XpanD
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2010
- Posts
- 16
- Likes
- 0
Hi all, first post on here.
I was wondering whether you guys could help me out with the choice of a new sound card. I have been working with an old onboard Realtek ALC888 for a while now, and while it does produce sound the quality is far from great. That's why I'm looking for an upgrade. I saw some really knowledgeable people on here regarding sound cards, so that's why I decided to ask here.
I am a gamer, though I use my computer to listen to music a lot too. I also watch movies every once in a while, but not that often.
My headphones are a pair of Creative Aurvana X-Fi ones, fed through my JVC amplifier. I like the sound the Crystallizer gives me on most songs, though I do not mind barely processed sound either.
My speaker setup is powered by a Denon PMA-520a (4x70w,8 ohm) with a JVC A-X3 (2x75w I think, 4ohm) daisy-chained to it, granting me a total of 6 speakers and 2 dedicated tweeters all pumping out a stereo signal over RCA. The Denon drives 4 Philips 22AH489 speakers, whereas the JVC drives 2 Philips 22AH482 speakers and 2 Hepta Tweety tweeters over the same output.
I will be needing a PCIe or USB sound card, with a preference for USB. I will be upgrading my entire computer soon, so an USB sound card would be the safest way to go considering I am going to be using 3 dual-slot video cards together.
I mostly use my speakers on my computer, though my headphones do see some good use at the darker hours of the day, as well as when I just feel like listening to them. Good speaker sound quality is the most important to me though.
I am from the Netherlands, so I might not be able to get every product that's mentioned. Auzentech, Creative and Asus cards are surely available though. My budget is about 150 euros max (about $220), though if need be I'll pay more. I'd rather pay much less though, if it gives me good quality as well.
And finally, I do not want a Creative product. I have an old X-Fi XtremeMusic laying around here, which is just crap. It doesn't even work on my current motherboard, but I never liked the quality much anyways. I also got the infamous screech of death quite a few times, and the drivers never wanted to work properly. Creative's customer "support" is a pile of crap as well.
I've heard Auzentech actually makes good X-Fi based products, and EAX5 would be nice, but I can't shake off the thoughts I'd just be getting another bad card with it. On the other hand Asus' Xonar series appeals to me for the supposed great audio quality, and they also have an USB-based product with good reviews (U1), which I have been interested in. However the lack of proper EAX support might not be great for when I play games...
So yeah... Sorry for the long post, I just really hope to finally get a proper answer to this question. What should I go with?
Thanks in advance!
I was wondering whether you guys could help me out with the choice of a new sound card. I have been working with an old onboard Realtek ALC888 for a while now, and while it does produce sound the quality is far from great. That's why I'm looking for an upgrade. I saw some really knowledgeable people on here regarding sound cards, so that's why I decided to ask here.
I am a gamer, though I use my computer to listen to music a lot too. I also watch movies every once in a while, but not that often.
My headphones are a pair of Creative Aurvana X-Fi ones, fed through my JVC amplifier. I like the sound the Crystallizer gives me on most songs, though I do not mind barely processed sound either.
My speaker setup is powered by a Denon PMA-520a (4x70w,8 ohm) with a JVC A-X3 (2x75w I think, 4ohm) daisy-chained to it, granting me a total of 6 speakers and 2 dedicated tweeters all pumping out a stereo signal over RCA. The Denon drives 4 Philips 22AH489 speakers, whereas the JVC drives 2 Philips 22AH482 speakers and 2 Hepta Tweety tweeters over the same output.
I will be needing a PCIe or USB sound card, with a preference for USB. I will be upgrading my entire computer soon, so an USB sound card would be the safest way to go considering I am going to be using 3 dual-slot video cards together.
I mostly use my speakers on my computer, though my headphones do see some good use at the darker hours of the day, as well as when I just feel like listening to them. Good speaker sound quality is the most important to me though.
I am from the Netherlands, so I might not be able to get every product that's mentioned. Auzentech, Creative and Asus cards are surely available though. My budget is about 150 euros max (about $220), though if need be I'll pay more. I'd rather pay much less though, if it gives me good quality as well.
And finally, I do not want a Creative product. I have an old X-Fi XtremeMusic laying around here, which is just crap. It doesn't even work on my current motherboard, but I never liked the quality much anyways. I also got the infamous screech of death quite a few times, and the drivers never wanted to work properly. Creative's customer "support" is a pile of crap as well.
I've heard Auzentech actually makes good X-Fi based products, and EAX5 would be nice, but I can't shake off the thoughts I'd just be getting another bad card with it. On the other hand Asus' Xonar series appeals to me for the supposed great audio quality, and they also have an USB-based product with good reviews (U1), which I have been interested in. However the lack of proper EAX support might not be great for when I play games...
So yeah... Sorry for the long post, I just really hope to finally get a proper answer to this question. What should I go with?
Thanks in advance!