Upgrading sound card -- need advice

OutpostCommand · 18 Sep 2008 at 13:31

G'day,
since im getting myself some new headphones, I have decided it is time to upgrade my soundcard too.

Currently, I have an Xtreme Audio. Its not bad in that it does the job, but im looking for something with a little more 'oomph'.

I have had my eyes on the Asus Xonar cards, but I have two questions--

a) Are the Xonar cards the series which I should opt for, or is there something better ? (as in, performs better for a similar price)

b)If the answer to 'a' was that I should go with a Xonar, then I need a little advice --
quite simply, which one should I opt for ?
There seem to be a variety of cards:

There is the DX 7.1, D2 7.1, D2X 7.1...
I simply dont know which one to opt for.

Could anyone lend me a little advice on which one I should go for ?
Price is generally irrelevant as long as its under £100.

Some details which may be useful:
-My mainboard: P5N-E
-I have one free x8 PCI-E slot

Thanks in advance

OutpostCommand · 18 Sep 2008 at 17:47

Oh, actually one more question -- since im opting for high quality headphones instead of a speaker set, will the sound difference be all that much better than my Xtreme Audio ?

Greenlizard0 · 18 Sep 2008 at 19:41

Auzentech, M-Audio are two names for example which are better than Creative for sound quality.

What new headphones have you got? Will they need driving seperately?

OutpostCommand · 18 Sep 2008 at 22:45

Aha, cheers. Ill look into their products.

Im planning to go ahead with the ATH 700s.
They sound like a great deal.

I havent got them yet though.

And im not quite sure what is meant by the term 'driving'. Apologies if its something really simple.

Leporello · 19 Sep 2008 at 12:30

Neither of you is paying attention. See this thread...
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17920936;)

Outpostcommand, Greenlizardo was referring to whether you need a headphone amplifier to "drive" new your headphones. If you both read the other thread we all contributed to, you'll see that both of your questions are answered. You can both write out 500 times, "I do not need a headphone amplifier to drive my ATH 700s but I can get one if I want if to squeeze the last 5 percent out my 'phones."

Now wake up both of you! :rolleyes:

OutpostCommand · 25 Sep 2008 at 17:44

First and second time I read this thread, I still couldnt make head or tail of what was going on -- but third time lucky

I understand.

Ive done a bit of research too, and it seems the Xonar DX is the way to go.
Its cheaper than all of its Asus rivals (D2X, D2), but performs on a similar level.