It's not so much that people don't care, Realtek took the question out of the game with their onboard about... 15 years ago. Coming from a broadcasting background, we used to use $2000 soundcards prior to then to get broadcast quality audio, around 2008 the replacement of computers in the workplace no longer required the additional card to matchup with the editing software because the onboard was a good enough standard. Even oem HP office pcs. For interviewing and so on, even a mic plugged into your phone is good enough today, the standard has raised.

@TWbyAIPAC

Жыл бұрын

Mobo stripping codecs back

@samuraiwarrior96

Жыл бұрын

now ALC 4080 IS FKED UP

@xXYannuschXx

Жыл бұрын

Soundcards still sound better though these days and provide the option of virtual surround.

@L9MN4sTCUk

11 ай бұрын

Motherboard audio is almost never used these days. Manufactures might as well just remove it. I couldn't even find a headset with the necessary analog plugs to connect to PC audio. The on-board sound chip is completely bypassed when using a digital connection, HDMI, DisplayPort, Bluetooth, USB, Optical, SPDIF. I don't know if my MB audio even works because I've never been able to plug it into anything.

Thanks Chris, I am also one of those people who likes to have better sound quality. I was looking to add a sound card until I viewed your video on the subject, so I will look at other alternative's. Love your videos, keep up the great content.

I remember the sound cards, back to the 8 bit ones. I was big into the optical ones too until HDMI. My previous mobo's optical out didn't support 5.1 to my theater receiver, and I learned that 5.1 is about the most bandwidth optical can support. I'm running a 7.1 setup, soon to be full on 9.1.2 Atmos, and the optical simply won't carry that bandwidth. Then again, I think my scenario is different. The HDMI carries the digital audio signal through the graphics card, to a completely separate receiver, and that's essentially been the setup for my main entertainment pc for the last decade.

@bobcamoh.a.f.2874

9 ай бұрын

if i remember correctly, optical has never been able to do anything past 5.1 and even at that it was lower bandwidth also so it'd lower the quality using it... pretty much only good for high end stereo. not sure if they've changed it since the PS3 days, but that's when i learned a lot about it since i had a 5.1 receiver at the time and was trying to learn all about it and such. but even back then for anything surround sound they said top tier being HDMI then the 3.5mm jack setup. seems to sadly still hold true now days.

I remember the first sound blaster card I bought in the 90’s. I had a 486 with just the PC speaker and was a huge Wolfenstein 3D fan. When I installed this behemoth of a card, I couldn’t believe the sound quality. I was hooked for years in terms of using internal cards. But I haven’t used one for probably 20 years now

@LanciaSiluri

Жыл бұрын

the good old days, my second pc was a 486

@flacko001

10 ай бұрын

​@LanciaSiluri I remember my dad got a sound card in the 90s and it came with deus ex and thief

@phil_5430

2 ай бұрын

Makes only sense when you use decent speaker. I have an Edifier 2.1 speaker setup for ages now and without a soundcard the speakers are never really loud nor has the sub any deep bass. I had the Xonar DX for some years and you'll notice the difference immediately: the speaker volume does not need to be turned up to high because on a lower level you already get a very clean sound and the sub is much more noticeable with soft and deep bass. Of course if you use only headphones and they are always gamer headphones with an inbuilt soundchip, then a soundcard is useless...

the reason why some internal soundcards have a cover is that the cover is actually there to stop noise caused by other components in the PC. I have a few different ones. For me even though i have optical whenever im recording an event the place only has XLR so i just use the line in, though even cheap ones do decent as well.

I think the cool think about sound cards is just the built in IO on your pc, enabling you to record your own vinyl and use analogue audio setups easily. Evga sells one that looks cool

Something random to add, but just using your optical output located on most enthusiast motherboards (event the low-end ones) are a massive benefit.

@tikyreol978

Жыл бұрын

It's not adding when it was stated.

The weakest part in the onboard Realtek sound on my motherboard seems to be the amplifier component. Yes, if you turn up the output too high or use the volume boost feature you can add noise to the signal (so can the microphone port, muting it can make a huge difference), but I found that I could clean it up by using an external headphone amplifier along with some reference headphones). Personally, I don't like to use external devices for sound because they can add noticeable latency in games and cause problems when recording or in titles like Rocksmith. Another reason people used to use sound cards is that they had hardware processors to take some strain off of a CPU. That got killed off with the move to Windows XP because Microsoft changed the way sound got processed in Windows, essentially making it all software based and instantly making gaming sound cards like the Soundblaster range pretty much pointless as soon as the onboard sound systems became 'good enough'.

Back in the days I had Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advance internal soundcard. I was amazed (and I'm still) how clean it can sound. But there were some disadventages too: no PC front panel connection (to reduce interferances), no microphone port at all and PCI interface. There is USB version but it's not exactly the same - Audiotrak Prodigy Cube. But still, it sound pretty good.

I'd gladly shop at Microcenter if any were local to me. Microcenter, YOU NEED TO OPEN MORE STORES.

I run a Christmas light display set to music from my computer and use a Soundblaster play3. There's a bit of improvement over the motherboard card, and for $20 it's well worth it. Probably some of that improvement comes from using a long USB cord and having the audio stay digital until it's 15 feet away from the computer.

Many of Creative's internal cards are actually new designs that were released in the past few years. And they don't have issues with noise like you say.

@kramer911

11 ай бұрын

Yeah.. idk. I solved my xonar dgx noise problem by getting balanced cables. That's the noise problem usually. I'm not sold on these dacs yet..

An external DAC on USB is just as good as optical because the analog conversion still happens outside of the PC. A good basic setup for a lot of people willing to spend a bit more to really get into the entry of nicer gear is the Schiit Modi and Magni. By no means are they the best, but for $200 its a good option for a dedicated amp/DAC combo

@lrmcatspaw1

Жыл бұрын

This can be true, but as far as I understand you have to take drivers into account (either drivers that the Device needs or the default drivers windows uses). Another point is that you ARE transporting interference thru the USB cable. Optical means there is NOT physical connection (the data is photons) between the devices. I have a Z-5500 and even if I use a dedicated DAC (bifrost multibit) and then feed that analog signal into the Z-5500 it sounds worse than just toslink into the Z-5500 directly. The more devices you add in a chain (especially with different amplification, pre amplification, etc) the worse the audio gets because you are exponentially adding noise at each step.

@HBMHD

Жыл бұрын

Not _as_ good no... Optical sends a RAW signal to a completely external component through light pulses, not electrical power; while at some point that light is transformed into electrical signals, it does it outside of the PC environment, whereas a USB DAC still gets electrical interference from the motherboard to power it up and send the data. The noise on a USB DAC may be extremely quiet however (depending on the quality of the components), but if you aim to get as close to a completely noiseless experience as possible, S/PDIF (optical) is still king, even above HDMI.

@jovianlitany

Жыл бұрын

You may hear the difference between raw data and whatever data reduction the use but I will guarantee you will not perceive the difference.

@dberry99

Жыл бұрын

An external DAC is definitely the way to go for great sound. HBMHD is correct about completely isolating one particular path of RF noise, but at that level you are getting beyond what most people can hear and your budget moves from the hundred dollar neighborhood with phenomenal sound to another galaxy where people use pan-dimensional multi-spectral power cords and paint the edges of their cd's green.

@expectnull

Жыл бұрын

@@dberry99 honestly, onboard chips are fine nowadays, as long as you oversample alot. Then the filtering issues will not be audible anymore. The claims of audiophiles stem from marketing in my opinion.

A lot of the good audio mixers have built in USB interfaces. I use the Behringer UMC404HD for live broadcast and a Zoom for 16 simultaneous channels. I've been looking for a multichannel optical mixer but have not found one yet.

KUDOS for sharing! OMG I remember buying the sound blaster cards etc, and could never afford a Turtle Beach one? Yes optical is the way to go, and from what I remember, cleanes way as well. A good resource may be a musician friend or shop? You ARE FORTUNATE indeed to have MicroCentre local to you! Miss it MUCH from when I lived in DFW area years ago! ALL THE BEST and Cheers! :)

Sound quality and computer is something I was very interested in, this is a great video that’s gonna help me get started thanks!

Sound on my PC is something I have been Struggling with. Thanks for the information.

I still use an Asus Essence STX 1 & II. I have USB dacs like the Dragon Fly Red and Oppo Ha-2 but the Essence still sounds stunning to me, both via the headphone amp & phono out.

For some reason with Sound Blaster internal sound cards the remaining noise floor can be eliminated by pulling the card out of the PCIE slot by 1mm. I did it with my Sound Blaster Z and it made a bigger difference then going from motherboard audio to the sound card in the first place.

i love your videos Chris and welcome to the audio freaks world! It is so fun and fascinating getting to witness and experience audio qualities and hardwares for the past 15 years of my own experience. also the RME that you are planning to get is the one that i also desire to get as well 😁😎 I also want to add now that motherboards such as like my Gigabyte Aorus Master Z690 is a huge improvement coming from a Msi Z97 pc mate such as like the i7-4790k era. The new motherboards id say like the AorusMaster z690 has a super Ess audio chip that was inserted into it with multiple Inputs and outputs being able to produce a 7.1 surround sound @ 24 bit/ 192khz in all your audio speakers setup( if you have a multiple speaker or audio interface/ mixer setup to reroute them to trick your pc ins/outs). what you can do with this is if you have the correct gears and setup you can re-emulate that surround sound back into stereo in multiple ways which becomes detailed which its so much i can get into but i may have to make a video about it. But me as an Audio Recording enthusiasts/freak/sound engineer, there is so many good options and hardware and alternatives in beneficial use for anyone and everybody. What i will say if you are looking for just gaming , id say look into Audio 7.1 surround sound hardware and sound cards for example like recording or streaming and such because what you hear is what you also want people to hear but if anything feel free to reach out and I believe this video is really fun and important. 😊😁

I use a little USB FiiO E10K-TC that you can pick up for $75 or cheaper on sale. Works out of the box in Windows and Linux with no issues. Only time I do have an issue it is with updated NVIDIA drivers changing the audio device to an HDMI monitor. It brings the audio signal outside of the PC case so the noise floor is very low, and there is a line-out on the back for powered speakers as well. I keep it at 96kHz for my needs, but it supports upto 384kHz if you need it. I am by no means an audiophile but I know what I like.

I use a audiophile 24/96 card in my server which came out about mid 2000's. Pretty dated but this card is fantastic. Has RCA plugs and amazing SNR. I use it for capturing vinyl and other analog sound which goes to my youtube channel. On Linux it works if you plug it in however once in a while I'd do a fresh install and need to manually change some settings in whatever computer I had it in at the time as it would think it's a different model of M-Audio card (once this is set this is no longer a problem). It uses a program called Mudita to set custom settings like capture rate, rate lock, etc.

Bought a used Asus Xonar Essence STX for a decent price recently. I wasn't expecting much since I already had a good and modern onboard audio setup, or so I thought. I was completely blown away with the clarity of the sound output. It is much better than onboard audio and it is a card released more than 10 years ago. Of course, you need to pair it with a good headphone. In my case I have an Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. The listening experience is magical.

@dtz1000

Жыл бұрын

I got an Asus xonar d2 and it sounded amazing. Unfortunately it's no longer supported on windows 10. Built in obsolescence by Asus.

@MrDeapGamingMedia

Жыл бұрын

The video kind of left me confused about the sound floor. I have a somewhat old sound card. It's a Creative Titanium HD. I'm using something relatively cheap & even with the volume maxed, I still can't hear the sound floor. It could be my headphone ain't picky up anything at low dB. You measure FFT from an oscilloscope. if you can't pick up anything you can head full hardcore more with a network analyzer to find the tiny sound floor. 😁 If the youtuber pick up noise floor, he need help.

@PythosianMan

Жыл бұрын

@@dtz1000 Have a look for the Uni (Unified) Xonar Drivers, built by a dedicated person to keep the xonar cards going and supports Windows 10 and 11.

@dtz1000

Жыл бұрын

@@PythosianMan Thanks, will look for them.

@phil_5430

2 ай бұрын

"I was completely blown away with the clarity of the sound output." Yup, thats the reaction when people usually say "onboard is enough". I find it always hilarious when people buy the biggest high end pc's yet they refuse to buy a soundcard :D

I find additional PCI sound cards deliver more power to run the sound and the sound is more pristine.

Where's the link to the USB DAC Soundcard you mentioned?

Is the hi-fi bug going around or something? I recently have gotten into the hi-fi world as well. Just a small point of clarification: speakers are driven by analog signals, so the conversion from digital to analog always will happen at some point in the audio chain regardless of whether you are using optical inputs and outputs--the question is just where. Also, if you're using optical out from your source, the source may resample or do some other processing on the digital signal. That is, the audio stream that goes into the sound card technically might differ from the audio stream that goes out. Meanwhile, if outputting from your computer via USB, the audio stream basically skips past the internal sound card in your computer. In this case, the PC is merely "passing through" the audio stream from KZread, Spotify, etc., whereas with optical, the sound card is first processing the audio stream before outputting it.

I bought an ASUS Xonar (can't remember which one) soundcard last year to use 5.1 optical out to my Logitech Z906 speakers. I was using the 3.5mm audio jack's in my motherboard but I didn't like the noisey sound coming from it. Microsoft made it so that with the latest versions of Windows 10 you can only set 2.0 out in optical unless you use modded drivers for some devices. I couldn't find any modded drivers for my MSI X470 Gaming plus that worked so I bought an ASUS Xonar card that works with unixonar drivers. Those drivers allow me to set 5.1 audio out through optical out.

Electrical Noise is the cause of the hiss sound in your head phones and While the quality of your DAC chip on your sound card matters it is UNLIKELY the cause of the hiss you hear on many sound cards, in fact the single component causing this hiss or electrical noise is your POWER SUPPLY, unless you are using a Multi-rail-voltage Electrically noiseless power supply (NOT AUDIO NOISE) you will continue to suffer from electrical noise in the audio regardless of the quality of your sound card's DAC. All this noise issue is mainly applicable to analogue recording and play back. For most people digital cables are unlikely to be used especially that most head sets are using the analogue plug... And the reason why sound cards are gone is because the Audio quality built-in on the motherboard nowdays is very adequate for the vast majority of people. If you are recording audio into your PC from an analogue source beside using an electrically noiseless Power Supply you would want a sound card DAC with 115 ~ 120 dB SNR - (Signal to noise ratio). Using less than 110 ~ 113 dB SNR, depending on the quality of your sound card you may experience some hiss or humming noises, and using anything below 106 dB SNR for analogue to digital recording is NOT recommended.

I have the AE-9 with MUSE OPamps.. fantastic sound and very clear on Beyerdynamics DT- 1990 Headphones (with Dekoni replacement pads) and previously with Sennheiser 650. Its overkill for gaming but what I can now hear in games is exceptional... and on music is just awesome regardless of genre.

@gely_

Жыл бұрын

same except 700x pros, u sir are doing it the right way. Do you have a DAC, highly recommend one to amplify your audio. My god i love doing work on them and also producing with them

@z00fbar

Жыл бұрын

@@gely_ Thanks, at the moment i dont have a DAC. The AE9 seems to give the power it needs to the DT1990's but certainly considering :)

I’ve honestly had nothing but great experiences with Micro Center I live in Southern California and the nearest one to me is the one that’s in Tustin love the crew there

Ended up here because I had an old e-mu 1616 sound card that I was considering trying make compatible with a newer laptop. I really appreciate you mentioning the basic parts. I think you will really like the new gear you are considering. I want to check it out too. Rather than try to revive this old dinosaur. In regard to clean sound. I did find today while researching the 1616 a page a fans that feel there is a latency benefit to they way it connects to the mother board, specifically not via USB. I look forward checking out your new and old content. Cheers

I've got a Soundblaster Z, I found some EQ settings online that I liked, those coupled with simulated surround sound great through my 2.1 speakers. Games sound alive and it's a great all round experience. I heard you loud and clear and you certainly didn't sound like Alvin!

Any benefit in using low latency kernels like in Ubuntu distros? Also in Windows are there ways to prioritise certain processes or outputs?

Was given a friends computer but it didn't have optical out for sound. I bought an Asus Xonar SE Gaming sound card. I run an optical cable from sound card to my Lavry DA 11 dac and then in to my Pioneer VSX D1S pro logic receiver and use infinity Kappa 5 main speakers, a HSU 12 powered sub woofer and some Jamo rear channel speaker for movies , this is my computer set up. I also use a BBE Sonic Maximizer for tone control on occasion. I'm content with the sound. I also use a FIIO BTR5 and BTR 7 (Much Better) for portable sound with Fostex headphones. Even the Koss KPH30i (2 pairs with oversized ear pads) sound amazing especially for the price. My 2 cents.

for a while now I have used smsl dac and amp for my headphones and a scarlett 2i2 for my mic and this has worked fine for me.

@bradm1507

2 жыл бұрын

I just bought the SMSL combo, too--waiting for it to arrive. Glad to hear it's working for well.

@ChrisTitusTech

2 жыл бұрын

I have never heard of these SMSL dacs, but man they do look good. I'm going to pick one up.

@bradm1507

2 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisTitusTech Topping is another brand to check out. Offer a similar DAC + Amp stack, but also some integrated units like the MX5.

Well for me I have had Asus Xonar sound cards in my machines as I have that really great sound control panel that goes with them. This gives me control over the effects frequencies etc etc and I would not be without them. I can create the sound profiles that suit me and it is just the ducks guts. My cards only cost me between $60 and $80 and are the greatest thing I have put into my machines. The sound I find is so perfect for me.

Hey Chris love your videos and appreciate your knowledge. I use a Zoom Live Trak L-8

Thanks Man, you helped to get rid the hum of the sub of my Sub on my PC speakers.

@LawAbidingSociopath69

Жыл бұрын

how?

I have to agree with using TOSLINK to an external DAC. When using resolving headphones, connecting to the computer's ground plane introduces hum and common-mode switching noises.

I really liked Micro Center in Dallas when I was there as late as 2003.

I prefer USB DACs myself. Getting the source of the sound outside of the case with fans and other things going on that can introduce that background noise was what I needed for my basic setup with some higher end head phones. I use the Fulla E from Shiit Audio. Funny name with an even funnier way it identifies itself on my computer, but a good product without breaking the bank and their products are well known for being Linux friendly. It drives my DT 770 Pro headphones (80 ohm) without breaking a sweat and I got crystal clear audio on it as far as my ears can tell which is all that really matters to me. Depending on what you're needing to do, audio can be overthought about. Onboard audio chip sets on good motherboards are decent enough to get most people up and running for gaming and general computer use these days, but if you have higher end head phones/speakers, get yourself a decent DAC and you'll be well set for the all the general computer use stuff from gaming to listening to music to talking on video conference calls.

What I learned going through this process... Step one buy quality headphones with an output profile that match your taste and you need to decide if you want closed, semi-open or open backed. I wanted very clean detailed female vocals with an open airy sound stage so I bought a set of Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ω version. The DT880 are semi-open backed and do have isolation from your environment but you can still hear what's going on around you so your better half won't be throwing things at you to get your attention. Open or semi-open headphones have a wider more realistic (imho) sound stage than fully enclosed headphones (or buds). I initially connected my PC to a Pioneer home receiver with optical toslink which worked great but my receiver runs like a toaster so I later purchased a very reasonably priced dedicated headphone amp called Micca OriGen 2. It has both USB and optical toslink in up to 24bit/192khz and power enough for 600Ω headphones, separate1/8 and 1/4 headphone jacks, nice volume knob for both the headphone or 1/8 stereo analog out for powered speakers. The 1/8 analog out doubles as a mini optical out so this unit can take a USB PC connection and pass digital through the 1/8 optical out. Apparently It can also connect to Android via USB OTG but I haven't tried that. I also picked up an unpowered 3 way optical Toslink switch so I can switch between PC input or 200 CD changer from my desk with zero loss in quality. The sound quality/price ratio is good. One thing I did notice is that if you are listening to a 44.1khz FLAC file in Foobar for example and you have your DAC/Amp set to 48khz, the output will not be passed on "raw" for external decoding but will be first decoded from 44.1khz and then re-encoded to 48khz on your PC first and then decoded again on your external DAC which did make a small but noticeable difference in audible quality vs matching the DAC to the source material. With a decent audio setup you will also notice Spotify "high quality" isn't that high quality after all (Amazon is better) with a sound stage that is noticeably compressed and duller than original source material or 320kb mp3. I'm over 50 and my high frequency sensitivity is fading now so young people will certainly notice this.

Does bluetooth use the soundcard to convert signals into sounds or the bluetooth on the motherboard does everything? Reason why I am asking this is because when I use my bose wireless earbuds on my laptop for gaming, there is a lag but on my desktop, no lag. Or is there probably a better bluetooth chip in my desktop?

You mentioned optical headphones, could you put up a link as I have never heard about them before. Many thanks.

Hello Crhis. I use dac fiio e10k with Sennheiser HD 599 headset for gaming and audio. For me, it's perfect.

Creative Sound BlasterX G6 is what I use now. Great sound and flexibility , easily beats motherboard sound

i didn't think it would make a difference before ... the audio from my computer was very weak , i used a usb sound card from turtle beach i bought almost 20 years ago ... what a world of difference ... booming sounds coming outta that card

OK Geeks, the way to REALLY lower the sound floor is with cryogenic heat sinks liquid helium or Peltier devices (satellite transducers) and Green Bank Radioastronomy Dishes. As this tech (including the Javelin missile) is mature and coming down in price. I am surprised no one has run with this. MRI machines use liquid helium to run enough current in the coils to run city blocks for a bit to get incredibly detailed images otherwise "lost in the noise".

@kreigrastalovich2577

2 жыл бұрын

lol

@SovereignTroll

2 жыл бұрын

@@kreigrastalovich2577 The rich have the toys...

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Had it for many years and still works like a charm

@DoktorLorenz

2 жыл бұрын

i brought a pair of Presonus Eris E5's for a £120 on FB marketplace, i was going to buy a Scarlett when the guy who sold the speakers to me found out he said here have my old 2i4 1st gen I've upgraded and don't need this anymore. When I plugged this all in, compared to my old Corsair SP2500 this setup blew me away on hearing things in music i've never heard until now. I still need a sub because I miss the low down bass & I intend to buy a Temblor T10 to add to it.

10 years ago, I picked up an Asus Xonar Essence STX to pair it with a SoftRock SDR. I never connected the two and only took the sound card out of my PC last week. Now I'm building a new computer, but the new motherboards don't have coaxial SPDIF which I need to run a Wohler AES/EBU VU meter.

This is good for consumer audio for listening to music and watching movies at not-so-loud levels (due to SNR) however there is a whole different world being the enthusiast and pro-audio fields - they are a very demanding and an unforgiving kettle of fishies. In that game it is best to keep everything external with comms being usb and thunderbolt. The key specifications for this in addition to samples per second and bit depth are most importantly is SNR (Signal to Noise Ration), Latency and concurrent interfaces for multi-track recording as well as routing with external hardware (ie: digital signal processing units). Back on 2002 when I was in radio I produced DJ mixsets and had to get the "presence" of my voice in front of the music. I had to push the audio-compression (percieved volume) to +20db and that required a very "clean" (noise-free) audio source. Every element in the chain from my voice, the room (audio reflection dampening material), the microphone, the interface, even the quality of headphones so there was no "feedback loops". Real-Time digital processing of the voice could be done with software that rewired the microphone input to the DSP module and then rewired the input from that into the physical mixer, or the DJ software which at the time the only viable option was Native Instruments Traktor Studio. The DSP software I used was Izotope Ozone which comes with a library of presets for just about anything one could think of in mastering and processing any sort of audio - it is a very compact swiss army knife of digital audio signal processing with very low latency. As to hardware pro-audio interfaces, have a look at Apogee, Arturia, Behringer, Focusrite, M-Audio, MOTU, RME, Steinberg, Tascam, Universal Audio (alphabetical, unbiased). FM Radio is a pretty stringent environment with government imposed mandatory requirements, so DSP before hitting the microwave link to the transmitter was Orban Optimod.

I bought a focusrite Scarlett 8is and Yamaha hs7 studio monitors. The difference in the audio quality in gaming is night and day. Taking my case Diablo to resurrected, I can hear ambient environmental and background sounds out of the monitors that I were never there before on my motherboard and Logitech speaker audio. Well worth the investment I would do it again and never look back.

Microcenter seems like a cool company. If you haven't seen the recent Gamer Nexus video where they stop in Microcenter, you should. It's a feel good video. I clicked every one of the Microcenter links in the description just on principle. :)

I believe the onboard audio of my MSI MAG X570S Tomahawk MAX WiFi is supposed to be a USB 2.0 implementation, which I think might be why I do not get that background noise I used to associate with onboard audio.

Hey Chris, excellent info on your channel here today. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface for everyday sound. It does 44 - 192khz sample rates. A good reliable interface. NZ$ 350. I use this setup for my music production at a minimum. Keep up the great work. Be safe and well where you are.

@jastriarahmat659

2 жыл бұрын

IDK man, is even focusrite now worth the price now? I mean, they use like 15 years old tech for DSP/ADDA chips. there should be newer and CHEAPER DSP chips.

@ForceGamerrr

2 жыл бұрын

@@jastriarahmat659 Yes. You can opt for a MOTU interface if you prefer that, though. Otherwise there's RME or Universal Audio, which are only for professionals (meaning they are very expensive) These are all very reliable brands in my experience personally. I've heard good things about Presonus' interfaces, but I have no experience with them.

@jastriarahmat659

2 жыл бұрын

@@ForceGamerrr do they use newer & up to date chips? AFAIK UAD also use old techs and not worth the price. NXP, STM, etc.. are releasing newer DSP chips to date with better memory, buffer and caching, and I have no idea which brands are updating their technology. I will take a look at presonus. Thank you..

@ForceGamerrr

2 жыл бұрын

@@jastriarahmat659 Unless it lowers the price, there’s no need to use newer chips, because none of them have any issues. If it’s important to you, then do some research to find who uses newer chips and such, but I personally don’t believe it matters at all (again, unless it makes them cheaper)

@jastriarahmat659

2 жыл бұрын

@@ForceGamerrr even if with the same price, newer chips should give you cheaper price per performance unit.

Good info, Thank you.

3:00 straight to the chase! I'll keep watching anyway since this is entertaining lol I recently went on the hunt for a sound card since I'm building a PC. I haven't done so in like 15 years and thought, I wonder if these are still relevant? I think the main reason sound cards were big in the late 90's-early 00's was to reduce the load of processing sound on the CPU as they were pretty slow. I'll probably just look for an external DAC & Amp.

I have the ae9 which I got 100 quid off. It is a beast of a soundcard which I modded as well. It does clap a lot of cheeks after modded and the audio quality/price ratio is very good.

@dwarfrom

Жыл бұрын

Hi there, what did you connect to your ae-9? Is it a stereo active speaker system or a passive system? I have ae-7 and I don't feel the difference between onboard Realtek and ae-7's optical or 3.5 jack to RCA connections. I have Airpulse A80 active speakers that seem to have everything it needs to produce a good sound. Please advise.

@tovarvonbrandt7157

Жыл бұрын

@@dwarfrom beyerdynamic 1990 pro, direct mode

I use a dedicated USB PCI card from JCAT which goes straight to my DAC. This is for audiophiles only as this PCI card is very expensive compared to other solutions. Im happy with it as I use a dedicated PC for audio

Hey Chris! Would you be able to recommend a nice set of IEMs?

I have an acer veriton X2665G series and connected it with VGA cable! My question is why my cpu produce sounds eventhough I'm not using an HDMI cable?

I'm glad I got a screenshot of that cheeky "no" version of the thumbnail. Took it because it made me chuckle :^) a brief distraction from the pain of existence.. still a great video though! Cheers 👁️👄👁️

I upgraded my 2002 Compaq tower with a sound blaster card and never went back (very dated now) It drives my Sennheiser headphones and tightens up the bass. It records at only 16/44.1 but sounds great. I used it recently (computer still runs.. win XP) to digitize all of my music reel to reel master tapes. It beats my current HP laptop motherboard that does not drive headphones well, just does not sound as good as the old system.

I bought an Sound Blaster AE-5 a couple of years ago and I've really enjoyed the richness and extra power it brings to the audio output. My only gripes with it is that ground noise can be heard on low impedance headphones and that the headset audio port doesn't provide any sound in Linux (this might have changed these days, if it has please tell me how to enable it).

@metaleater9

Жыл бұрын

Pull the sound card out by 1mm and the hiss will probably go away, I did this with my Soundblaster Z using a small plastic washer between the case and PCI bracket and all his vanished.

Good morning Chris, would I need anything in addition to a brand new motherboard using a realtek s1220a chipset with a Sennheiser HD 600 set of cans or is this something I need to try and see if it sounds clean and then make the decision if additional hardware is needed? Trying to avoid buying stuff I don't need. Thanks in advance!

I have both fedora 35 and windows 11 on the same pc , I dont know what it is but when im listening to music the fedora sound quality is miles better than the windows one.

@beefcurry728

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kanny_Manny never tried LDAC bluetooth usually used wired headphones , but ill test it out

@beefcurry728

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kanny_Manny audio quality on linux is better on bluetooth too , my bluetooth headphones button dont work tho but thats not a big deal

@nepnep6894

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe if you are using the onboard audio you have the audio enhanceme ts on that the default windows realtek drivers have.

How is the Marian Seraph 8 MKII XLR? Ess 9028PRO dacs, but I am unsure, but is an pro audio card for studio use. I considering to use it with an three-way active Hifi system. But it Is the emi/rfi, hearing mouseclicks, mouse movements, hdd spinning.

The RME will be fantastic. You won't regret it. I've used USB Audio interfaces since 2010 and 5 years ago I bought a Fireface UC. It's amazing how good quality and reliable they are.

@phoenixrising4995

2 жыл бұрын

My Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen is really nice to. I would say go for Pro Audio gear if you want great ADA conversion with a low noise floor.

The issue with Toslink is it can not carry uncompressed audio greater the 2.1, with the exception of HDMI analog 3 x 3.5mm outputs analog is the only way to get surround output.

I heard that some programs can send music directly to the dac for better sound. Is there a way to do that for the entire "system sound"?

Micro Center is awesome. They got me a 555 timer! Those things are not easy to find anymore.

A usb audio interface such as the Focusrite Scarlett or a Presonus audio box is a good affordable option for quality audio that can be had for around 100 to 200 bucks. pairing the interfaces with a high quality pair of headphone, a decent XLR mic, and a pair of studio monitors will pretty much give you a high quality studio quality recording. if you add a midi keyboard and a DAW with some decent plugins which can all be had for cheap you will pretty much have the setup to make most of the songs released in the last decade.

@DoktorLorenz

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't plan on having a studio style setup but now i've got a 2i4 & monitors & I love that I can add to this and get a really good setup

I like that I have both sound and video over an HDMI cable. I have not found a good way to combine sound back into HDMI if it is separate.

Biggest problem I usually run into is not the quality of the onboard sound card or the features, but the amp for my headphones. Not a problem I've had for my speakers but I assume that's because they've got an amp built in running the speakers. Apart from that though onboard has been good for me on my Asus x570 plus. I just use a SMSL Headphone amp using optical and it really brings my headphones to life. Not a professional music producer or anything, just enjoy music and video games, so for my needs a good headphone amp and I'm happy.

@LawAbidingSociopath69

Жыл бұрын

does dac/amp combo works on speakers even it has logo for headphones only?

External USB rigs aren't immune from electrical noise either, my Elecom HUGE trackball was introducing static into my external audio gear every time I moved the ball or clicked on anything. I ended up putting those snap on ferrite chokes on the cables of the trackball, keyboard, wallwarts and ALL USB cables like the external HD. That has helped but not completely eliminated the issue.

Just ordered an Asus Zonar SE specifically for the optical out to go straight into an Marantz PM6007 amplifier. I do also have a decent dac but the soundcard reduces the modular add ons and simplifies my set up. I would be happy to see Asus take this little card into a full digital version maybe with coaxial out and usb c in one. There was not a lot of choice for half height cards either but this one will do.

Good Primer. I ran a windows partition for our recording studio activities and my occasional steam gaming. I use my Linux manjaro kde partition for 100‰ of business, work and personal activities. I use the same RME babyface pro (audio interface/ external soundcard/DAC) for both partition and I couldn't be more satisfied getting 48khz and more or less 6ms latency quality on both. Most professional Audio Interface (soundcard) like RME will run flawless when you switch them to USB compliant mode. That's how Linux accesses these audio interfaces at their lowest possible latency which is important both in gaming and professional audio.

I dont know much. But as far as I'm concened Mr Carlsons Lab has the finest audio on KZread and he uses a valve mic. It's so rich and warm in it's tone. Defo worth looking into him Chris.

As someone who’s tried a lot of different solutions, just get a USB DAC/AMP which works with audiophile grade headphones or speakers. Creative (The Sound Blaster X G6 is a rock solid product if you are fine with staying up to 24-Bit 96KHz audio, and they work fine with my HD 600s while having extra features) and Schitt’s offerings are pretty good in that department. I feel like on-board audio is redundant nowadays as well as PCIE sound cards because of the inherent interference those have, alongside the bad drivers (RealTek comes to mind). HDMI based audio and USB audio replaced those for me.

Ever since I got a pair of Feniks Essence speakers that plug into the USB port, I never used the built in audio except for when I use my headphones with a built in mic.

Do you advice to use optical hub to connect analog headphones?

I use analogue Klipsch 2.1 speakers, does the Analogue input on the Soundblastrer Xfi Titanium not provide a better sound experience?

Soundscard won't have interference from other components, the onboard audio can. The smakker the motherboard the higher the chance of crosstalk, i.e. static or hiss noises. The Soundblaster Z used to be a great soundcard, I have used it quite a long time. Though, Creative botched the software and my housemate, who now uses the Soundblaster, has a lot of sotware related issues I didn't have at all. Though, these days... I would recoomend a USB DAC over a Soundcard. Its a lot easier to setup or even things like the Denon PMA30. This is just an AMP but it also allows you to use optical from the device itself, not many dacs have this feature. its essentially a smaller version of their amplifiers and thus also allows a sub to be hooked up directly to the PMA30. However for most people this would be overkill. In many cases people just want their headphones to be driven properly and any DAC does this these days. Even onboard audio. But I like my external audio controls. its very nice to have. I personally use a Behringer U-Phoria UMC 202HD overkill of my use as it has twice the amount of ports I need.. but it was only about 60 bucks and the one I likely should have bought was around 50. The software is quit limited, but that is also what makes it good and bad. It runs great, I dont have anyissues and it doesnt get in the way, at the same time.. you also can't really do anything with your audio without a program like Voicemeeter or something. The latter I don't use. Sound is always difficult to answer because onboard audio have become very good in the last few years and if you don't plan on using prosumer(let alone audiphile) gear just stick to the onboard. But if you step up to M50X's, DT770/990. 6xx or 58X jubilee's its a nobrainer to look at simple easy to use dacs. You dont have to have expensive ones either, the manufacturer claims my DAC can power a Shure SM7B though I doubt that...

hum and buzz can be mitigated almost entirely with any properly designed preamp/headphone amp, sometimes the problem is just a cable that's too long and or improperly shielded. I learnt about importance of shielding and grounding when i built a microhone. Yes USB dacs are usually very clean but I haven't found any that I have liked for headphone use specifically. Hint: dolby headphone,. I've been using the Asus Xonar DX for the past 10 years and although I have a couple of great usb dacs, with slightly cleaner audio, it is my most used to this day. There is not one mobo I have owned that has had usable audio, ever. Plus the dolby headphone on the xonar has been the biggest game changer for me. Absolutely nothing compares to the 3d audio coming out of the headphones when gaming. I am considering the Creative Sound BlasterX AE-7, but it's not much of an upgrade, more like a backup plan for when this card dies😥 one day... p.s. Using a D.I. box between the dac and speakers is not the best way to fix the issue, active di boxes are a bit better but still a bandaid if you are someone that sits down specifically to listen and enjoy the music.

I'm using a steelseries arctic pro headset which uses a usb to connect to the computer with a game dac. What high end sound card would I get to improve upon my integrated sound where I can still plugin my usb? Preferably external sound card since i'm running out of pci-e slots with my 4090. (I am on a desktop)

I use a Fiio usb DAC, mainly because it drives my Sennheiser headphones much better than my motherboards on board sound. The DAC is good for the price.

My Soundblaster Recon 3D PCI Works and sounds awesome,,, Especially when hooked up to my Sony receiver and Klipsch Heresy speakers,, Can play for the whole neighborhood,, :-)

If you care about the sound, you should look at a cheap audio interface like a scarlett solo or something. I’m not sure if it supports optical cables though. It takes in regular jack instead of minijack, so you would need an adapter, which shouldn’t do anything noticeable to the sound.

Decent Sound card improve your sound even if on board motherbaord has optical with realtek 1220VB with sabre dac?

I have a gaming headset with both mic and audio 3.5mm jack and i want to connect it to my laptop. Is it better to connect it through a "Y" splitter or like a 20$ usb sound card?

I'm using a Steinberg UR24C, has USB-C and XLR inputs. Also some nice knobs to play with ;)

I love Micro Center (when I visit my family in Atlanta over Thanksgiving/Xmas), but online has usually been a crappy experience because it keeps preventing order completion, saying my address isn’t valid (and I heard that’s a common issue).

You can get an amazing DI for the price of a good sound card and your quality of sound is going to be amazing. DI's are the best way to go . Your mic will make a difference as well. Condescend mics are best and the DI boxes support phantom power. You only need a 2 channel DI to get amazing sound. Reaper is great to mix your audio and there are tons of plugins that you can use. Reaper and the plug ins are free. Been a musician for years and I've worked in IT for years. For sound you have to switch to music gear.

@ChrisBanda

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I'm surprised he didn't talk about digital interfaces. I switched from a soundcard to a Focusrite Scarlett Solo about a year ago; got a condenser mic to go with it and haven't looked back since.

@kibagami25

2 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisBanda Great job. That is the best combo. It's not the 90's anymore with sound cards. To me i find that a sound card is useless, as a DI are just so much cheaper and way better and provides way more options down the line.

Maybe you can help me. (I've asked folks around other channels but never get a reply.) I have an 8th generation NUC which I purchased specifically because it came with a port marked "optical" . The port looks more like an RCA jack, and does not fit any of my optical cables. I'm using HDMI audio out right now but really want to make use of the optical out which works far better with my receiver. Any idea what optical cable I need ???? My receiver has the traditional optical-in port. So it would seem I need a cable without matching connectors. Assistance would be appreciated.

I use an external audio interface and for regular use I use it with voicemeeter to lower the noise

Hello . I have Logitech z5500 5.1 and soundblaster ae5 plus on my pc . Also i have optical cable . What is your suggestion for me ? Now i use 3.5 mm output jack and in program sb ae5 plus i use 24kb/96hz . I wait your proffesional opinion . Shall i switch to optical ?

Can you recommend an external USB card that gives True 5.1 or are they all virtual 5.1... thanks , you seem to know your stuff.

I highly recommend testing out Behringer U-Phoria HD USB interfaces (like UMC204HD)... They are an anomaly on the market! Using Midas Amplifiers and such good components at such a low price is just incredible! I have one and was not convinced at first but the guy at the store told me I could bring it back and he would give me a pricier option for free if I was not happy... I stayed with me! The noise level is... inexistant... At full volume there is no "hiss". The sound output is so clean and definition is outstanding. Mic inputs are incredible too... although I stopped using them and switched to a Rode VideoMic NTG (all digital Mic) and will never look back... Try to put your hands on one... I am sure you will like it!

I'm new to audio so forgive me if my technical knowledge isn't so great, but... I have a pair of Power Beat Pros and these sound really good to me. I don't believe the soundcard from my laptop really does anything for them at all, but I really don't know. I'm going to be building a new pc and I'm wondering how I could possibly better my sound even further. I'm sure there are a lot of different things I could do, but whatever form it takes, it would be cool to where I'm actually able to notice a real improvement. Thx for any feedback!

I have an external DAC and amp connected to my PC via USB. works great