USB Sound cards.

[Jackquelegs]

Originally Posted by SugarJ

Thanks for taking the time to update us. I guess the general prejudice we have that USB sound card solutions aren't as good as internals might need to be adjusted.

In the general consumer market, I haven't seen a respectable USB DAC just yet. Most of the good ones belong to the audiophile world, and being that..they are very secluded.

[GT7R]

Does anyone knows whether the Creative X-FI Titanium and Asus Xonar Essence STX has front panel connectors?

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by GT7R

Does anyone knows whether the Creative X-FI Titanium and Asus Xonar Essence STX has front panel connectors?

STX does not.

[AdoP]

Yes I totally agree with you, professional grade usb sound cards blow away the usb soundblaster 5.1 pro but they are priced around $250-$500 and very hard to find as you said. For $55 shipped the creative 5.1 pro is a nice option, but if you have the choice a PCI or PCIe sound card produces better sound quality.

Originally Posted by Jackquelegs

In the general consumer market, I haven't seen a respectable USB DAC just yet. Most of the good ones belong to the audiophile world, and being that..they are very secluded.

[zoob]

Does anyone have experience with the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB?

I'm thinking of picking it up so I can stuff my gaming rig into a mITX setup (whenever there's a P67 or Z68 mITX board released).

[Slik]

If you are looking for another set of headphones,then the Xonar Xense is the way to go. Plug in the headphones [PC350s] and your desk tops and you are good to go. The Xense is one of the BEST sound cards available and especially when used for gaming. Analog and digital 5.1 and 7.1.

[zoob]

MiniITX only has one pcie slot so I'd need to use a USB soundcard. Don't need new headphones as I have a set of HD555. :/

[kazman]

I have Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB and I use it with my MOON 300D Dac (1599.00) and I like it a lot.