would a usb dac still need a soundcard?

[aldave]

if i get a usb dac will i still get the eax and stuff from my soundcard? cause i like to use it for gaming.

and also, if i plug the headphones in the front panel will it be any better than at the back of the soundcard, cause i have speakers plugged at the back of the soundcard. (i have the audigy 2 zs platinum with the front panel thing)

 

[Mher6]

You will NOT get the EAX functions from your sound card if you are listening through a usb DAC.

I'm not certain I completely understand your second question. What I think you're asking is if sound quality will be better on the front panel vs. buying an adaptor for the back of the card and splitting a single connection. My guess is that it would, since the audio signal is only being sent to one device on the front panel vs. two. Would it be noticeable? Probably not, but I can not say.

 

[krmathis]

No, you don't need a sound card if you are listening through an USB DAC.
You won't get EAX either, since no audio go through the sound card.... ^_^

 

[fordgtlover]

You can actually run with a soundcard in your PC for gaming and such, and still run a USB DAC for music listening.

All of the features will still be available from you soundcard.

Assuming you are running Windows, the trick is to install Asio4All and configure it to use your USB DAC, then setup your audio program (I use Foobar) to use Asio4all as the output. Then set up the devices you want to use for gaming as the default devices in "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" in "Control Panel".

You can now have all of you usual windows sounds coming out of the soundcard, and it will be used for gmaes, but when you want to listen to music you will have music directed to your USB DAC.

 

[sejarzo]

ASIO4All isn't necessary if your USB device has its own native ASIO drivers.

I was also thinking for a bit that if you run Foobar, setting it up to use kernel streaming for the USB device might work, with Windows set to default to your internal device--but KS seems to be iffy with most USB sound cards/DACs.

 

[Rempert]

I think of a USB DAC as an external sound card with limited features. It operates independently of any other sound card you may have on your system, and does more or less their role. The other sound cards become unnecessary, and by the same token any processing done by the other cards will not be sent through the USB port to the DAC.

A DAC that is hooked by digital connection (whether optical or coaxial) to an existing sound card is more of a dedicated DAC in the traditional sense. In this configuration, processing in the digital domain is done by the old sound card, for better or worse, and the DAC just takes the digital stream and converts to analog.

Not sure if that helps or just makes it more confusing.

 

[aldave]

im confused..er

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aldave /img/forum/go_quote.gif im confused..er

Which part(s) don't you understand?

 

[pedxing]

Yeah, I am confused about the confusion here.

A sound card is basically a DAC with some extra nifty features. A typical computer sound card is inside the computer, integrated into the motherboard or exists as a PCI card.

The USB sound card connects to the USB port. It can be removed for your convenience, plus its outside of the computer which makes it less prone to electrical interference and all sort of bad stuff that happens inside your computer.

In theory, both can exist at the same time. Usually the internal one is optimized for consumer use such as gaming. USB DACs are usually focus on enthusiasts and audio recording, so they usually come with better and more refined parts. This is all generalized and there are always exceptions. Hope this helps.

If you want gamomg, keep your current sound card solution. If you want something to sound better, there are many high end PCI sound cards in addition to the USB DACs.

 

[cerbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aldave /img/forum/go_quote.gif im confused..er

Game->headphones.

Well, for our purposes, it's more like:
Game->output (likely DirectSound)->drivers->sound card->headphones.

But, that's then like:
Game->output->drivers->chipset (including DSP)->DAC->amp->headphones

The game says, "here's some sounds to play, and here's some effects to apply to these ones."

The drivers then decode all that, mix some of it, and tell the card what to do.

The card then applies it all, having been told what to do, and then has a nice digital signal to output somewhere. That somewhere can be a DAC from the SPDIF, or the internal DAC.

Using a USB sound card, AKA USB DAC, then you have that whole process, minus the DSP, inside the USB device. The EAX effects are basically stuck with the Creative hardware and software, and whatever goes to the USB DAC is stuck with it. They don't exchange information. You choose one or the other.

Since most OSes automatically switch outputs to the newest USB device plugged in, you can have an internal creative card, use it for gaming, and an external one to use for music, when you plug it in. But, you'd also need a way to swap amps used, too. Or, get a USB DAC+amp, so you can just move your headphones over to a different plug.

Front panel: try it and see. It'll be a cheaper than getting something new for your computer.

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedxing /img/forum/go_quote.gif snip In theory, both can exist at the same time. Usually the internal one is optimized for consumer use such as gaming. USB DACs are usually focus on enthusiasts and audio recording, so they usually come with better and more refined parts. snip

Not just in theory. I have a sound card and a USB DAC. The sound card is set up as the default playback device in windows. So, for games and such they will use the sound card, with all of its bells 'n' whistles.

I have my USB DAC configured through ASIO4all and Foobar. I use the USB DAC exclusively for listening to music.

They co-habitate in perfect harmony.

 

[aldave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cerbie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Game->headphones. Well, for our purposes, it's more like: Game->output (likely DirectSound)->drivers->sound card->headphones. But, that's then like: Game->output->drivers->chipset (including DSP)->DAC->amp->headphones The game says, "here's some sounds to play, and here's some effects to apply to these ones." The drivers then decode all that, mix some of it, and tell the card what to do. The card then applies it all, having been told what to do, and then has a nice digital signal to output somewhere. That somewhere can be a DAC from the SPDIF, or the internal DAC. Using a USB sound card, AKA USB DAC, then you have that whole process, minus the DSP, inside the USB device. The EAX effects are basically stuck with the Creative hardware and software, and whatever goes to the USB DAC is stuck with it. They don't exchange information. You choose one or the other. Since most OSes automatically switch outputs to the newest USB device plugged in, you can have an internal creative card, use it for gaming, and an external one to use for music, when you plug it in. But, you'd also need a way to swap amps used, too. Or, get a USB DAC+amp, so you can just move your headphones over to a different plug. Front panel: try it and see. It'll be a cheaper than getting something new for your computer.

so if the dac goes to the soundcard the soundcard stuff still works but if it goes to usb the soundcard is seperate?

 

[cerbie]

Pretty much.