Why the move away from add in sound cards?

Pete Tong

Pete Tong

Pete Tong

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Are onboard solutions really that good now?
I have a Cambridge Audio axr85 hooked up to the pc plugged into a basic Asus dgx sound card and the only reason is for the eq software as I feel the basic treble and bass adjustment knobs just don't cut it tbh.

How do the rest of you feel about your amps on the pc? Only thing that really still bugs me is I can't go over -45db without having god awful static noise coming through the speakers. Taking the sw10 sub over half volume also causes an annoying idle hum.
 
Pete Tong said:
Only thing that really still bugs me is I can't go over -45db without having god awful static noise coming through the speakers. Taking the sw10 sub over half volume also causes an annoying idle hum.
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That's because PC's are noisy and are full of RFI that degrades output stage, it could also be a ground loop or mixture of both. External DAC's are better as your moving the analogue stage and it's PSU outside the PC's environment.
 
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Sound cards are still OK but dacs just offer so much more in terms of hardware and flexibility for outputs I use a dac and it handles my speakers and headphones fine
 
Rroff said:
What started the trend was MS effectively killing off gaming audio features with changes to audio support, along with external interfaces becoming viable without audio latency issues due to advancements in CPUs and interface technology.
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This.

I still prefer sound cards in my builds over external DACS, but sound cards need updating again they are all starting to feel old and the prices of some are still silly, on board sound on any motherboard is terrible and even any half decent sound card beats them.

I would still buy sound cards and still using them in the main builds and external DAC only on a laptop and small devices. I like the surround sound features of sound cards and the decoding they have for DTS/X and Dolby.

No before Mr extreme subwoofers and AV receivers says add AV receiver to a desktop. Totally no need with a good sound card and surround speakers designed to run off a sound card or active speakers. AV receivers belong in the home theatre room and living room, not the computer room.
 
siumatfung said:
Sound cards are still OK but dacs just offer so much more in terms of hardware and flexibility for outputs I use a dac and it handles my speakers and headphones fine
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In 2 channel mode only DACS are great, not for surround setups. Unless they are special units designed for such work and then the price becomes silly and not really aimed at computer setups.
 
For my home office I was using an Asus Essence STX II into some powered studio monitors for years. The card was superior to every onboard sound I tried, the issue with the STX II (as all cards) is they share the PSU with the computer that's noisy. Asus actually improved the power filtering on the STX II over the original ST/STX to improve this area.

I'm now using a Yamaha CD-S2100 SACD player, they double up as external DAC's that contains Steinberg USB ASIO DAC, Yamaha own Steinberg hence why involvement with these units, the output from the USB matches the quality of SACD. I then connect from this unit using balanced XLR's into studio monitors. I actually own 2 CD-S2100's my other is on my main HiFi, this is totally overkill for a home office but I don't care. Anyhow that's how I do audio for my PC and I'm happy with it.
 
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I tried a Yamaha amp previous to my Cambridge audio axr85. I hated it as its as if the treble was maxed all the time...
The cheapest Yamaha amp from richer sounds
 
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siumatfung said:
Sound cards are still OK but dacs just offer so much more in terms of hardware and flexibility for outputs I use a dac and it handles my speakers and headphones fine
Click to expand...
yeah and with people wanting to use their PCI-e lanes for things like storage and GPUs, USB DACs made more sense since you can also plug them into laptops and even mobile phones.

I have a Ifi Zen v2 DAC which I've carried over between 3 full upgrades and now use with my laptop since it's waaay more flexible. I'm sure I'd prefer the sound from an Asus Essence STX II but it won't work with my last 2 ITX builds.

Remember when a motherboard had like 7 PCi-e lanes, as per the pic? These days, you get 3 with the first being used for the GPU, the second obscured by the huge 3 slot cooler design of the GPU and the last being a 4X slot which you need for an extra LAN card or M.2 riser.

1843-1-1.jpg
 
JollyJamma said:
yeah and with people wanting to use their PCI-e lanes for things like storage and GPUs, USB DACs made more sense since you can also plug them into laptops and even mobile phones.

I have a Ifi Zen v2 DAC which I've carried over between 3 full upgrades and now use with my laptop since it's waaay more flexible. I'm sure I'd prefer the sound from an Asus Essence STX II but it won't work with my last 2 ITX builds.

Remember when a motherboard had like 7 PCi-e lanes, as per the pic? These days, you get 3 with the first being used for the GPU, the second obscured by the huge 3 slot cooler design of the GPU and the last being a 4X slot which you need for an extra LAN card or M.2 riser.

1843-1-1.jpg
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TBF that is 4x PCIe slots (not lanes) and 2x PCI, and it's an oddball layout as well.

I remember when PCI came along and used the PCB upside down so they shared a case slot with the ISA. You had to choose if you wanted PCI or ISA in each position :P
 
Pete Tong said:
Are onboard solutions really that good now?
I have a Cambridge Audio axr85 hooked up to the pc plugged into a basic Asus dgx sound card and the only reason is for the eq software as I feel the basic treble and bass adjustment knobs just don't cut it tbh.

How do the rest of you feel about your amps on the pc? Only thing that really still bugs me is I can't go over -45db without having god awful static noise coming through the speakers. Taking the sw10 sub over half volume also causes an annoying idle hum.
Click to expand...

I think the answer to that is the same as to why branded audio chips failed. Most people prioritise cost when it comes to audio. And people who care about audio want it outside the PC anyway.
 
Still using Soundblaster Z here and half the battle after 'window shopping' a mobo that meets price/spec is PCIe slot placement.
 
You don't even need to spend much money to get superior sound from a USB DAC setup or even active monitors that generally wipes the snot out of onboard audio or dedicated soundcards and no need to install the OEM software then either.

Plus games stopped using gaming audio features like EAX years ago. Everything now is cinematic audio using a standardised stream, for a glimpse at what a game can do with 3D audio that is all around you like holophonics simply play Hellblade II on a good pair of headphones or speakers powered by a decent amp for an otherworldly gaming experience.
 
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Onboard isn't worth using.

Add in card occupies a PCI-E lane, is prone to interference, usually requires additional power and requires driver and software updates.

External USB DAC/AMP was the best move I ever made for both quality and simplicity and I'll never go back.
 
Sin_Chase said:
Onboard isn't worth using.

Add in card occupies a PCI-E lane, is prone to interference, usually requires additional power and requires driver and software updates.

External USB DAC/AMP was the best move I ever made for both quality and simplicity and I'll never go back.
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That's fine if you just want two channel. I'm using asus soundcard, optical out to a AVR. I really wanted to use HDMI out on the GPU just for audio, but it doesn't work as it should.

Unless USB audio can pass DD/DTS/HD/Atmos/DTS X etc etc
 
hornetstinger said:
That's fine if you just want two channel. I'm using asus soundcard, optical out to a AVR. I really wanted to use HDMI out on the GPU just for audio, but it doesn't work as it should.

Unless USB audio can pass DD/DTS/HD/Atmos/DTS X etc etc
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Passthrough is an entirely different game and you dont need an addin card for that. Onboard audio is fine for an optical passthough as it does no processing.
 
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