Hi i have just purchaesd a z270 tuf mark 2 and am worried that the sound may not be up to much as editing video footage the sound can make a big difference ,although i do not have really good speakers at the moment will a sound card be a better option over mob options if use high quality speakers?
decent sound card
- Thread starter paul10
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^ sound cards a basically pointless with the quality of onboard today.
Good soundcard or external dac makes a difference, how much you notice depends on your AMP and speakers.
Forget about onboard I can even tell differences between sound cards, this is on quite a good amp and Yamaha floorstanding speakers.
I own an Asus Essence ST and a Creative X-FI Titanium, and some Pioneer amps with DAC's built in, so two consumer audiophile cards there.
The order I judge them for sound quality.
3rd place, the Creatve X-FI Titanium HD.
2nd place, the Asus Essence ST *
1st place, the integrated DAC inside the Pioneer amplifier.
The differences between the three above are pretty close however, more cost effective benefit is still better amp & speakers over better soundcard or DAC.
* Just a note on the Asus Essence ST. When I first got that card I was using a Creative Music Extream, and I was really struck how honest and detailed the sound was from the Asus. The Creative cards even the HD Titanium sound very mildly synthetic, whereas the Asus Essence ST reminded me of a very high quality separates CD player.
Forget about onboard I can even tell differences between sound cards, this is on quite a good amp and Yamaha floorstanding speakers.
I own an Asus Essence ST and a Creative X-FI Titanium, and some Pioneer amps with DAC's built in, so two consumer audiophile cards there.
The order I judge them for sound quality.
3rd place, the Creatve X-FI Titanium HD.
2nd place, the Asus Essence ST *
1st place, the integrated DAC inside the Pioneer amplifier.
The differences between the three above are pretty close however, more cost effective benefit is still better amp & speakers over better soundcard or DAC.
* Just a note on the Asus Essence ST. When I first got that card I was using a Creative Music Extream, and I was really struck how honest and detailed the sound was from the Asus. The Creative cards even the HD Titanium sound very mildly synthetic, whereas the Asus Essence ST reminded me of a very high quality separates CD player.
The listener is the biggest factor though. Having speakers or headphones that allow difference to be heard doesn't guarantee the listener will hear those differences.
There have been a few times where people over the last few years, were recommended better audio gear than what they were using at the time, but noticed little to no difference.
One guy who ended up buying Q Acoustics 2020i and a Marantz amp after recommendations, didn't think the sound was as good as his £50 Logitech 2.1 speakers.
I remember another guy on a different forum, who noticed no difference between a X-Fi Titanium HD, Xonar Essence STX and onboard audio. I forget what the headphones were, but at the time I was surprised as they were pretty decent and should allow at least the difference between the sound cards and onboard audio to be heard.
Admittedly, those two examples are quite extreme.
There was another member of these forums, who heard no difference between a Chord Mojo and SMSL Sanskrit. He has Naim amp and Rega speakers IIRC.
Some people's hearing is better than others. Some can discern details and hear flaws more easily than others.
Probably a good thing not to be able to hear the differences between DACs and amps. Will save a lot of money.
There have been a few times where people over the last few years, were recommended better audio gear than what they were using at the time, but noticed little to no difference.
One guy who ended up buying Q Acoustics 2020i and a Marantz amp after recommendations, didn't think the sound was as good as his £50 Logitech 2.1 speakers.
I remember another guy on a different forum, who noticed no difference between a X-Fi Titanium HD, Xonar Essence STX and onboard audio. I forget what the headphones were, but at the time I was surprised as they were pretty decent and should allow at least the difference between the sound cards and onboard audio to be heard.
Admittedly, those two examples are quite extreme.
There was another member of these forums, who heard no difference between a Chord Mojo and SMSL Sanskrit. He has Naim amp and Rega speakers IIRC.
Some people's hearing is better than others. Some can discern details and hear flaws more easily than others.
Probably a good thing not to be able to hear the differences between DACs and amps. Will save a lot of money.