Is an Old Soundcard Still Worth Installing?

BENBOBBY

BENBOBBY

BENBOBBY

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I have a ASUS ROG Xonar Phoebus soundcard that I bought about 6 years ago in my current system and am generally pleased with it.

However I am looking to upgrade my computer soon with a ASUS ROG Strix X570-F Gaming motherboard which boasts 'SupremeFX' onboard audio. So now I'm thinking should I scrap my soundcard and just use that instead. Would there be much difference in audio quality?

I listen to music and play games on my PC pretty regularly, but I don't consider myself a particular 'audiophile'. My speakers are Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound connected via three 3.5mm jacks (green, orange, black).

One thing that seems to make a difference is the 'Xear Surround Max' settings in the ROG software (basically virtual surround so that stereo is played on all speakers) and the 'Dolby Home Theatre' software (EQ) included with the card but Im not sure if the motherboard audio supports that or if it would come with something similar/better?

Or should I forget the soundcard/onboard audio idea and just get a DAC instead?

Thanks for any advice!
 
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You can try the onboard audio solution of the motherboard you are planning to buy and compare it to your Asus Xonar soundcard. The soundcard might be 6 years old but it should be better than any onboard solution you might get with an onboard solution.
 
Speaker use is exactly where there's little need for separate sound card's extra features.
Hence unless integrated one has issues with interference there's likely no difference

Stereo content upmix should be available in pretty much any sound card or Windows itself.
Also most player softwares likely include upmix option.
Actually also those speakers have upmix feature.


At least price of that board has come down, though chipset cooler is still 15 years old badly designed:
Actual heatsink under marketing covers is tiny and relies on constant airflow from fan.
With everything put into about worst spot under graphics card to be bathed in its heat.
Then marketing even crapped that excrement there to make sure fan needs to take some additional spin to overcome that useless restriction.
So there's no chances for any semi passive mode to save fan life and once it fails chipset is going to run hot.
 
I was literally just been in the same situation myself with the same sound card. I found my card and wondered if it was better so gave it a go last week. This is my finding for my rig, i have a 2070s on the Gigabyte x570 aurous ultra, and i personally think the onboard is better, I get less interference in general, especially on the mic whilst playing multiplayer games compared to the Asus sound card. My friend was constantly saying that he could hear static when I talked all the time, so switched back to onboard and he said it was fine. To be fair the sound was really good with the onboard.

I then did some research and bought some open back Philips SHP9500 headphones with a Mod Mic to make a gaming headset and i've always heard that you need an AMP/DAC to get the most from them so I bought the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 and i'm blown away! Crystal clear audio from music to games or whatever you listen to and no interference on the mic when talking. Sell the Pheobus and put the money towards one of them. If your not into the audio as much as I am and just using speaker, stick with the onboard, my personal opinion is that it's better than the Pheobus is now. A lot of the higher end motherboards now have SNR of up to 120db which is more than the Pheobus. You'll mainly benefit with an AMP/DAC with headphones.

With the Sound Blaster X G6, you can also plug in your speakers as well as headphones and even use it with consoles so it covers all bases. The software is top notch with dolby included.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies. I guess the best thing would be to just try various combinations and let my ears be the ultimate judge as suggested!

I am tempted by the DAC route too. The stats of the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 do look very impressive! One thing though is that I have two computers and have the audio out from my second PC going into the line in of my soundcard which lets me listen to sounds from both computers simultaneously. Useful for say when gaming on my main computer while listening to music/watching Youtube on my other. I'm not sure if that DAC or onboard sound could let me do that?
 
G6 has a line in, if that's what you are referring to.

The issue with getting a G6, as I see it; is that you'd need to use optical to connect to the Z906 speakers, as the G6 has no direct 5.1 output. Doing this raises two concerns..

1. I'm not sure the G6 has Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect. Looking at the FAQ, I can see mention of Dolby Digital decoding, but not encoding. You'd need Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect for getting 5.1 via optical when playing games. While the G6 can decode Dolby Digital from a console, console games have Dolby Digital built in; PC games for most part do not, hence the need for DDL or DTSC.

2. Even if the G6 had DDL and or DTSC, by connecting speakers via optical, it isn't doing anything that your current Phoebus cannot do if connecting via optical cable. All the Z906 speakers would need is a Dolby Digital or DTS signal. The thought of a better DAC in the G6 doesn't come into it, because you'd be using a digital connection. Digital is data, not a sound signal. DAC in the Z906 is responsible for that.

David is using headphones, so it making use of the G6 as intended; making use of the DAC and headphone amp.

It really depends what the onboard audio is like on the board you are planning to get. If it sucks, then using the Pheobus is one option. Another would be to get another sound card. For external, a Creative X3 would be a better choice for use with 5.1 speakers, as it has direct 5.1 output.
 
Thanks for the reply and suggestions. Yup I know it has a line in, I'm just wondering if its possible to mix the two channels simultaneously as with my soundcard. For example when I'm playing Euro Truck Simulator on PC1 that makes up say 20% of the volume, then the audio coming in from PC2 (e.g. music) makes up 80% of the total volume. So I can listen to two sources at the same time, which is surprisingly useful.

I'm planning to mount my GPU vertically in my new build now, in which I dont think I'll be able to use my soundcard, so maybe external is the way to go if the onboard sucks. The Creative X3 does look good!
 
BENBOBBY said:
Thanks for the reply and suggestions. Yup I know it has a line in, I'm just wondering if its possible to mix the two channels simultaneously as with my soundcard.
Click to expand...
Signals of inputs can be mixed into playback/output with volume adjustable separately for every input.
That option has been there at least since Sound Blaster Z-serie.
 
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