Sound card recommendations

bazzabear

bazzabear

bazzabear

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I have a rather venerable X-Fi Xtreme - which stopped working when I upgraded to Windows 10. When playing sound through it, the volume level sometimes dips, and eventually it fails altogether.

I was waiting for a W10 driver - but Creative have now changed their page on the subject, and rather than releasing a new driver, they've just certified the existing one as being W10 compatible. The card must be more than 8 years old, so I'm not averse to changing it.

Given that I want it almost exclusively for gaming (running either Steelseries Siberia V2 headphones, or Creative i-trigue L3800 speakers (although I am considering changing those speakers for a decent set of powered 2.0s at some point)) what sound card would you suggest?

I've just seen a deal for a Soundblaster ZX for £90, which seems a very good deal - and I like the idea of the headphone volume control on the desktop (and the built-in mic) but is it completely over-specced for my needs? I have no intention of ever going 5.1 in my speaker setup.

Thanks in advance for any advice! And please let me know if more info is needed about my rig or intended use for a good answer.
 
Another vote for the STX. Try to find one 2nd hand for around £60-£70 may be.

It owns pretty much any other soundcards at under £100, and sound quality compariable to/better than dedicated stereo DAC at £100-£150 mark.
 
+1 for STX (USED)

Though it could be worth waiting for the upcoming Asus Strix cards which feature ESS Sabre DACs.
 
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Xonar STX is only worth getting if can grab a used one for £60-£70. Buying a new one for £140 is rather silly in my opinion for a £50 headset.

If you've got no plans to invest in a quality pair of headphones, a Xonar U7 would be a good alternative to the ZX. External, cheaper and has a volume control knob.
 
I suspected it might be! I was already worried about the ZX, at a pricepoint almost 50% cheaper being overkill!

Marsman's post has raised another question - advantages and disadvantages of external? Assume they're USB? I had, without really thinking about it, thought they were probably compromised in some way.
 
Yes they're USB. No compromise with external sound cards. Really external is better in some ways, because there is less chance of being susceptible to interference and/or ground loop issues.
 
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