[xpboy7]

Hello guys, I'm looking for a nice sound card for my PC.
For now I have (in terms of audio):
Motherboard- Asus Z87 K (Realtek® ALC887)
Headphones- Audio Technica ATH-A700X, Shure SE215
Microphone- Zalman Zm-Mic1 (which today I found ruined so I've gotta get a new one, if you can recommend on a new one I'll be more than thankful)
DAC (kinda)- Muse Audio X5 ( http://www.head-fi.org/products/muse-audio-x5-mini-pcm2704-usb-sound-card )
 
I use my PC mostly for music (FLAC of course

), Skype, to play FPS games and a little for movies.
I was thinking of Creative Sound Blaster Z, it's a bit above my budget (100$+-) but you get a microphone with it which is nice for me.
 
P.S. I'm thinking of buying a pair of Sennheiser HD598 in a couple of months so the sound card should match.
 
hope for a fast response. Thanks D

 

[genclaymore]

Are you in the USA? If so then ebay and amazon both usually have sound blaster z's and sound blaster omni's for 49-69$. Which it seems like from what you posted, would suit you just fine. I have seen a used Asus Xonar STX on ebay usually around the 100-120 mark if you lucky which would be another option.You could still use the  Muse Audio X5 and then a headphone amp like a magni/vali, or a all in one dac amp like the monoprice one for $99 or even a used fiio E07k  and then use Razer surround software which is free that way you still have the option of using emulated surround in games, as for mic's you can use a usb mic.

 

[xpboy7]

Unfortunately do not live in the USA, I live in Israel, a Sound Blaster Z costs here something like 150$ . I can get it for 130$.
And can you please give me a link to a cheap and good mic that will do it's thing for FPS and Skype?

 

[Marso]

Why you don't buy another zalmann mic? It's ok in recording quality, and it's probably the cheapest option. If you want a better Mic you can look at Samson Meteorite usb Mic, I saw a lot recommendations of it in a German pc forum.

 

[xpboy7]

Thanks for the reply, I don't want to purchase another Zalman because it didn't do his thing when I first got it.
I think I might just get the meteorite, looks quite nice for the price (around 50$+ for me).
What about the sound card? Do you have anything in mind?

 

[Marso]

No sorry, i am new in hifi too, i get my first dac the idsd nano in a few days.
But as you budget is Limited, you can take a look at a external dac like Fiio e10k or Schiit Fulla. It schould fit in your budget and as mentioned here http://www.head-fi.org/t/741670/how-can-i-get-the-most-of-the-hd-598-and-other-few-questions schould be good enough for the hd598.

 

[xpboy7]

Any other guys who got any ideas?

 

[xpboy7]

BUMP!

 

[weez82]

Any reason why you want a dedicated sound card? Asus usually does a good job with their integrated audio and I dont think those A700x's are hard to drive. Same with the HD598's. Those will work just fine using integrated audio off the motherboard. Are you experiencing problems with your current setup?