Sound card recommendations

MatteRB26

MatteRB26

MatteRB26

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Brighton
So my old PC had an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 which was amazing. When I upgraded my PC, I discovered that the Asus card would no longer fit as it's old PCI. I included it in the bundle I sold to my brother who is now enjoying the sweet sweet Dolby surround.

I'm looking to buy a new card though but they're so expensive, and I want to make sure I make a right decision. My motherboard (X470 Gaming Plus) has 7.1 surround ports but I can't have my 5.1 speakers and my headset (Siberia 200) plugged in at once, as the only ports on the board I can use for headset and Mic are required by my speakers... I tried using the front panel jacks on my case like before - but with this motherboard there is horrific audio bleeding (I can't go on calls because everyone can hear me as well as my pc audio).

So right now I'm stuck with my headset plugged in with no decent virtual surround - and my speakers are sat in a corner gathering dust (literally).

I'd like to buy a card that will allow me to keep both speakers and headset plugged in, and I'd like some nice virtual surround too - I really miss it,everything sounds much more flat without it.
 
You could get a Xonar DGX, which is the PCIe version of the DG. You'd have to make use of the front PC case audio ports though, as the card only has direct sockets for speakers or headphones, not both.

As you get terrible audio when using the front PC case ports with your motherboard audio, then that may also apply if you get a DGX. The cables going from motherboard or sound card to the front case ports could be the problem; possibly picking up interference, or are just poor quality and resulting in the problem.

A card which does have sockets for speakers and headphones directly on the rear of the card itself, is Creative Soundblaster Z. It is twice the price of the DGX though at £65. Certainly a better card than the DGX, but whether it's worth it for you to spend twice as much, well that's something only you can decide. :)
 
Marsman said:
You could get a Xonar DGX, which is the PCIe version of the DG. You'd have to make use of the front PC case audio ports though, as the card only has direct sockets for speakers or headphones, not both.

As you get terrible audio when using the front PC case ports with your motherboard audio, then that may also apply if you get a DGX. The cables going from motherboard or sound card to the front case ports could be the problem; possibly picking up interference, or are just poor quality and resulting in the problem.

A card which does have sockets for speakers and headphones directly on the rear of the card itself, is Creative Soundblaster Z. It is twice the price of the DGX though at £65. Certainly a better card than the DGX, but whether it's worth it for you to spend twice as much, well that's something only you can decide. :)
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Thanks for the response. I've done some googling and it seems that the audio issues from the front panel is common on my board. :(

I'm perfectly happy to use the front panel so long as it'll work - in fact I think I'd prefer that so I don't have cables going across my desk.

Those were the cards I had found so I'll take another look at them, prices etc.

Do you have anything on why the Soundblaster is "better"? Better audio quality? What I really miss is the virtual surround and the depth of the Xonar. My motherboard just doesn't have those deep lows and crisp highs.
 
Better DAC, which should result in better sound. How noticeable that is though, depends somewhat on headphones/headset used.

Creative cards use SBX prostudio, which is Creative's equivalent of Dolby Headphone. SBX prostudio is seen by many as an improvement over Dolby Headphone for surround effect stuff. One criticism of Dolby Headphone, is that there is too much of an echo effect.

Creative also have an Audigy FX sound card, which is similarly priced to the Xonar DGX. Like the DGX, you'd have to use front case audio sockets, as it doesn't have headphone and speakers sockets on the rear of the card, like the SB Z does.
 
SB Z has front panel header, but like said also that wiring of front panel connectors can work as antenna for interference.
Though if case is same as in previous built, then that wiring is probably innocent.
There's small SBZ Switcher software for it, which can be used to ease switching between headphones and speakers and setting configuration.
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/s...s-headphones-mode-switching-available.381416/

Don't think there's similar tool for Xonar DG/DGX level Audigy Fx.
 
The Asus STX II is very good sound quality wise, certainly better then a Creative Titanium HD I also once owned. The ST/STX/STX II are quite natural sounding, there comparable to listening to music on a higher end CD player. However there has been some reports of incompatibility between Asus soundcards and AMD chip sets, so you would need to research if your motherboard would work with the STX II first.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll definitely do some digging of my own into pricing, compatibility etc.

The echo on the Dolby surround was something I got used to but it's definitely something to consider for the higher-end cards. I figured it was "just what it'll sound like".
 
JasonM said:
However there has been some reports of incompatibility between Asus soundcards and AMD chip sets, so you would need to research if your motherboard would work with the STX II first.
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I had big issues with my x370. Couldn't install Windows or any of the big feature updates if my STX was physically installed. It was fine if I pulled it and installed it after. IIRC it did the same thing with with my 4770k.
 
adrichardson81 said:
I had big issues with my x370. Couldn't install Windows or any of the big feature updates if my STX was physically installed. It was fine if I pulled it and installed it after. IIRC it did the same thing with with my 4770k.
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I've got an X470, but may be worth keeping this in consideration!
 
foster grant said:
I spose it depends on if the card is for gaming or music and what headphones you're going to be using with it .
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Both really. Music in the day during work and gaming in evenings. At the moment I use a pair of Siberia 200s (the old Asus with Dolby worked a treat with Siberia V2's). My next headset would be somewhere in the Arctis range.
 
EsaT said:
If use is with only headphones or stereo speakers SBX G6 B-stock is very wallet friendly £70.
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yea but in certain places b-stock ae5 plus is available a bit more regular cant find any b stock g6 for £70
 
JasonM said:
The Asus STX II is very good sound quality wise, certainly better then a Creative Titanium HD I also once owned. The ST/STX/STX II are quite natural sounding, there comparable to listening to music on a higher end CD player. However there has been some reports of incompatibility between Asus soundcards and AMD chip sets, so you would need to research if your motherboard would work with the STX II first.
Click to expand...

I have the STX and I like it very much best sound card I've used to date, but I do notice when I plug my headphones ( HD600s) directly into the card the treble is way too high so I'm not sure if thats how it should be.
 
What is your budget? I would say a 2nd hand Xonar Essense STX or new Essense STX II

I am in the same situation, if I upgrade i’ll need to replace my Essense ST (PCI) card.
For this reason i’m holding off upgrading and bought some new monitors instead :rolleyes:
 
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