[LauZaIM]

Title. Is there REALLY a significant difference between onboard sound (Realtek ALC889) and a discrete sound card. Has anybody out there felt they got burned when they bought a $100+ sound card and heard it and compared it to onboard? I bought into the Sennheiser HD650 hype, bought it, compared it to my PX100 and felt burned (Yes it was amped properly). I don't want it to happen again with another audio component.
 
I'm using Denon D2000's and M-Audio AV40 speakers. 
 
 

 

[khaos974]

Yes and no.

A properly grounded and relatively well implemented onboard chip provides a good to very good performance, the difference with a discrete sound card may not be audible. On the other hand, a lot of on board chip were implemented as well as a dog play banjo, in that case, a discrete sound card is a major improvement.

 

[Arctia]

Everyone's ears are different, no way to tell unless you try it yourself. It's easier to discern the difference with better equipment. A general rule with computer speakers is that the ratio should be about 1/5-1/10. So if you buy a $100 soundcard, your speaker system should cost $500-1000. Obviously the ratio is different with headphones, but you get the idea.
 
I have to say, modern onboard sound are generally pretty good if you don't have expensive equipments.

 

[NamelessPFG]

On my motherboard, at least, the Realtek ALC889A analog outputs were prone to noise whenever I moved the mouse or had disk activity going. Very obvious with headphones like the AD700s. Meanwhile, my X-Fi Prelude (and later, the X-Fi Forte) are immune to this.
 
That said, the other big reason for my use of X-Fi cards would be the gaming performance. Yes, I still play my fair share of older titles that use EAX, and CMSS-3D Headphone is a must for me no matter what game it is (but especially DirectSound3D or OpenAL titles so that I hear exactly where everything's coming from, even above and below). Performance may not be improved that much on a modern computer, but quality most certainly is improved.
 
Also, my HP 2730p has a headphone jack that is unusually free of buzz, hiss, or other undesirable artifacts. Not what I'd expect on a business-class notebook where sound tends to be an afterthought at most.

 

[nagual]

Quote:

Yes and no.
A properly grounded and relatively well implemented onboard chip provides a good to very good performance, the difference with a discrete sound card may not be audible. On the other hand, a lot of on board chip were implemented as well as a dog play banjo, in that case, a discrete sound card is a major improvement.

 That´s the point, imho...Noise is the cancer of  computer audio.

 

[barleyguy]

Ideally you want to get the sound card out of the computer case completely to eliminate electrical and RF interference.  If you can electrically isolate it as well, through either an optical interface or a powered USB hub, that's even better.  But overall, dedicated devices are generally better for purely economic reasons.  If a product has to be sold on the merits of a single function rather than as one of a laundry list of features, it has to perform that function well to be successful.  (Either that or it has to be not very bad and also be a cool thing to have.)
 

 

[LauZaIM]

So buying an X-FI HD USB is pretty much pointless if I have Realtek ALC889 with no audible noise issue? I also have an Audigy 2 ZS in there, but I think that benchmarks worse then the ALC889 for frequency response. Really, I just need some optical ins for my computer, and sound card was the first idea. I was hoping I would get a bump in sound quality with it too, but...doesn't look good.

 

[leeperry]

Is there REALLY a significant difference between onboard sound (Realtek ALC889) and a discrete sound card.

all placebo: http://www.head-fi.org/t/557183/alc889-vs-asus-xonar-essence-stx-is-it-worth-it-to-upgrade

"I made the exact same upgrade you want to make. There was no difference."

"there is no difference between the latest onboards and sound cards like the STX. I'm about to pack my Titanium HD up and sell it."

 

[ROBSCIX]

You're never gonna know until you test for yourself. You can get entry level soundcards for about $30...try it out if you don't hear an upgrade take it back.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Ideally you want to get the sound card out of the computer case completely to eliminate electrical and RF interference.  If you can electrically isolate it as well, through either an optical interface or a powered USB hub, that's even better.  But overall, dedicated devices are generally better for purely economic reasons.  If a product has to be sold on the merits of a single function rather than as one of a laundry list of features, it has to perform that function well to be successful.  (Either that or it has to be not very bad and also be a cool thing to have.)
 

Hmm, interesting theory except noise and EMI and nowhere near as bad as some make them out to be. If the EMI was that bad your system would never operate properly. If externals are so much better, then why is it we can get internals that measure better for noise then many external units?

To note, I have external units and internal units and I have never noticed that one is always better then the other because of RFI or EMI. It depends on what you are trying to get done.

 

[ChipnDalebowl]

Generally speaking, there is no "glamorous" difference between a modern onboard chip and a usb sound card. I found that out when I put my new laptop to the test with its onboard chip and my Turtle Beach Micro usb card (about $25). The only real difference is loudness...the external Turtle Beach card can pump out volume the onboard cannot and this is big for my receiver and speakers. For headphones, either is plenty good enough for quality sound.

Don't spend a fortune on cards...spend money on the headphone or speaker as that will make a bigger difference than any card will.

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Generally speaking, there is no "glamorous" difference between a modern onboard chip and a usb sound card. I found that out when I put my new laptop to the test with its onboard chip and my Turtle Beach Micro usb card (about $25). The only real difference is loudness...the external Turtle Beach card can pump out volume the onboard cannot and this is big for my receiver and speakers. For headphones, either is plenty good enough for quality sound.
Don't spend a fortune on cards...spend money on the headphone or speaker as that will make a bigger difference than any card will.

To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if that "usb card" measured as bad as the motherboard.

 

[ChipnDalebowl]

Perhaps so...I haven't done any tests to prove which is better, nor does it really phase me if I ever do the tests, or don't do them. Its plenty good for how well I can hear and my level of finickiness so to speak.

So to sum it all up, Lauz, if you're not picky, just use onboard or buy a $30 card, and sit back and enjoy the music. To heck with what others say you need to spend. All that matters in the end is that you enjoy the music as it is, through whatever equipment you have.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Speakers/headphones aren't much good without a quality source.

You don't need to spend much to get an upgrade over onboard.

 

[thrillhaus]

There is a huge difference between my laptop's onboard audio, and my desktop onboard. Between my desktop onboard and my X-Fi Titanium HD or Xonar DG it's a smaller difference. The main reason to buy the sound card is for the 3d sound processing capabilities.