anarchy998
SSC Member
- Total Posts : 858
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2006/02/09 22:53:48
- Location: Wherever ya go, there ya are
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 13
I'm asking this question because I'm somewhat of an audio junkie. I've owned the Asus Xonar Essence STX with upgraded op-amps and have a pair of Senheisser HD 598's, 650's and HiFi Man HE-500 headphones. I thought this sounded amazing on the sound card because it has a built in headphone amp. I have a new motherboard and I downloaded a great piece of software called DFX audio enhancer. With this, it actually sounds almost as good, if not better than with the sound card. What is everyones opinion on this?
i9 12900k Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra Corsair Dominator Platinum 64gb WD Black SN850 1tb NVME Corsair 7000D Airflow EVGA 1200 P3 psu EVGA Nu Audio Pro Corsair H150i 360 Elite Capellix 
|
TECH_DaveB
EVGA Alumni
- Total Posts : 4661
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2008/09/26 17:03:47
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 46
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 10:21:38
(permalink)
Well, myself, I always use a card for my surround sound, and onboard just for VOIP applications. However, if your onboard sounds better than your sound card with your specific headphones, then I would say stick with that, unless you are considering upgraded to a bigger and better sound card.
|
aka_STEVE_b
EGC Admin
- Total Posts : 13835
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2006/02/26 06:45:46
- Location: OH
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 69
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 10:35:37
(permalink)
I've used both and since I'm not mixing my own audio in a studio for pro reasons - the onboard has more than sufficed over the past years .... I can't tell the difference , except in my wallet.
Decent soundcards have gotten way over-priced while the onboards have gotten better & better for free .
I'll stick to onboard for the foreseeable future ....
AMD RYZEN 9 5900X 12-core cpu~ ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero ~ EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3~ G.SKILL Trident Z NEO 32GB DDR4-3600 ~ Phanteks Eclipse P400s red case ~ EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+ PSU ~ Intel 660p M.2 drive~ Crucial MX300 275 GB SSD ~WD 2TB SSD ~CORSAIR H115i RGB Pro XT 280mm cooler ~ CORSAIR Dark Core RGB Pro mouse ~ CORSAIR K68 Mech keyboard ~ HGST 4TB Hd.~ AOC AGON 32" monitor 1440p @ 144Hz ~ Win 10 x64
|
XrayMan
Insert Custom Title Here
- Total Posts : 63846
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2006/12/14 22:10:06
- Location: Santa Clarita, Ca.
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 115
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 12:15:30
(permalink)
I always choose a sound card over onboard sound. Sounds better.
My Affiliate Code: 8WEQVXMCJL Associate Code: VHKH33QN4W77V6A   
|
TECH_DaveB
EVGA Alumni
- Total Posts : 4661
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2008/09/26 17:03:47
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 46
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 13:16:33
(permalink)
aka_STEVE_b
I've used both and since I'm not mixing my own audio in a studio for pro reasons - the onboard has more than sufficed over the past years .... I can't tell the difference , except in my wallet.
Decent soundcards have gotten way over-priced while the onboards have gotten better & better for free .
I'll stick to onboard for the foreseeable future ....
Very true statement, they are overpriced, and onboard has improved a lot. I highlighted what I think the biggest factor in deciding to look for an upgrade. If you can't tell, 100% waste of money. I have used my onboard and my surround seems to lack clarity, voices all sound a little more muffled, and my surround function didn't seem to work as well. When the other half watched a movie on the PC with me, she noticed when I didnt have my sound card in (wanted to check as I can be an elitist about my own hardware sometimes  ) and I noticed it with music too. Some places have a good return policy, and you can test it, then it is cost versus value. Did you hear enough of a difference to want to keep it and not get your xxx$ back? If so, then its a good buy, and that part is not something that I or anyone else can tell you.
|
sk2play 
CLASSIFIED Member
- Total Posts : 3452
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2009/07/12 15:19:13
- Location: Westminster, CO
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 8
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 20:05:39
(permalink)
My 1150 Asus Maximus Hero VI onboard has great amplification and quality and is way better than the 1366 generation MB's. However, when compared to my SBz, the SBz is more defined and clearer. If I was just on $100 dollar PC Speakers, I may not notice a difference. My personal subjective testing was done via Opitcal out to a A/V receiver using pass through mode. I believe I have the best speaker setup ever for a PC setup whereby the speakers are a arms length in both directions from the human head/ears. Audio setup seen in my sig. I also tested with a AKG K142 low/medium range headphones plugged into the A/V Receiver. Plugging the headphones directly into the onboard or SBz analog didn't sound as good as it was much more muffled. On a side note, my PC A/V receiver does not have HDMI. I have recently plugged in my old X58 rig using the nVidia HDMI Audio into a Denon AVR 3808ci using another set of Bose 201's with a similar sub. They sound pretty awesome as well however they are couple of body lengths away in front of me watching a 55" screen so the projection is different. But I do not feel compelled to install a dedicated sound card (like a SB XFi HD I have lying around) because the current sound from the nVidia HDMI suits my needs.
post edited by sk2play - 2014/01/23 20:49:34
Corsair R500 Case, H110 Hydro, 1200AX PSU, Asus Maximus Hero VI MB, Intel 4770K CPU, Gigabyte GPU GV-N78TGHZ-3GD, G-Skill Trident 2400MHz 16GB, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, Seagate 2TB HDD x2, Creative SBz to Onkyo TX-DS676, Bose 201's, Klipsch Sub XW-300d, HP ZR30w 30" S-IPS LCD, W8.1
|
boredgunner
Over 9000!
- Total Posts : 12561
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2008/07/17 19:01:39
- Location: Лиманск-13
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 79
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 22:51:51
(permalink)
I prefer it when motherboards have a high end audio solution, like Gigabyte's Sniper series or the top of the like ASRock and ASUS models.
|
_Nite_
Omnipotent Enthusiast
- Total Posts : 14962
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2007/04/18 15:35:04
- Location: Sumner, Washington
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 46
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 22:58:39
(permalink)
XrayMan
I always choose a sound card over onboard sound. Sounds better.
+1 I use a Asus Xonar DX sound card and its excellent
Gaming Rig: AMD Ryzen 7 2700x @ 4.25Ghz - Asrock B450 Pro 4 - 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3000 - 240GB SSD (OS), 1TB ADATA SU800 SSD and 2TB ADATA SX8200 Pro M2 NVME (Games) - 8GB RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra - Sound Blaster Audigy 5 RX - EVGA Supernova 750w G2 - Antec 302 - 24" Asus VG248QE
|
anarchy998
SSC Member
- Total Posts : 858
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2006/02/09 22:53:48
- Location: Wherever ya go, there ya are
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 13
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/23 23:43:51
(permalink)
Well, I loved the Xonar sound card and have always hated onboard audio. Before I downloaded this software it didn't sound good. Afterwards, its like a night and day difference.
i9 12900k Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra Corsair Dominator Platinum 64gb WD Black SN850 1tb NVME Corsair 7000D Airflow EVGA 1200 P3 psu EVGA Nu Audio Pro Corsair H150i 360 Elite Capellix
|
solepo
New Member
- Total Posts : 55
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2012/10/28 20:02:17
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 0
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/24 00:57:36
(permalink)
id only get a sound card if i had a good pair of cans. i don't necessarily use the on board as i transferred my astro mixamp from my xbox to my pc.
|
candle_86
CLASSIFIED Member
- Total Posts : 3443
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2007/02/24 17:59:37
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 7
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/24 03:24:42
(permalink)
Ive got damaged ear drums, last time i bought a sound card was a SB Live
|
escannihilator
iCX Member
- Total Posts : 480
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2010/09/25 19:09:22
- Location: Sierra Vista, AZ
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 3
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/24 04:47:33
(permalink)
EVGA DG87 case | Corsair AX1200i psu | Asus ROG Strix Z590E gaming wifi | I7- Rocket lake 11700F 8 core w/ CORSAIR iCUE H150i RGB PRO XT (360 mm) | Vengeance RGB Pro 32gigs 2x16 | Asus TUF 4080 oc | Corsair M.2 MP600 Core pcie 4 (1TB) | Corsair M.2 MP510 (250GB) | M.2 960 Evo 250GB | M.2 Intel 660 1 TB | Samsung 850EVO 500gb SSD | Samsung 860 EVO 1TB| (2) Corsair Force Series GS SSD 240GB ea. | Logitech G512 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and Corsair Dark Core RGB PRO SE | G633 Artemis Spectrum RGB headset | Acer Predator XB1 Series XB281HK 28" TN 4K NVIDIA G-sync LCD Monitor | Acer 34 in. 3440x1440 (main) | LG 32" Class 4K UHD Monitor with Radeon Fr
|
HalloweenWeed
CLASSIFIED Member
- Total Posts : 4792
- Reward points : 0
- Joined: 2009/11/13 03:32:55
- Location: Maine, USA
- Status: offline
- Ribbons : 37
Re: What do you prefer, onboard audio or a standalone sound card?
2014/01/24 09:34:22
(permalink)
Yeah I am picky about sound too, so I use Auzen (Xonar is great too). They both use the Creative software suite as well as SB. I have heard that the sound on mobo's has improved greatly over the past several years, However: You still see that certain boards have superior sound than others, meaning the others are unacceptable IMO - with my ears and speakers. If you are using those (headphones) then you are as picky as I am. It takes more than just a brand to get good sound, for instance the Asus RIVE sound is rivaled by the RIVF (formula), and the new RIVBE (a.k.a. R4BE, black edition) has better sound that has it's own board area to prevent crosstalk noise, and the new Asus Maximus XI Hero does too - the Asus "supreme FX" sound motherboards.  Most other Asus boards (>1yr old lines) have just mediocre sound quality. (BTW the "cooper layer" above should read "copper layer" - it's a typo.) That said, USB headphones use only software drivers, and integral DAC's so a sound card will not help with these. Same goes for most radio headphones such as bluetooth.
post edited by HalloweenWeed - 2014/01/24 09:45:22
Main (gaming) rig: i7-3930K; Asus Rampage IV Extreme; H100 W/p-p Excaliburs, AS5; MSI 7870 2GD5/OC; Crucial M4 SSD 256GB. See my primary ModsRigs: Adam for the rest, and I have a second (wife's) rig Asus Rampage III Extreme & 960: Eve.   Overclocking is useless to me if it is not rock stable.
|