Soundcard - Looking for an Upgrade

mysticsniper · 21 Sep 2014 at 11:29

At the moment I am using the onboard Realtek ALC1150. Which I have a optical cable from output on the motherboard to an Pioneer AV receiver, which also has 5 Tannoy speakers connected

Would a Creative Sound Blaster Z improve the overall sound quality over the onboard?

Any suggestions welcome.

Marsman · 21 Sep 2014 at 11:45

Not from a sound quality point of view, because you are using digital connection. You are effectively bypassing the onboard audio codec. As digital is data, the AV receiver converts that data into sound.

That isn't to say buying a sound card would be a waste of time, as the sound card might do a better job at positional sound when playing games. Plus there is the 5.1 real time encoder, which your montherboard might not have.

Kei · 21 Sep 2014 at 11:49

Using toslink, you won't gain anything from a sound card as the decoding is done at the pioneer.

mysticsniper · 21 Sep 2014 at 12:15

Thanks for the replies.

So what is my best option here, not using the optical cable and using another type of cable to link my av receiver to my computer?

Marsman · 21 Sep 2014 at 12:49

Kei said:
Using toslink, you won't gain anything from a sound card as the decoding is done at the pioneer.

Not entirely true. From a sound quality point of view, there would be no gain. Most motherboards don't have Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect though, so either would be needed for true 5.1 audio when playing games.

So what is my best option here, not using the optical cable and using another type of cable to link my av receiver to my computer?

HDMI would be best, as you can use multi channel PCM. SPDIF requires Dolby Digital or DTS in order for 5.1 audio to be sent. HDMI doesn't, so you just connect it up, select PCM on the receiver and go: whereas when using SPDIF, you may need a sound card to get true 5.1 when playing games.

DVDs for eg, have Dolby Digital and/or DTS tracks, so they are just passed on to the receiver to decode when using SPDIF. Games though don't use either, so the audio needs to be encoded. Without either DD or DTS, SPDIF is capable of only stereo. This is where real time 5.1 encoders come in (Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect). They are found on some motherboards, but generally only the higher end boards. Many sound cards have one or the other, sometimes both.

If you can use HDMI though from your GPU, then a sound card will not be needed to get true 5.1 when playing games. I use the word "true", because you can still get 5.1 via SPDIF without DD or DTS: however, it would be upmixed from stereo to 5.1 b the receiver, which isn't really proper 5.1.

mysticsniper · 21 Sep 2014 at 17:29

Marsman said:
Not entirely true. From a sound quality point of view, there would be no gain. Most motherboards don't have Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect though, so either would be needed for true 5.1 audio when playing games.

HDMI would be best, as you can use multi channel PCM. SPDIF requires Dolby Digital or DTS in order for 5.1 audio to be sent. HDMI doesn't, so you just connect it up, select PCM on the receiver and go: whereas when using SPDIF, you may need a sound card to get true 5.1 when playing games.

DVDs for eg, have Dolby Digital and/or DTS tracks, so they are just passed on to the receiver to decode when using SPDIF. Games though don't use either, so the audio needs to be encoded. Without either DD or DTS, SPDIF is capable of only stereo. This is where real time 5.1 encoders come in (Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect). They are found on some motherboards, but generally only the higher end boards. Many sound cards have one or the other, sometimes both.

If you can use HDMI though from your GPU, then a sound card will not be needed to get true 5.1 when playing games. I use the word "true", because you can still get 5.1 via SPDIF without DD or DTS: however, it would be upmixed from stereo to 5.1 b the receiver, which isn't really proper 5.1.

I am actually using HDMI at the moment through my Nvidia gpu. although I have to use a DVi to HDMI connector, so I'm not sure if I do get the true 5.1.

I know my receiver has the Dolby stuff built into it and I am hearing sounds through all 5 speakers. But I assumed getting a dedicated sound card would be better for PC gaming.