speaker and soundcard upgrade

Ch3m1c4L

Ch3m1c4L

Ch3m1c4L

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2007
Posts
3,261
Location
London, UK
Over the course of the next few months (finished by February) I will be upgrading my main PC to an x99 system, with all new watercooling etc. I know what I am getting on that front.

Sound wise, I am looking to change/upgrade.
I was running a Xonar D2 until very recently when I took it out as it had started to cause BSOD's.
I have Logitech x540 speakers from years ago, and a Sennheiser PC350 headset.

After getting monitor #2 #3 on my desk, the 5.1 is largely pointless, as the speakers have to be position lying down being the monitors.

I was thinking of getting two speaker stands to place between my desk and the wall, and putting a set of decent speakers on them.

I do not know which is better between 2.1 and 2.0 for my uses. I have pretty much always had 5.1 on my PC.
When I game, it will largely be done on headphones if its anything where I am recording, voiping, or competing. I use the PC for a lot of movie/tv watching, and some music.

I tend to spend around £100 on a soundcard, and similar again is ok for speakers. Budget can stretch if its a worth while upgrade, but I am no audiophile, I doubt I could tell the difference between a lot of systems.
 
I brought some Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's for £100 with a amp, you could get a amp with them for £80 and just use the audio out from a cheap soundcard? Probably not what you want but thought I'd just throw it out there as I think they are very nice. Also from the amp you have the speakers going to you can then use the headphone socket on the amp to power the headphones.

So something like Diamond 9.1s for £100 with Amp for £80 with headphones socket and a cheap Asus Xonar soundcard for £20.

Sorry for the massive wall of text lol.
 
is there any real difference between an amp and an external sound card?, beyond model differences supporting different things obv.
 
Ch3m1c4L said:
is there any real difference between an amp and an external sound card?, beyond model differences supporting different things obv.
Click to expand...

TLDR: Sound card =/= amp

A sound card is like a DAC (google it), all it does for the most part is convert a digital signal into a line level analog signal. Most of the current sound cards on the market (both internal and external types) have some kind of built in headphone amplification which is why you can plug your headphones in and get a reasonable volume out.

They will not however amplify passive speakers like the Wharfedales suggested above. To power those you will need to have an additional amplifier.

So your sound chain will go:

PC --> Sound card --> Amplifier --> Passive Speakers

Alternatively if you use active/powered speakers (your x540 for example has a built in amplifier which drives the sub and satellites), all you need is a sound card with the appropriate outputs:

PC --> Sound card --> Active Speakers

Note that you can replace the sound card above with a DAC of some kind.
 
you could also go PC > Amplifier > active speakers if it has TOSLink or coaxial optical inputs.

Seriously considering going DAC to active speakers for my own set up to free up some space (lose the huge amplifier)
 
Space isnt a huge issue, I have two shelves on my desk next to my pc sitting basically unused.

Is a standalone DAC, at similar price ranges, better than an external sound card? Meaning that soundcards are only really worth it for space/internal use?

Im guessing active/passive speakers are powered/not powered due to built in amp?
Is amp + passive particularly better, without spending hundreds on the amp?

Am I right in thinking the best ones to look at for my needs, would be the U7 or EHP-O2Di if I want to spend a bit more? Would I lose in game positional audio etc is i went for something like the O2Di over the u7?

Are standalone DAC's better than soundcards better purely because they can go to much higher end?

I was thinking I might go for the Edifier 1600s or 1800s that are coming to OCUK, they are both active arent they? In which case I would be fine to drive them without an amp, and then just get the u7 or o2di depending on funds and whether i want to favour music or gaming more?

Overall, sound wise, is 2.0 or 2.1 really that different?
 
For gaming and movies a sound card (internal or external) is better due to the multi channel Dolby processing for both headphones and speakers.

For music an external USB DAC & Amp is better for the exact opposite - you want the simplest (2 channel stereo), cleanest signal possible.

I use both, an STX for gaming and movies and a Schiit Modi & Vali for music.

If you're putting together an X99 system, you should know that there are currently major problems with internal sound cards and graphics cards used in SLI. The problem is known and being looked into but at the moment the cause is unknown.

You ask if stand alone DACs are better than soundcards...

That's not a straight forward question because the DAC implementations used on sound cards vary as well, they are not all the same. The STX has a much better DAC than the DGX or the Soundblaster Z and is just as strong as a lot of entry to mid level external DACs costing more than the whole card. The weak point of the STX is the amp (it's not as smooth as it could be) but this can be improved by changing op-amps (internal chips).

External DACs and Amps can cost as much as you are willing to pay but do suffer from the rule of diminishing returns. The difference between a £30 DAC/Amp and a £300 DAC/Amp will be a lot bigger than the difference between a £300 DAC/Amp and a £1000 DAC/Amp.

Soundwise, 2.0 vs 2.1:

2.0 is much better for music as the frequency response is far more natural.

2.1 is better for gaming and movies as they have more sub-bass response

The Edifier 1600T III and 1800 are a good choice and are better than the old model in that they have forward facing bass reflex ports, so they can be placed close to a wall. I have the old 1600T and it does sound very good for the money, though the bass can get a little boomy but that may be due to me not placing them far enough from the rear wall (they are rear ported).
 
ok, so my choice is basically whether I want to favour music or gaming/movies

And get either DAC and 2.0
or Soundcard + 2.1

Adding in an amp if I go for passive speakers.

Having SLI and an internal soundcard gaves me lots of problems on a 790i SLI and then the same problems occured on x58. Both were solved by using custom drivers for the Xonar D2/x (I tried both). I feel like it was something to do with the PCI-E total bandwidth, and it was less pronounced on the x58 system with standard drivers.
But, I think I am going to go external, no real reason for me to go internal, unless I decide the phoebus is better than the u7 by enough. Will see what its like when I come to buy, half the reason im waiting is because im fed of issues on bleeding edge tech so I am waiting for them to be ironed out, and prices to fall a little.
 
Ordered a U7 yesterday. Expecting to sound similar to my d2. Then will get speakers when the time/money is right. Hoping they will sound a lot nicer then.

Later on I may replace the U7, but I decided it was the best transitional solution right now.

Thanks for all your help guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom