Sound card query

[BenDoro]

I bought a asus xonar essence stx sound card probably about 10 years ago and wondered if i upgraded pc if its worth switching it over to the new pc or just using onboard audio? Think the sound card was a few hundred pounds when i bought it, is there any benefit from it for just standard pc gaming.
I have a sennheiser pc 360 headset

 

[Purgatory]

I bought a asus xonar essence stx sound card probably about 10 years ago and wondered if i upgraded pc if its worth switching it over to the new pc or just using onboard audio? Think the sound card was a few hundred pounds when i bought it, is there any benefit from it for just standard pc gaming.
I have a sennheiser pc 360 headset

Onboard are still terrible compared to a sound card, so I would stick with the sound card.

 

[PieEater]

Try it yourself when you upgrade, but like Purgatory indicates chances are you will find your xonar card produces a noticeabley better sound than what you get with on-board. The STX is still a great card.

 

[Tanin'iver]

Confirmed - I've got one of those cards too, and I tested vs. the onboard audio using Rightmark audio analyser - sound card wins.

Motherboard audio has improved over the past few years, but still isn't as good as a high quality sound card like this.

I guess motherboard audio now could be better than some cheapo discrete soundcard from many years ago, I had an old external USB one sitting in a box for 15 years or so, plugged it in to compare and it sounds terrible.

 

[JasonM]

The Asus Essence STX is superior to your on-board audio.

 

[MatteRB26]

I bought a asus xonar essence stx sound card probably about 10 years ago and wondered if i upgraded pc if its worth switching it over to the new pc or just using onboard audio? Think the sound card was a few hundred pounds when i bought it, is there any benefit from it for just standard pc gaming.
I have a sennheiser pc 360 headset

I used to use an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 card in my old Intel build until 2019. I upgraded to Ryzen and an MSI X470 Gaming Plus. The audio is okay but it is nowhere near the quality of the old Xonar. I miss the clarity, the bass, the virtual surround... It's not bad it's just... Dull.

 

[JasonM]

Think about this logically.

You buy a motherboard, even if it's a £200 board, there is only $5-10 worth audio components on that motherboard, they can't give more as they don't have the budget. Consider all the parts of that motherboard, plus chipset licencing, plus shipping, plus packaging, then people still have to make a profit on it.

You buy a higher end sound card, or an external DAC, there is many times the amount of $ put into the audio hardware.

So despite what spec's on paper the motherboard manufactures say, they simply can't match the audio quality of dedicated audio products.

 

[Cromulent]

You buy a higher end sound card, or an external DAC, there is many times the amount of $ put into the audio hardware.

I assume an external DAC is the better choice if you are buying brand new kit today? I ask because while a sound card leaves your desk nice and tidy I really want the best audio possible.

 

[JasonM]

I assume an external DAC is the better choice if you are buying brand new kit today? I ask because while a sound card leaves your desk nice and tidy I really want the best audio possible.

In the main your correct, this being an external DAC is better than a sound card.

However some of the better sound cards such as the Asus Essence will outperform many of the cheaper external DAC's.

 

[Cromulent]

In the main your correct, this being an external DAC is better than a sound card.

However some of the better sound cards such as the Asus Essence will outperform many of the cheaper external DAC's.

Thanks. I'll have to read up on external DACs in that case.

 

[THX1138]

The only time i would think about not using a sound card is for gaming only or building a cheap PC.

 

[MatteRB26]

The only time i would think about not using a sound card is for gaming only or building a cheap PC.

Sound cards are totally worth it for helping, especially competitively. The virtual surround on my X470 is awful compared to my old Asus Xonar. I could pinpoint sounds from any direction with the Xonar, now they're all very bland.

 

[iMacMart]

Wrong thread - Ignore

 

[THX1138]

Sound cards are totally worth it for helping, especially competitively. The virtual surround on my X470 is awful compared to my old Asus Xonar. I could pinpoint sounds from any direction with the Xonar, now they're all very bland.

Yes worth it but if you are on a budget.

 

[MatteRB26]

Yes worth it but if you are on a budget.

Even on a budget they're worth it tbh. The Asus Xonar 5.1 can be picked up for less than £40 new, the 7.1 Xonar is even on OCUK for £49.99.

My old Xonar cost me £29 and the difference was night and day. My X470 is just bland and very non directional in comparison, I've lost a lot of lows and highs, and even clarity.

 

[JasonM]

My old Xonar cost me £29 and the difference was night and day. My X470 is just bland and very non directional in comparison, I've lost a lot of lows and highs, and even clarity.

I've never owned the Xonar 5.1, however I can tell you the Asus ST / STX / STX II range of cards are very very good. I expect you would spend at least £300-400 on an external DAC to match these cards. For comparison I also use to own a Creative Titanium HD, at the time Creative's best card, and the Asus ST range of cards have a higher quality of sound.

You could invest in a couple of thousand pounds worth of amplifier / speakers, and the Asus ST range of cards would still be ok as a source.

If you can acquire one of the Asus ST / STX range of cards cheap I would try it. With the stock op-amps I can confirm the ST sounds better then the STX II. The other advantage of these cards is proper RCA connectors, so you have option of good quality interconnects that improve the audio more, I'm using Van Damme Silver Lo-Cap 55's, google these and see the reviews about them.

Good quality PSU will also improve PC audio, I'm using Seasonic Prime's that have very low ripple DC output, and of course the Asus ST range of cards take power directly from a PSU cable as it's cleaner than taking power from motherboard.

 

[Cromulent]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look and see if I can find one of them for a reasonable price.

 

[JasonM]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look and see if I can find one of them for a reasonable price.

If your motherboard supports legacy PCI then get the Asus ST as there selling cheap second hand now.

Asus has Windows 10 beta drivers for the ST, however i've used these for years and they work well.

 

[Drumroll]

Pretty much any decent Sound Card will outperform 99% of the onboard ones.
The best way to verify how good or bad the onboard is, is using some decent headphone. Easier to notice than using speakers, at least for the average user.
But note, by decent headphone, I mean some Studio/Monitor ones, without the clipping bass heavy profile of most shiny celebrity-associated brand.
Don't have to be an expensive one, though.
Yesterday, while I was testing the Soundblaster G6 on the telly, I tried to use the onboard from the Asus X570-F, and isn't horrible, but even without any adjusts, the Soundblaster G6 gives a much richer sound, not just louder, but much more detail (for speakers). For the headphone is like going from the TV speakers to a mid-range dedicated speaker. Yes, that much, for detail, plus much louder.

 

[whitecrook]

Just checking but when you use digital out on the motherboard to amp, this is all irrelevant, right? Ive been using digital out for about 20 years now, its fine?