Advise on PC / stereo setup

[Jesus_In_Adidas]

http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Core-SuperFlex-SFP-Y15XM3-5MM-15-Feet/dp/B008R2WZ92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&cm_re=ASUS_Xonar_DX-_-29-132-006-_-Product

Is this sound card enough of an amplifier for any stereo speakers? Is this setup technically fully functional?
IF YES, please advise on quality speakers up to 200$/300$. Let's say for classical/jazz/rock/hip hop/80's/darkwave music 😀 enough bass, precise mids and clear highs to get the pleasure from music

 

[galeener]

I would say that you will need an amp/receiver for stereo speakers For computer speakers or headphones that dont take a lot of power it would be ok.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Soundcards do not have enough power for real speakers (there are some low quality speakers made to run this way but they are very limited). Given your budget you need a pair of self powered speakers such as the Audio Engine or Kanto speakers.

 

[Jesus_In_Adidas]

Thanks both for the comment, i was expecting this.
One more question. I assume, by self powered, you mean "self amplified" speakers, right? i've heard, that in such cases, when an external amplifier is used, soundcard price/quality whatever doesn't mean a thing, as it just transfers the signal which is amplified etc recreated by the inbuilt amp? correct? meaning i could use the integrated mobo sound chip.

 

[Jesus_In_Adidas]

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Powered-Speaker-Systems/A2-plus-B-Powered-Desktop-Speakers

I don't get it, is it possible to achieve good quality sound through USB? i don't get it )) i always thought cables are important, even stuff if they are gold played etc.

Kanto are way too expensive. In general, i find this too much digital. I was thinking about 80's - 90's yamaha's or sony's so after i know an answer about soundcard use in such system i will think about price for an amplifier :F

 

[galeener]

High priced doesn't always mean high quality if you get a good set of cables they sound the same as an expensive set in most cases. If you take a look on ebay you can usually find a decent deal on a used 5.1 receiver.If you want to skip the audio card you could even go for hdmi for the sound or optical if your m/b supports it. Most of the built in sound on motherboards now is decent if you need extra power, a slightly cleaner sound or effects then you get an audio card. If your just playing music mostly then I would look for a 5.1 or 7.1 amp with either optical or hdmi. If you motherboard suports optical that is. If no and you have a newer nvidia card for graphics you can use the built in sound from there to pass it via hdmi. Cables do matter just usually quality over cost you can read a lot of reveiws on cabling. I usually just get the higher quality ones from monoprice. I actually run an older Pioneer Elite VSX-27TX for my computer set up. Mine is hooked up via optical and runs to some kef speakers and sub. Its a little over kill but I had them since new and just kept them i quess I am a pack rat on this kind of stuff.
Then have a newer denon for the house.

 

[Jesus_In_Adidas]

The reason i'm saying it's too much "digital" as i've read somewhere, that some good quality records receives a frequency cut/block in highest and lowest values - thus not recreating the sound precisely if the signal is transfered via optical, hdmi, usb or whatever cabling. Never seen soundcards with HDMI connectors. That's why i'm more into classic stereo cabling. If i would by an old-school amp, it will not have any modern connectors anyways.
So i'm asking again about the soundcard - if i get a decent amplifier, will it benefit from a 30$-100$ soundcard or not, they are "a big soundcard" in general themselves, right?

 

[galeener]

Pretty much a good one has a good signal processor in it so some of the cleanest signal will be optical and your right digital is sort of cliped so to speak thats why a lot of people still collect original vinyl records. But to produce that sound to its best you are talking a whole other ballpark of audio.If your only talking music and ywill be listening through the reveiver amp no you will not see a whole lot of difference in a 30 -100 dollar sound card going into the receiver.
If you were just talking headphones then an audio card straight to headphones would be better if its a decent sound card with an amp to drive nicer headphones. What vidio card to you have most now have hdmi sound that is why i mentioned hdmi. But you would need a receiver with hdmi also.
Unless you want to spend a lot of money for a real audio system you not going to get that precise of playback from a computer system. If you buy an old school amp it will have a more limited way to pass sound from your computer.
I quess what I am trying to say from what you seem want you need to look into an audiphile music system not a computer driven music system.
Also what source are you going to get your music from if its digital downloads or cds then its already processed digitally. To get the sound it seems you are going for you will need a turntable and a high end audio sytem.
One last note the other reason for sound cards is for gaming to do enviromental processing sound location and things like that.
So short answer if you get a decent reciever with a good dsp no you will not need a sound card unless your mother board does not have the sound hook ups you need to pass it to the reciever Or you want it for gaming also.
i think we may be going round and round here for an audiophile experience like vinyl a standard compute sound or sound card is not going to cut it.
For decent music listening and running music you down loaded or have cds/ bluerays for most decent motherboard sounf passed through to a reveiver to a nice set of speakers will be fine.