rmmil978
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 15:26:32
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jll544
rmmil978 I love quality audio so I’m interested in this card. However, I’m currently using an Aorus GA-Z270X-Gaming 8 board and from what I’ve seen in reviews my onboard audio is actually already better than most, using a ssoundblaster ZxRi audio package with a sound core 3D audio chip. Would this dedicated card be any noticeably “better” than what I’m using now?
IMHO, it's doubtful that you'd find a major improvement. Your ZxRi package includes a 127dB DAC and socketed op-amps, so it's already very much in premium soundcard territory. NU Audio might offer a better power supply, improved headphone amp, and support for higher bitrates, but those kind of improvements are in the margins rather than anything dramatic. If I had motherboard audio of that caliber, I'd rather put the money into customizing the sound by swapping out op-amps for Burson, MUSE, etc.
Thanks a bunch! I’m a bit lost regarding specs, you mentioned my card has a 127dB DAC, EVGA’s is 123. Is mine “better”? I’m not sure what that stat measures.
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rmmil978
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 15:26:32
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jll544
rmmil978 I love quality audio so I’m interested in this card. However, I’m currently using an Aorus GA-Z270X-Gaming 8 board and from what I’ve seen in reviews my onboard audio is actually already better than most, using a ssoundblaster ZxRi audio package with a sound core 3D audio chip. Would this dedicated card be any noticeably “better” than what I’m using now?
IMHO, it's doubtful that you'd find a major improvement. Your ZxRi package includes a 127dB DAC and socketed op-amps, so it's already very much in premium soundcard territory. NU Audio might offer a better power supply, improved headphone amp, and support for higher bitrates, but those kind of improvements are in the margins rather than anything dramatic. If I had motherboard audio of that caliber, I'd rather put the money into customizing the sound by swapping out op-amps for Burson, MUSE, etc.
Thanks a bunch! I’m a bit lost regarding specs, you mentioned my card has a 127dB DAC, EVGA’s is 123. Is mine “better”? I’m not sure what that stat measures.
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rmmil978
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 15:26:32
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jll544
rmmil978 I love quality audio so I’m interested in this card. However, I’m currently using an Aorus GA-Z270X-Gaming 8 board and from what I’ve seen in reviews my onboard audio is actually already better than most, using a ssoundblaster ZxRi audio package with a sound core 3D audio chip. Would this dedicated card be any noticeably “better” than what I’m using now?
IMHO, it's doubtful that you'd find a major improvement. Your ZxRi package includes a 127dB DAC and socketed op-amps, so it's already very much in premium soundcard territory. NU Audio might offer a better power supply, improved headphone amp, and support for higher bitrates, but those kind of improvements are in the margins rather than anything dramatic. If I had motherboard audio of that caliber, I'd rather put the money into customizing the sound by swapping out op-amps for Burson, MUSE, etc.
Thanks a bunch! I’m a bit lost regarding specs, you mentioned my card has a 127dB DAC, EVGA’s is 123. Is mine “better”? I’m not sure what that stat measures.
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dolmann1
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 17:24:58
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I just built a new rig with an Asus Rog Maximus Hero XI, Intel i7 9700, 16 Gb ram, EVGA GeForce RTX 2080, and more goodies. The motherboard has onboard audio with: ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC S1220 - Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking - High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input - SupremeFX Shielding Technology - ESS® ES9023P - Supports up to 32-Bit/192kHz playback *3 I'm currently using Logitech z525 speakers. I listen to music, play games, and watch videos, etc on this computer. My question is this. How would the new EVGA Nu audio card realistically improve my experience? Would the $250 cost be justified in your opinion for what I would be getting above the onboard sound? Thank you in advance for your advice :)
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aagstn
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 17:25:23
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Had it in my cart and then couldn't order it. Already sold out? Now it has been removed from the audio category. Is this thing already discontinued?
post edited by aagstn - 2019/01/16 17:35:46
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Merlin
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 17:30:14
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Dear EVGA_JacobF Waiting for your reply to my comments 13 posts above. How long will EVGA support a product that is DOA with driver updates ??
post edited by Merlin - 2019/01/16 17:34:33
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MSim
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 17:32:36
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gjb813 Does this have voice changers? I still love my xonar essense stx because it has voice changers.(monster,laughing,male,female) and why is it only 5.1? The Xonar essense stx has a 7.1 virtual speaker.
NU Audio doesn't have software features geared towards gamers. It's mainly about Stereo audio. It doesn't have DTS or Dolby software features. They plan on adding other features later on. My Creative AE-5 supports 32 bit 96000hz audio playback. It has software features geared towards gamers.
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Nereus
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 18:47:59
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Heh, well it seems I've had my mind made up for me - it's already out of stock. :)
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idontthinksotim
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 19:50:51
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What a laughably stupid product designed for no one. Yeah, I'm going to pay $250 for a worse experience than the BUILT IN HDMI PORT IN MY NVIDIA GPU, which you ALSO SELL. No HDMI out? Stereo only? What is this? 1993? What a [REMOVED] joke. How long until this brand gets killed? I give it 2 months tops.
post edited by EVGATech_AdamB - 2019/01/17 09:36:04
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idontthinksotim
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 19:53:05
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EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
Notice how he used the word "difference" and not "improvement." Yeah, I'd definitely notice a "difference." The built in HDMI out with my Nvidia card GIVES ME 7.1 AUDIO, and this is only stereo. Sure is different! Wow what snake oil. Don't be a sucker and give them money for this obvious scam. $250 for stereo sound in 2019.
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GGTV-Jon
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 20:12:30
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idontthinksotim
EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
Notice how he used the word "difference" and not "improvement." Yeah, I'd definitely notice a "difference." The built in HDMI out with my Nvidia card GIVES ME 7.1 AUDIO, and this is only stereo. Sure is different! Wow what snake oil. Don't be a sucker and give them money for this obvious scam. $250 for stereo sound in 2019.
WOW, you are SO COOOL, you have 7.1 headphones Dude comon, obviously it is not a product for you. Some of us DO actually use headphones that DO NOT require HDMI bla bla bla Go back you your console You must be a Creative tool, made that account just to bash this product -Post edited by Mod to remove posts that have been removed
post edited by the_Scarlet_one - 2019/01/17 11:52:34
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jll544
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 20:39:50
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rmmil978 I’m a bit lost regarding specs, you mentioned my card has a 127dB DAC, EVGA’s is 123. Is mine “better”? I’m not sure what that stat measures.
The DNR dB spec gives an indication of how much signal vs. noise the DAC produces. A higher number indicates a less-noisy DAC... So yes, 127dB is better than 123, but the DAC is only one part - the starting point for the analog signal. The signal goes through many other parts (op-amps, resistors, capacitors, headphone amp, etc) before hitting the outputs, so there's a lot more involved affecting sound quality. It's in those areas that a carefully-designed sound card like NU Audio might do incrementally better than your motherboard. How audible that improvement might be is hard to guess.
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MSim
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 20:44:29
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idontthinksotim
EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
Notice how he used the word "difference" and not "improvement." Yeah, I'd definitely notice a "difference." The built in HDMI out with my Nvidia card GIVES ME 7.1 AUDIO, and this is only stereo. Sure is different! Wow what snake oil. Don't be a sucker and give them money for this obvious scam. $250 for stereo sound in 2019.
This card has nice hardware and it's probably good for people who use a desktop to listen to high quality audio files in stereo mode. The 100 evga bucks if you can't notice a difference is a marketing gimmick.
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maxinfo
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 21:39:08
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EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
I ordered one to give it a shot. I think you might watch to be careful here for those that already used DAC/Amps. I will be comparing it to my portable DAC/Amp, an OPPO HA-2 which, while a bit older and discontinued, is a pretty good hardware package. I'll be driving Oppo PM-3's and comparing game play and DSD playback.
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ChaobSiroc
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 21:59:38
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Got mine ordered this-morning. All I need is to drive Sennheiser HD700s for natural music playback. I've been stuck on PCI slot HT Omega Claro Halo because no other soundcard I've tried in the $100-$200 range (Creative or Asus) has been able to come anywhere close to matching its non-gimmicky high quality stereo. If EVGA pull it off with this new soundcard then I won't be stuck on 2 gen old motherboard for my audio build anymore. Gaming soundcards are garbage quality to any discerning ear so I'm delighted to see EVGA took the high ground with this product launch by making something for audiophiles even if the masses will whine about the "missing" "features".
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idontthinksotim
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 23:26:56
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MSim
idontthinksotim
EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
Notice how he used the word "difference" and not "improvement." Yeah, I'd definitely notice a "difference." The built in HDMI out with my Nvidia card GIVES ME 7.1 AUDIO, and this is only stereo. Sure is different! Wow what snake oil. Don't be a sucker and give them money for this obvious scam. $250 for stereo sound in 2019.
This card has nice hardware and it's probably good for people who use a desktop to listen to high quality audio files in stereo mode. The 100 evga bucks if you can't notice a difference is a marketing gimmick.
Uh, the highest quality audio, SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A, is actually 5.1+. Yeah, this is [REMOVED] CRAP. C R A P O L A
post edited by EVGATech_AdamB - 2019/01/17 09:36:59
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Anarion
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/16 23:38:30
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EVGA_JacobF
gettinscurvy So, I see it has a 6.3mm headphone jack. My headphone cord extension has the headphone jack the same smol size as the microphone. Would you just run an adapter? Is it painfully obvious that this product might not be for someone like me that just uses Razer headphones and just uses their computer for video games?
The adapter is included.
Does EVGA have any audio analyser measurements for SNR, crosstalk, THD etc.? Personally I only care how any audio device actually performs. If it measures well, it will sound good too.
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xMoac
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 01:08:47
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I have active speakers , Kef LSX , connected to my PC via optical out (toslink) thru my old Asrock Game Blaster sound card. (X79 motherboard extreme 9) Would I benefit from this Nu Sound card?
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Skippman
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 07:10:43
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Surprised NuForce hasn't hit them with a trademark infringement yet, but their names may be dissimilar enough. I'm rocking an old school THX set of Creative Labs speakers and a set of HyperX Cloud headphones. Would I even notice a difference jumping up to this from my Creative Z?
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DarkEch0es
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 07:34:53
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Currently using an Asus Xonar DGX with my Arctis 7 with Uni Xonar drivers installed. Dolby Headphones enabled and upmixing to 5.1. Doesn't seem like this will be an upgrade for me unless I'm missing something.
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dalten22
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 07:51:54
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idontthinksotim
EVGA_JacobF Also... for users who purchase the EVGA NU Audio Card, EVGA will have program where we will be offering 100 EVGA Bucks guarantee that you will be able to hear a noticeable difference between your current sound solution and the EVGA NU Audio Card. Stay tuned for more details!
Notice how he used the word "difference" and not "improvement." Yeah, I'd definitely notice a "difference." The built in HDMI out with my Nvidia card GIVES ME 7.1 AUDIO, and this is only stereo. Sure is different! Wow what snake oil. Don't be a sucker and give them money for this obvious scam. $250 for stereo sound in 2019.
Edit: I realize the person I replied to wasn't the one with the 7.1 headset, but even so if you actually need HDMI out then what do you even need any kind of sound card for? Another poor soul ensnared in the "7.1" headset myth. Anyone claiming they have a "7.1" headset doesn't know what they're talking about and you'll never see any competitive players using those pieces of crap. Most games' 3D positional audio will work the best with good quality stereo headphones. Your "7.1" headset that is likely made of cheap plastic and a poor quality sound stage doesn't actually have 7 speakers and a sub built in. Think about it, where is the sub, and where is the center speaker in your headphones? Does the sub float on an arm behind you and the center floats in front of your face or something? You and many others (including myself at one point) got duped by the audio companies into buying products. So your average gimmicky "7.1" headsets are also just stereo, with a software layer that is supposed to emulate 7.1 sound but it's always hit or miss. The best 3D audio you will find today is in a game where the game engine does the audio processing using Stereo mode. That's why this NU audio is likely the best music+gaming sound card out there, though I'm waiting for a review. PS: For anyone with a "7.1" headset and have PUBG or BF5 or any other similar game: Try to disable all the 7.1 virtual features, make sure Windows is set to Stereo mode and that the Windows 10 virtual surround sound (if you have it) are disabled. It's virtually a guarantee you'll get better positional audio using standard stereo. edited by mod to remove masked language
post edited by the_Scarlet_one - 2019/01/17 11:54:57
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kcwilsonii
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 09:25:08
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Nice DAC, would love see your review. Should make for a excellent comparison test
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kcwilsonii
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 10:07:32
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what is your PC setup like? CPU,ram,motherboard. I have a 6 year old Intel Motherboard (actual Intel Motherboard) with 3570K cpu and 16 GB ram. Current sound is being handled by a GTX 1060, which I recently added to the setup. Honestly, have never been able to tell a difference sound wise with Graphic cards with built in audio. I change out for a new graphics card.. they all sound the same. I run the audio through a Yamaha RX-V671 with 2 floor standing speakers. Sound format and processing capability make a big difference. You are already using a serious set of speakers but only running stereo via the TOSLink So all the processing would happen back at the card. The output from the Nu Real would be better via the Stereo jacks as they specifically are designed to handle DSD output. I will be running TOSLink and Stereo output comparisons on this EVGA Audio Card and will post back my comparisons. Your ASRock has some nice features does it match with a ASRock Motherboard? Noticed this on the ASrock site "Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function (for motherboards with Broadcom LAN)" My motherboard does Dual Lan teaming, helps with throughput network wise by quite a bit.
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Anarion
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 11:34:15
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kcwilsonii what is your PC setup like? CPU,ram,motherboard. I have a 6 year old Intel Motherboard (actual Intel Motherboard) with 3570K cpu and 16 GB ram. Current sound is being handled by a GTX 1060, which I recently added to the setup. Honestly, have never been able to tell a difference sound wise with Graphic cards with built in audio. I change out for a new graphics card.. they all sound the same. I run the audio through a Yamaha RX-V671 with 2 floor standing speakers. Sound format and processing capability make a big difference. You are already using a serious set of speakers but only running stereo via the TOSLink So all the processing would happen back at the card. The output from the Nu Real would be better via the Stereo jacks as they specifically are designed to handle DSD output. I will be running TOSLink and Stereo output comparisons on this EVGA Audio Card and will post back my comparisons. Your ASRock has some nice features does it match with a ASRock Motherboard? Noticed this on the ASrock site "Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function (for motherboards with Broadcom LAN)" My motherboard does Dual Lan teaming, helps with throughput network wise by quite a bit.
In your case your Yamaha does the digital to analogue conversion. All your PC does is pass the digital signal to your receiver. As long as you feed digital signal to your receiver it doesn't matter at all where that digital signal comes. If your are going to use toslink from this card, your are just wasting your money big time. There's zero reason to buy this card and just use it's toslink. There's not going to be any sound quality difference vs. onboard toslink. This is pretty much designed for one purpose: headphone use (or active stereo speakers that take analogue signal).
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GGTV-Jon
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 12:20:07
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xMoac I have active speakers , Kef LSX , connected to my PC via optical out (toslink) thru my old Asrock Game Blaster sound card. (X79 motherboard extreme 9) Would I benefit from this Nu Sound card?
It would hook up just the same with the TOSLink As to performance / sound difference that would be up too you to judge. It also depends on what you are using feature wise in the software. As MSim pointed out currently there are just base line options in the software where he likes to use Scout mode with his current creative hardware when playing games.
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Anarion
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 12:45:18
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There's not going to be any difference if he's using toslink. He would be wasting his card because it wouldn't be doing anything really. DAC in it wouldn't be doing anything. It would be a massive waste.
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GGTV-Jon
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 13:03:53
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Anarion There's not going to be any difference if he's using toslink. He would be wasting his card because it wouldn't be doing anything really. DAC in it wouldn't be doing anything. It would be a massive waste.
True, the DAC would not get used. With an aging motherboard could there be signal degradation / noise in the digital end of things? Is that even possible?
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jll544
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 13:55:17
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dolmann1 I just built a new rig with an Asus Rog Maximus Hero XI [...] I'm currently using Logitech z525 speakers. I listen to music, play games, and watch videos, etc on this computer. My question is this. How would the new EVGA Nu audio card realistically improve my experience? Would the $250 cost be justified in your opinion for what I would be getting above the onboard sound?
Do you have a good pair of headphones and/or are you planning to upgrade your speakers? If no to both, then NU Audio probably would be overkill. ASUS XI-series onboard sound is okay, not great IMO, but there's not much point upgrading to an audiophile sound card unless you have quality headphones/speakers.
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xMoac
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 13:59:02
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kcwilsonii what is your PC setup like? CPU,ram,motherboard. I have a 6 year old Intel Motherboard (actual Intel Motherboard) with 3570K cpu and 16 GB ram. Current sound is being handled by a GTX 1060, which I recently added to the setup. Honestly, have never been able to tell a difference sound wise with Graphic cards with built in audio. I change out for a new graphics card.. they all sound the same. I run the audio through a Yamaha RX-V671 with 2 floor standing speakers. Sound format and processing capability make a big difference. You are already using a serious set of speakers but only running stereo via the TOSLink So all the processing would happen back at the card. The output from the Nu Real would be better via the Stereo jacks as they specifically are designed to handle DSD output. I will be running TOSLink and Stereo output comparisons on this EVGA Audio Card and will post back my comparisons. Your ASRock has some nice features does it match with a ASRock Motherboard? Noticed this on the ASrock site "Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function (for motherboards with Broadcom LAN)" My motherboard does Dual Lan teaming, helps with throughput network wise by quite a bit.
My Asrock X79 extreme 9 motherboard came with the Asrock Game Blaster and they work rather well. All I use the sound card for is the optical out for my Kef LSX speakers. My pc setup is : not a 2019 PC exactly but don’t see much need in upgrading to newer components. Win 10 CPU i7 4930K Ram 32GB DDR3 Motherboard X79 extreme9 GPU GTX 980 SSD Samsung 860 Pro 256GB From what I read on the Kef LSX is that they have a built in Dac and amp in each speaker. There are spec sheets but I have no clue how good they are since I am not that informed on what makes a good sound. Several have suggested that I would not draw much if any direct sound benefit in updating to the new sound card given I use active speakers that cost (1300 euro) with built custom components. But that it would add is a great solution for headphones via the big audio jack. Would the Nu sound card offer better (more protected) SPDIF connection? Or any benefit outside of the headphone use? I should add that I plan on buying , in fact, made an order on a new toslink cable: QED Refernce Quartz for 110euro. Is that money wasted or would it benefit having a good toslink cable?
post edited by xMoac - 2019/01/17 14:07:59
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kcwilsonii
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Re: EVGA NU AUDIO: LIFELIKE AUDIO
2019/01/17 14:38:11
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Good point on the TOSLink cable. I would have to look around at other optical cables for their bandwidth, but per the QED page "Reference Optical Quartz vastly exceeds the demands for high definition multi-channel digital audio with a bandwidth of over 150MHz which is totally unaffected by bending the cable." https://www.qed.co.uk/cables/hdmi-digital/qed-reference-optical-quartz-digital-audio-cable.html This is one of issues with TOSLink and the cable can make difference from what I have read. Usually my hardware has not warranted a better TOSLink cable
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