Sensible budget - Optimal Sound

[Steeldemonuk]

Howdy folks

I am willing to spend around £500 on some new audio bits. I previously used an optically connected soundbar with my rig for gaming/quiet audio - I have now found myself with a little less space and so have ended optically connecting my computer to my midi hifi. It gives decent enough sound for games but it sounds very low on treble and sound quality when I play normal (loudish) music.
My motherboard is an Asus ROG Maximus Impact VII and is generally considered decent across the board.

Am I right in assuming that purchasing a sound card would be a bit of a waste these days? I don't have a spare slot so it would have to be external even if I did.

I also have no real need for headphones - I don't have close neighbours and I don't play games that need me to talk to anyone. I guess that means I also don't need a DAC unless it's just built into a combi.

So what would you do? What would you get? or what do you have? It turns out that finding a local audio store to test things is a lot tougher these days than it used to be.

 

[SoggyTissue]

purchasing a soundcard or external controller is never a waste.

i have always said:
you ever eat baked beans? can you tell the difference between value beans and heinz? some people can, because their taste buds are more sensitive. and this is true for sound. a boom from an explosion may sound the same, but will you hear the dirt and rubble as it sprays across the floor? better sound accuracy and isolation from a separate controller/card (with 128 channels of sound / double a mobo) will allow you to hear things (if you have good hearing) better, as the sounds wont get drowned/missed out like they do on mobos.

as you do not have any internal space, you can get a good external controller and system.

i have a soundblaster internal and even though its cheap, it sounds MUCH better than my mobo (x99 realtek). Im usind a 2.1 advent speaker setup (really old set about 10 years old).

i suggest you get a good external like Asus Xonar U5 5.1 or Creative Sound Blaster Omni 5.1. i would go with the Xonar out of those 2.

i suggest you would want 2.1 or 5.1 speaker set up; Creative Sound BlasterX Kratos S3 for 2.1, Logitech Z906 for 5.1 surround.

any combination will result in under 500 bux. sound blaster + sound blaster speakers will be sub 200, xonar and logitech speakers will be sub 400 bux (the logitech speakers costing 300 bux).