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Overclock.net - Overclocking.net > Components > Sound Cards and Computer Audio > Hi-Fi Gear | |
Looking to buy high quality sound card
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10-20-09
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New to Overclock.net
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Looking to buy high quality sound card
What's up y'all?
I've been reading around the forum trying to figure out what sound card to get for my computer since I've been using on board sound and very old logitech speakers and the audio is so far below par I can't take it anymore. So I have been seeing X-Fi Forte, Xonar D2/D2X, & Essence STX tossed around a lot as some of the better cards and was wondering which would be better for my HD280s I just bought. I'm no audiophile but I'd like to work towards it. I don't mind spending money for a quality item, but I'm gonna hold back on spending $500 headphones for now haha. From what I read one or two of the afore mentioned cards has/have built in headphone amps and I was also curious as to which would be better investing in, a card with no amp and an outside amp, a card with an amp, or a card with an amp built in and an outside amp? Still so much I don't know  Thanks y'all for the patience 
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10-20-09
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#2 (permalink) | |||||||||||||
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ATI Enthusiast
 
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the x-fi series by creative i highly recommend.
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10-20-09
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4.0 GHz
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I love my X-Fi Forte. In my opinion, it is not like any old X-Fi. I am looking forward to experimenting with the swappable headphone op-amp.
It is a pcie 1x card, by the way. It is quite a lot of card, in a small package. Not that I have space constraints, or a lack of slots, but I decided for this rig, to try a PCI Wi-Fi card, (a WMP600, just because it has a much wider temperature range than other wireless cards, although it does get quite hot), and a PCIE 1x sound card; then, I can have 16x/16x SLI or C/F, and a 8x RAID controller card, still with the WMP-600 and Forte installed.
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KILL
Last edited by Clockadile Dundee : 10-20-09 at 03:45 PM |
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10-20-09
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#4 (permalink) | ||||||||||
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Audiophile
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Posts: 1,026
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Everything highly depends on one thing: budget.
And also what are you going to plug into the soundcard? Is it just for music or is gaming involved as well?
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Moi Main Sound Setup Gear: Musiland Monitor 02 US USB DAC -> Rockhopper M³ Headphone Amp -> Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm Player: Foobar2000 + Noise Shaping DSP @ 14% w/ Native ASIO + & mostly FLAC files Portable setup: Sansa Fuze -> JVC/Victor HP FX-500 Earphones w/ Koss Silicone Ear Cushions Speakers: Lepai LP-2020 Speaker Amp -> Tannoy Fusion 1 Rest of my audio stuff here!
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10-20-09
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New to Overclock.net
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I'm willing to spend at least $200 on a good sound card if need be. I'll be using HD280s at first, and be looking into a nice set of speakers in the future. I'm just looking for a high end sound card that will last me. It is mainly for music, I do play games but the sound for that is not as important to me as my music is.
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10-20-09
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#6 (permalink) | ||||||||||
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Audiophile
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Posts: 1,026
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The Musiland Monitor 02 US
My initial impressions of it on OCN: http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...s-essence.html
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Moi Main Sound Setup Gear: Musiland Monitor 02 US USB DAC -> Rockhopper M³ Headphone Amp -> Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm Player: Foobar2000 + Noise Shaping DSP @ 14% w/ Native ASIO + & mostly FLAC files Portable setup: Sansa Fuze -> JVC/Victor HP FX-500 Earphones w/ Koss Silicone Ear Cushions Speakers: Lepai LP-2020 Speaker Amp -> Tannoy Fusion 1 Rest of my audio stuff here!
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10-21-09
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New to Overclock.net
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Ordered my card last night; ASUS Xonar Essence STX. Can't wait for all my parts to come in so I can get my system up and running again. Thanks for all the ideas y'all
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4 Weeks Ago
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#8 (permalink) | |||||||||||||
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Audiophile
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Good choice.
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4 Weeks Ago
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New to Overclock.net
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If you are transforming into an audiophile then you won't mind the soundcard being stereo instead of 7.1 surround.... and if you can spend "at least $200" then why not check out this Audiotrak one?
__________________ There is a thread on it in the music section at this moment. http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...le-colors.html It's got a nice headphone out too.
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4 Weeks Ago
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All about music!
 
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Quote:
I had an X-Fi Prelude as well, but my STX beats it in music playback!
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Planned Upgrades (Coming Soon): Intel Core i7 950 D0 (Deal in progress) 6GB Kingston 2000Mhz HyperX (Deal in progress) ASUS Rampage II Extreme X58 (Ordered) Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit (Ordered) 2nd XFX 4890 Black Edition (Ordered)
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