
I actually consider the software mixing trend a regression in PC gaming audio, but I could quickly change my tune if the audio middleware in common use these days went beyond 7.1 and just straight-up offered true binaural mixing, no need for CMSS-3D Headphone or Dolby Headphone support on the sound card.

Rumor is that Windows 8 will bring back direct access to the sound card again, like the old days with Win XP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Player 2 
Thank you, I think I'm going to buy the Xonar DG.

But just to be sure, Amazon says the DG is PCI v2.2 or above bus compatible, PCI-e x16 would fit in that category, right? My ECS Elite Group H55H-M is compatible with the DG?

You would plug the Asus Xonar DG (PCI) into the PCI slot on your motherboard (not the PCI-Express)
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurpleAngel 

Rumor is that Windows 8 will bring back direct access to the sound card again, like the old days with Win XP.

Well, they did have talk of hardware acceleration, which never should have been removed in the first place.

But I somehow doubt this means that they're bringing back the DirectSound3D API specifically, in which case people will still need to use ALchemy, GX2.5/Xear3D, 3DSoundBack, or so forth to wrap the calls into OpenAL.

In fact, I have the feeling that hardware sound acceleration for Win8 is meant to benefit ARM media slates more than gaming computers.