Recommend audio set up

stephenmarr

stephenmarr

stephenmarr

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Joined
25 Nov 2009
Posts
154
How all.
I will be building a full new rig over the Christmas.
I7 8700k paired with a z370 gigabyte gaming 7 board.
I purchased a set of Akg k712 pros.

Want I would like advice on is the audio route I should take.
I already have 5.1 logitech speakers which I will be adding down the line but for now will solely be using the headphones.

So what's my best option.

Mainly PC will be used for
70% gaming
20% videos
10% music
Budget about £100

1. Stick with on board sound. 5.1 speakers can be run from this at a later stage

2. Purchase a amp/dac. Like an e10k. But no support 5.1speakers

3. Purchase a sound card. Can run both headphones and speakers.

Cheers for all recommendations
 
You could go for a sound card to connect both, but the K712 need a decent amp, so that rules out any sound card for £100 or below. Creative's new Soundblasterx AE-5 is just about within budget range, but it's not a sound card I've looked at much, so I'm not sure what kind of headphone amp it has and whether it's up to the job. If it isn't, that means a Xonar STXII or a Soundblaster ZxR; both nearly double your budget.

There are probably some other forum members who will likely know if the amp in the AE-5 is good enough for the K712.

Other option is use the 5.1 speakers with onboard audio and get something just for the headphones; whether it be a DAC/amp, or maybe a Soundblaster G5; which is an external sound card. That's £130, but it's got the same headphone amp that's in the STXII and ZxR. It also has SBX prostudio for surround sound over headphones, which is found on all Creative's cards.

If you're not bothered about getting positional sound via SBX, then you could just get a DAC/amp. FiiO E10K is a good inexpensive option. SMSL do a few, but you might need an M6, for one with a powerful enough amp, and they're around £120. Not much difference in cost than just getting a G5.
 
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