Overclock.net banner

Do you think sound cards are worth it for the price?

  • Yes, I think they're worth it for their price

    Votes: 111 66.5%
  • No, I don't think they're worth it for their price

    Votes: 56 33.5%

Are sound cards worth it to you?

4K views 72 replies 51 participants last post by  dcyli 
#1 ·
I personally have always used integrated sounds and so far I don't have any complains about it. I see many people spend $100+ on a sound card and personally from what I've seen the price doesn't justify the improvement of sound quality.
But of course to be fair I have never experienced the difference of a sound card and onboard sound.
 
#4 ·
I noticed with my integrated audio that I had to crank up the volume to 100% both in Windows and whatever application I was using and have it still be too low for my taste. Then swapping in a dedicated sound card I only use 40% in Windows and 70-90% in the applications to achieve much louder sound levels.

The onboard sound also was sort of muffled, while the sound card sounds much more crisp and defined.

I noticed all this with some cheap Sennheiser HD201 headphones and a $20 Creative X-Fi sound card.... so it can only get better from there.
 
#5 ·
its worth it depending on your sound setup.

if you have a 2 speaker system from wal-mart, then you wont notice because your speakers wont really show the improvement

if you have a nice speaker setup or some good headphones, the sound quality will be noticeable in games and music. sound cards dont have to be that expensive either, there are decent cards under $100
 
#11 ·
I bought a HT Omega card from another member to bring more life to my old Logitech Z-560 setup, I too noticed I don't need to crank volume in windows and Media player as high. Plus everything is a lot crisper too, mid's and high don't blend together. The clarity of the bass is very nice too.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuojinz;12617347
I have Logitech X-140 speakers, if I got a sound card will I notice significant improvements? I'm a music fanatic, trance,metal,classical, you name it, I listen to it.
So any recommendations to me?
Probably not
frown.gif
But, If you ever get some better speakers I'd recommend the Asus Xonar DX. Only around $60 and its great for music
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuojinz;12617347
I have Logitech X-140 speakers, if I got a sound card will I notice significant improvements? I'm a music fanatic, trance,metal,classical, you name it, I listen to it.
So any recommendations to me?
New speakers
tongue.gif
 
#16 ·
only thing i really care about the sound that much for is movies and i get hd audio bitstreaming from my 6970

also beware that sound cards stock settings can come with a bunch of extra filters and eq settings that can make things sound better then the flat signal that is coming out of the onboard, but chances that you could actually notice the difference if you were blindfolded and those settings went away are extremely minute.

The human ear is very fickle and a dedicated soundcard even simply boosting the volume a little bit can trick us into thinking we are getting better sound when it is only better volume.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuojinz;12617207
I personally have always used integrated sounds and so far I don't have any complains about it. I see many people spend $100+ on a sound card and personally from what I've seen the price doesn't justify the improvement of sound quality.
But of course to be fair I have never experienced the difference of a sound card and onboard sound.
Depends on your purpose. I purchased mine to save money on buying a desktop amp, that can easily cost $1000+, since my headphones are all under 300 Ohms; the Xonar ST drives them nicely.

If your purpose is purely music, I say skip the soundcard and get yourself a quality external DAC and a TOSLINK cable.

If your purpose is gaming then by all means get a discrete SC.

If you want quality sound, spending anything less than $200 is a waste of money, but hey someone has to fill that section of the market and that market is doing quite well.
bulb.gif
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuojinz;12617401
Any non overpriced speakers&sound recommendations then?
I got my X-Fi XtremeMusic for like $20 a year or so back right off Creative's website... which at the time made it an awesome bang for the buck sound card. However I don't think they make this particular model anymore, and I am not sure what current models are comparable to this.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuojinz;12617401
Any non overpriced speakers&sound recommendations then?
"Overpriced" is subjective. Someone who truly cares about sound will spend hundreds on a proper setup. Personally, I'm running on a $100 sound card (technically $150 according to Creative, but it's not worth that much), with $150 speakers, and $80 headphones. I used to run onboard, with crappy logitech 2.1 speakers and a razer headset; I hadn't realized it, but the difference is PHENOMENAL.

I work in retail, however, so that ends up being $80 sound card, $80 speakers, and $30 headphones.
biggrin.gif


If either the MSRP sounds solid to you, or you know someone who works at Best Buy, grab a set of Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers, and a Sennheiser headset.

For the sound card, Asus' Xonars, Auzentech's X-fi's, etc. are solid options.
 
#22 ·
i have my current setup running through my receiver to 4 klipsch shelf speakers which makes up for the lack of a soundcard, but i can't stand listening to my headphones.
 
#23 ·
If you dislike headphones like I do, the absolute best sound setup for under $1000 would definitely be a couple big bookshelf speakers or monitors and an AVR with a DAC. This could all cost as little as $150 for an excellent setup that would probably exceed any PC-specific speakers on the market.

There's no POINT in getting a sound card if you use a receiver with a DAC, and those are cheap. S/PDIF by definition is invariable, so a sound card would just be silly. I never use headphones and ended up selling my $250 HT Omega Halo Claro XT.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by trulsrohk;12617376
only thing i really care about the sound that much for is movies and i get hd audio bitstreaming from my 6970

also beware that sound cards stock settings can come with a bunch of extra filters and eq settings that can make things sound better then the flat signal that is coming out of the onboard, but chances that you could actually notice the difference if you were blindfolded and those settings went away are extremely minute.

The human ear is very fickle and a dedicated soundcard even simply boosting the volume a little bit can trick us into thinking we are getting better sound when it is only better volume.
This. A dedicated sound card usually has a higher signal-to-noise ratio compared to onboard. Basically a dedicated sound card will be louder. For us, louder sounds better even though the audio may be similar otherwise.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top