Will having a sound card make a big difference to me?

[sonicrang4r]

Hey guys

I am currently using my ATH M50's will my dell xps8700 HD audio on the motherboard, I like listening to music with good quality (listen to all different kinds of music but i do prefer a bit of booming base), which these already have i think , thus i was wandering would getting a decent sound card make much of a difference, I dont really play games which involve listening for foots steps so dont really need it for that and i dont like listening to ingame music anyways .

Thanks you
JD

 

[cdabc123]

no a sound card is almost never worth it

 

[galeener]

Most sound cards don't make a big difference some add an amp to the headphone circuit thats what people seem to notice because it has a bit more power. The real sound is mostly in your headphones as long as you have a good set you should be good. enclosed sets seem to have the best sound to me. Don't get me wrong there are some really good sound processors out there that would make a difference but ones like sound blaster and that price point are mostly effect cards with an amp. You would not notice a big difference in music with one like that.

 

[skit75]

no a sound card is almost never worth it

I would agree, in gaming. You just need playback. There is no accuracy or time to dwell on warmth or quality of the audio... distortion is very welcome in explosions and elevated noise floors drown out any detail.

You have some decent cans and you can get better audio quality from a discreet audio card. A sound card with a decent headphone amplifier can provide some warmth and detail to your listening. It all starts with the content you are listening to. If you play garbage files, your sound card and headphones can only do so much to make it sound better. WAV & FLAC files sound the best.

Of course, none of this means anything if you are just listening to streaming music or highly compressed mp3's. A DAC or discreet audio card with a headphone amplifier can change the way you hear & feel your music. The question is, "is it worth it?". To that I say, you just have to try it. Maybe you won't hear the difference at all and it is all for nothing.

I've been very happy with my Xonar Essence ST paired with my Sennheiser 558's. I use some crappy logitech headphones for gaming with my on-board audio. I use my Asus card with my Sennheiser 558 cans for my music and love it!

 

[Saberus]

I use a Plantronics Blackwire c320-m headset when gaming. Definitely not top of the line, but it works for me. I'm no audiophile. If you're doing studio work or the like a good audio card is essential, but for regular gaming, unless you have a sound-proof game-den with 22.2 surround pumping out from all angles, a good headset will give you decent quality for immersion in the game without a heavy investment in an audio card. And gaming boards have started putting better audio chipsets onto the board anyway.