will a sound card help if i have a receiver?

[sheepgoat]

i know there is a very similar post already submitted but it ends where my question begins.

i have my computer hooked up to a denon receiver through my video card's hdmi port. i have 5.1 polk audio speakers and an emotiva sub. i have a couple other things hooked to the receiver like an xbox, but that's not relevant.

this morning after the mic on my head phones crapped out, i started to wonder if a sound card would help. well i know it won't help with the dead mic, but i'm sure it would help what ever i replace it with. i'm curious if it would help with the sound quality going to the receiver? i'm not sure how the hdmi audio works. will it pull the audio from the sound card or will i have to use a separate optical cable?

on a simi related note, are there any mic's that would work with the surround sound? i doubt anything could block out all that noise, but i had to ask. i don't like having to down grade the audio experience by wearing headphones just so i can be a "team player".

 

[americanaudiophile]

Adding a sound card would not improve the sound quality since you are using the dacs and processing in your receiver. Upgrading the part of your system you feel is the weakest would make the most sense.