Soundcard for Tannoy Reveal 402?

Narada

Narada

Narada

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Hi all,

My Tannoy Reveal 402 x2 got delivered this morning (http://www.tannoystudio.com/reveal-402/). It's replacing the Corsair SP2500 as I didn't have space for extra subwoofer anymore. I've never used a soundcard before. I've always used onboard sound. I have an asus sabertooth z87 motherboard.

But lately I've started to wonder whether using speaker systems like the SP2500 and the 402 with onboard sound is a big mistake? Maybe I should have a dedicated soundcard to do them justice? Especially because the 402 are studio monitors? I mainly stream a lot of music from the net (high quality) and also do a lot of FPS gaming.

So I had a look at all the available Asus options and made one interesting finding. All asus pci-express soundcards except for the STX II have beta drivers for Windows 8.1 64-bit and in reviews on various websites users seemed to have a common complaint that the drivers are poor.

This has left me in a bit of a dilemma. If I get an asus soundcard will I suffer from driver issues? And separately which soundcard would you recommend that you know works well with Windows 8.1 64-bit?

Thanks.
 
The onboard sound chip is decent enough on your motherboard. As long as you have no humming/buzzing I doubt you'd see much if any improvement buying an expensive soundcard.

The more expensive soundcards are generally for headphone users who need the extra amping and or feel the need for a higher quality DAC.

At the STX II price level you'd be better off looking for a external AMP/DAC solution.

TLDR: Save your pennies.
 
Thanks butonz. Will try the onboard with the tannoy and see how it fares. Interesting suggestion about an external dac/amp. Hadn't considered that. If you have any specific models in mind do let me know.
 
That soundcard or a DAC such as the Cambridge Audio Dacmagic 100 will no doubt be better than the motherboard's onboard audio.
 
I have the STX in Windows 8.1 (64 bit) and the sound is very good for both speaker and headphone output. But I paid nowhere near full price; at full price i'd consider an external set up.
 
BuToNz said:
The onboard sound chip is decent enough on your motherboard. As long as you have no humming/buzzing I doubt you'd see much if any improvement buying an expensive soundcard.

The more expensive soundcards are generally for headphone users who need the extra amping and or feel the need for a higher quality DAC.

At the STX II price level you'd be better off looking for a external AMP/DAC solution.

TLDR: Save your pennies.
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ALC1150 is terrible tbh you would see an improvement just buying a Asus xonar DGX
 
TwsT said:
ALC1150 is terrible tbh you would see an improvement just buying a Asus xonar DGX
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Funny you should say that, I have done this test blind between the 1150 and DGX on some Yamaha HS8's. Couldn't notice any difference really, if anything the 1150 was sharper/more crisp.

However pumping them through my Fiio E10 totally changed the sound. I don't rate the Asus cards all that well, better off putting the money towards a good external DAC. Asus cards have no interference protection so can often sound just as bad as onboard.

:EDIT: Not to mention the terrible Asus driver support.
 
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BuToNz said:
The onboard sound chip is decent enough on your motherboard. As long as you have no humming/buzzing I doubt you'd see much if any improvement buying an expensive soundcard.
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When I went from on-board to Soundblaster X Fi Music xtreme I noticed an improvement.

When I went from a Soundblaster X Fi Music xtreme to Asus Essence ST I noticed another improvement.

I also have a Sound Blaster HD Titanium that I picked up from OCUK on offer for £50, however it's not as good as the Essence ST.

Personally however, I think your better off with an external DAC or high end amp that has a DAC built in. Amp is not an option for OP as he has monitor speakers, however I have some digital Pioneer amps and the DAC in these will outperform even my Asus Essence ST card.
 
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I agree jason but there is a difference well there was to me :D

I doubt I'll use a sound card again in my gaming PC.
 
The sound card (or source) is important, however it's far less important then the room and the speakers.

When you listen to sound you want it to be honest, honest being you want to hear exactly what the sound engineer intended.

The problem is both the room and speaker position effect the sound we hear, so unless the speakers are in the exact position and the room is acoustically treated we don't hear the sound as it should be.

The Hi-Fi magazines don't normally tell you this, as they are to focused on promoting high-end gear. The reality however is less expensive equipment can out perform much more expensive equipment providing the room and speaker positions are acoustically correct.
 
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Regarding the acoustics you are absolute right JasonM. It is true that they do play a big part in how sound comes across which is why in a studio environment it is important the room is "dead" so to speak, so that the sound is portrayed accurately.

However most people simply don't have the time or money to bother with acoustic treatment, it's not really necessary if you have £50 speakers for example. When you get into a range of let's say over £200 then it would be wise to consider acoustic treatment, otherwise you won't be getting the best out of your speakers.

Of course this has no relation when it comes to headphones, but if you have a speaker setup then acoustics will be most important followed by the speakers and DAC (both of same importance)
 
I'm thinking of a pair of reveal 402's myself I think they will pair up nicely with the essence one, they're small enough to save me some space and the front facing small bass port will hopefully extinguish the problem i have with boomy bass from my eltax's Due to the shape of the room.

I've not had this problem in my previously more open and sqaure room but in this one the alcove creates a noise which i struggle to tame so i just don't have the music on loud.

ttls review was good. For what i will use them for £150 is about right imo.

I also forgot to address the initial question too.

windows 10 is coming soon so 8.1 drivers may be a bit irrelevant. I will however fire off an email to Asus and see what response I get RE updating drivers.
 
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Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I really enjoyed reading your comments and offtopic rants - please keep them coming! I plugged in the tannoy into my sabertooth z87 alc1150 onboard sound card and was so disgusted at the sound that I had to switch the music off. It was so muffled and full of reverb that I could barely tell what was playing. Then I finally realised something - it was not the tannoys' fault. I used to use a ThunderFX unit with my Corsair SP2500 and loved the sound from that combo but what I had never thought about (being an audio n00b) was that the ThunderFX was actually a Asus USB DAC and a pretty decent one too and that is why I enjoyed the sound produced. When the maximus v formula mobo died I sent it back along with the thunderfx unit and switched to the sabertooth z87 which of course didn't have a USB DAC. And so I figured this must be the cause of my audio woes since then and ordered a customised O2+ODAC COMBO. Once it arrives I'll test the difference and I'm hoping that it will be at least as good as the thunderfx if not considerably better. It may even revive my old SP2500 which I dearly love. Anyway, so I can't comment any further on the tannoys other than to say I could not do them justice. And based on my personal experience - the sound through my thunderfx + sp2500 was infinitely better than the sp2500 + ALC1150 or tannoys + ALC1150 so I agree with those who've stated that there is a difference switching away from onboard. Though I've moved into a smaller flat since the thunderfx days so I'm not sure it'll be a fair comparison in terms of acoustics once the new dac arrives. When the O2+ODAC COMBO arrives I'll post back. In the mean time I'd just like to ask - was that a decent DAC+AMP USB DAC choice and what DAC do you guys use? Personally the essence one was too big, too expensive and overkill for me. I considered the essence stu but it just felt a bit dated and a replica of the essence stx. The O2+ODAC combo with its fully customisable build offered a good compromise in terms of cost, size, configurability and quality.
 
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The point i was trying to put across was that the reveals and what they do if anything will show up the flaws in the ALC1150

Glad you made your choice. THE O2 combi is great The reason I'm out of stock at the moment is that changes are being made to the DAC and the new boards have only just arrived.

I should be back instock on wednesday/ Thursday
 
That's great Twst. Yeah I searched for it in the UK but couldn't find it so had to order it in from the US which is always a hassle. Btw - as feedback I just want to say that I much preferred the product design, ordering and customisation process on jds labs as opposed to mayflower. Not sure which variant you will be stocking. By DAC changes do you mean revision B? I got revision B. Will you be offering certain prebuilt variants or will there be some customisation too similar to jds labs? Just noticed you have one from epiphany acoustics on the site - haven't seen that one before.

(Btw not sure if I'm allowed to mention company names. If it's a problem I can remove them).
 
The onboard sound chip is decent enough on your motherboard. As long as you have no humming/buzzing I doubt you'd see much if any improvement buying an expensive soundcard.
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even a crap sound card offers more clarity and less of a dull sound over on board
anyway studio monitors probably not great for gaming and watching movies.
They shouldn't sound the same as regular speakers
 
Given the Tannoy's are powered/active speakers, I would set your internal sound card to output digital and run it through an external DAC.

You may want to consider a DAC that has balanced outputs which can then be connected to the balanced inputs on your Tannoys.

Even a basic sound engineer's DAC like the Focusrite 2+2 will do, but some of the audiophile ones like the Cambridge Dacmagic can convert digital at higher frequencies/sample rates.

This type of setup will be great for listening to music but may not be the best solution for gaming
 
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Narada said:
That's great Twst. Yeah I searched for it in the UK but couldn't find it so had to order it in from the US which is always a hassle. Btw - as feedback I just want to say that I much preferred the product design, ordering and customisation process on jds labs as opposed to mayflower. Not sure which variant you will be stocking. By DAC changes do you mean revision B? I got revision B. Will you be offering certain prebuilt variants or will there be some customisation too similar to jds labs? Just noticed you have one from epiphany acoustics on the site - haven't seen that one before.

(Btw not sure if I'm allowed to mention company names. If it's a problem I can remove them).
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Yeah we stock the epiphany acoustics version. Assembled in Bristol. PCB is the same as the JDS labs one, Sadly just a metal option. I'll let them know your feedback all the same. The eph-o2di was the focus due to cable management the rca outs and power on the back made it more appealing to the pc market.

Not sure about the changes to the DAC obviously it's the ODAC and O2 headphone amp designed by NWAVGuy who offered the plans out to anyone willing to get them made. Whether the DAC changes have been made this side or he buys the DAC boards pre done I do not know.

AS for mentioning brands no it's fine. We only ask you don't post competitor links to products we sell.

I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice been using a ODAC for over a year now great bit of kit.


Also when you say custom what did you choose?
 
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