Dedicated sound cards..worth it?

[_tucker_]

Coming towards the end of a large integrated desk build and I suddenly thought to myself what can I add that looks cool and possibly increase the output a little further so I thought sound cards.
In My main pc I’m running on a maximum v extreme so it’s the integrated sound driver on that, I have it plugged into a denon 7.1 amp with surround sound for when I game on the tv, but I also have as my main monitor a predator x34 and the sound is used via a 5.1 pro logic surround with an optical cable.
Would it be worth paying £150ish for a good sound card? Would I get any difference in quality? I hear mixed reviews online.
It’s also for aesthetics as the pc is mounted inside the desk itself under glass so I can justify some of the money towards it but if it’s a complete waste then I won’t bother.

Any clues or advice welcome tar

 

[_tucker_]

No point if you are using a digital connection. Sound quality doesn't apply where digital is concerned, at least not on the PC end anyway, as it's data that is sent to whatever speaker system is connected on the other end. Electronics in the AV receiver convert the digital data into sound.

You'd only need a sound card, if you are using optical can't get proper 5.1 because most PC games don't have 5.1 Dolby Digital, as a DVD would, for example.

Ultimately, HDMI is the best connection to use to the AV receiver.

very interesting I was always led to believe optical was the best for some reason.

the surround sound I use on the pc when at the desk is a pro logic z906, it’s a few years old not the new model and has 3 digital connections, 2 optical and 1 coaxal. It also has a 6 channel direct input so what one would be the best for quality then? Would a sound card be usefull in anyway with that speaker system?

as for the denon amp surround I’ll keep that as a hdmi connection then while I game on the tv.
I appreciate the info bud

 

[_tucker_]

Optical has the advantage insofar as it has no electrical link between devices which prevents all external noise pickup over any distance to the limit of POF. (plastic optical fibre used for TOSLINK) In some respects, the limits of TOSLINK were never fully explored in the domestic world. In the professional market, it was used for ADAT lightpipe which could transmit 8 channels of uncompressed audio at 48KHz 24 bit or 4 channels at 96KHz 24 bit.

Consumer audio is locked behind the door of manufacturers limiting the available standards and connection types. MADI is the next level fibre optic transport standard which can transmit 64 channels @ 48KHz 24 bit, 32 channels @ 96KHz or 16 channels @ 192KHz. This uses standardised data network optical cables and connections. Video is similarly held back as 12G-SDI can transmit uncompressed UHD @ 60p with 16 channels of uncompressed 48KHz 24 bit audio over a single coaxial or fibre optic signal cable.

I did always wonder how a new connection type was never designed in a long time i presumed it was because we hit peak quality with the existing type or it didn’t warrant treading further for domestic use down to cost issues. so in my scenario states above what would be the best form of connection to use with my set up? Would it warrant buying a sound card?
my other thoughts was some say it takes a strain of the cpu and mine is getting a tad out dated and I can’t afford a complete new set up.
I always got the feeling that my sound was never quite right, I can hear surround sound but it’s always quite basic and mainly focused from the front speaker. I never hear bullets flying PST behind me or anything like that but I used to with an old set up that had a sound card.

 

[_tucker_]

I've got quite a bit of audio stuff here, various sound card, various amp / dac, various hi-fi separate units.

I have a Gigabyte's Z370 HD3P, great reliable board in terms of computing, however the on-board audio is poor, it's like a really thin washed out sound, plus it quite bad oscillating interference. If your only listening on £20-£30 speakers you may not realised, however for a test I connected the on-board into what would be £1500 worth of amp's and Yamaha speakers, and this revealed how bad the on-board sound was. Even someone who was not into audio would hear the issues with the sound.

I was never bothered as always had sound card ready to be used in that computer anyway, however when I read people saying on-board is a good as sound card they can't have done any testing, or at least not tested motherboard audio into amp/speakers with resolution to make a proper comparison.

As an add on to the above. Part of the reason people say motherboard audio is good is down to never listening to good audio equipment. I blame the parents as a lot of people have grown up with no quality audio in the house. If people in their teenage years had access to proper separates, they would not want the cheaper audio later in life, people today are listening to music on phones and small Bluetooth speakers. If your reference is only these things you won't realise that on-board motherboard audio is not very good. It's a bit ironic as everyone has become obsessed with 24bit and 192khz but these don't mean anything compared to quality source, amplifier and speakers.

I must admit I really noticed the difference when I use my denon amp surround compared to the pro logic set, I know there a big difference in quality of speakers ect but I did always wonder if a part of that was to do with the on board sound card.
I do also use a set of wireless headphones worth £300 so they arnt that cheap so I’d wonder if I would notice a difference with them. I suppose the only real way to test would be to own the sound card so I could compare it to the on board one.
space wise I have a maximum v extreme so I have plenty of available lanes even with my sli set up.
I know it’s a slightly dated set up but it’s still very good quality and a big set up so it would be a shame to not all least give it a go.
Mabe I’ll see if I can pick one up second hand or wait for a sale

 

[_tucker_]

Onboard tend to use a lot of generic components in or near the audio path - even those boards which advertise premium capacitors, etc. tend to have poor routing and generic components still having an influence - soundcards tend to be in a little bit better position without having the routing on the motherboard itself (so not so exposed to parasitic current paths, etc. from other motherboard components) and generally a little more uprated component wise. Still unless you need specific features an external DAC of some kind tends to be best for audio performance in terms of low noise, etc.

I see some of the sound cards actually come with an external dac, I do actually need one to be honest as I have no headphone jack at the moment, not an issue yet as I’m wireless but they are starting to fall apart and I feel a wired one will be of better use

 

[_tucker_]

I really liked the X7, thought it was excellent, surprised there's been nothing similar done?

that looks decent, I’ve never seen that model before. I like the idea of the dac models as you have full control directly in front of you but for me it’s something to stick on the glass top and cover my view of the pc inside.