Sound card help needed

[xvl89]

Hello:)

Currently using a MSI G43 Mobo, and I'm looking to buy either Asus Xonar DG 5.1, OR The Asus Xonar DGX 5.1....Whats the different? There only a couple of ££ difference, but wanted to know :)

Secondly I'm using a 4H headset for gaming / music and for films I'm using a TV through HDMI.

Heres my main questions:

1. Will the Asus Xonar DG 5.1 be good for running decent logitech speakers? Like $50 2.1's?
2. Can I run 5.1 speakers and a headset and mic from a 5.1 sound card?

Given what you know about my sound setup, what should I buy? Should I buy a sound card + decent headphones and use the 4h for the mic? Or should I get a better headset + Soundcard? ;/ OR should I get a nice speaker setup? :/

Sorry thats alot, really need to know where to put my money for good sound....I want to spend around $90 us dollars:)

Thanks in advance!

[enaberif]

Don't bother. Just use onboard.

[xvl89]

Don't bother. Just use onboard.

- Why? Ive heard so much good things about soundcards

[BlueByte]

To expand on that I assume he means don't bother with your setup in particular. If you are just doing a pass through HDMI or optical I think it makes 0 difference since your amp will be decoding it anyway. If you pushing out analog to speakers then spending $100 on a sound card means nothing if the speakers you are driving are weak sauce. Say you bought klipsch 2.1 and an addin sound card it would start to be noticeable. $50 Logitech don't tend to cut it. Audio is also very subjective, if you are happy with your $50 speakers, great don't worry about adding in a sound card though.

[Bond007]

with your use I would use onboard as well.

[xvl89]

I am not happy with it tho, I'm looking for better audio quality... I don't want to use a HDMI cable to my TV...that sux =P I want some nice speakers and a decent sound card =P

Does the asus Xonas 5.1 DG work with speakers? =p I use my pc allll day long...I don't want crappy sound =P

Please help me decide what upgrade would help!:)

Thanks guys

[Bond007]

IMO for $90 you would be best off with a new headset or speakers, whichever you would rather. Onboard sound is quite decent in the last few years, and I doubt you would notice any difference going to a soundcard unless you are running it through $1500+ (roughly £1000+) speakers. That said if your computer is old or having issues it would be a different story.

[SugarJ]

Sorry Bond007, I'll heartily disagree with you here. I can hear the difference between onboard and discrete cards like a Xonar DX on my "crappy" Logitech X-530's. The difference is more pronounced on my Audio Technica's ($120 headphones).

I will say that the more you spend, the better the end result.

[summak]

to answer your two questions, currently I have a xonar DG and i use JBL creature iii speakers, and going from onboard to sound card was very minute improvement. Its hard to compare the sound of the speakers. The reason would be that the sound card is going through a sub woofer which then amplifies the sound and then I get the output, hence in a speaker setup not much difference would be seen, unless you can spend on getting better speakers. That should answer your first question.

For your second question, yes it is possible. As you know, that the xonar dg also has a Front I/O audio connector as well? Well, then use the ports on the back of the sound card for your 5.1 setup, and then the front I/O for headphone and Microphone. Simple?

Again for headphones, I am currently using a sennheiser HD 201[pretty crappy for the xonar dg] and hence I am gonna get a nice pair next month. I am also looking for some headphone that will support more that 64ohms power. But yea, depends.

Hence, for a sound card, you will need some good headphones and speakers to actually feel the difference.

[Bond007]

Originally Posted by SugarJ

Sorry Bond007, I'll heartily disagree with you here. I can hear the difference between onboard and discrete cards like a Xonar DX on my "crappy" Logitech X-530's. The difference is more pronounced on my Audio Technica's ($120 headphones).

I will say that the more you spend, the better the end result.

No need for apologies. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just in my experience speakers play a much more vital role than sound card in sound quality until you reach a certain point (though I may have exaggerated the cost associated with that).