Sound card recommendations

Riccochet

Riccochet

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Joined
Apr 11, 2007
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Apparently, the on board audio on my mobo is starting to show signs of crapping out. I only use the optical audio out going to a Sony receiver. At first I thought the receiver was going bad. That's not the case. Plugged a blu-ray player up to via optical and it works just fine. Plug it back in to my PC and the audio, specifically the bass, will fade in and out. I still here what I'm listening to, but the bass will just come and go. *shrug*

So, I'm no audiophile or have any need for a $300 sound card. What's going to be my best bet for something in the $50-100 range? I'm running Win 10 if that makes a difference.
 
Sounds like there is some form of loudness equalization or dynamic range compression going on via the onboard sound drivers.

If you go to the Sound control panel, Playback tab, click on your primary output and then click properties; see what options it gives you. If there is an "enhancements" tab, click on that and see if it gives you a check-box to "Disable all sound effects".

What model Sony Receiver are you using? Does it have HDMI input? If so, you could always use that - at which point it would be using your GPU as a basic "sound card".
 
GotNoRice said:
Sounds like there is some form of loudness equalization or dynamic range compression going on via the onboard sound drivers.

If you go to the Sound control panel, Playback tab, click on your primary output and then click properties; see what options it gives you. If there is an "enhancements" tab, click on that and see if it gives you a check-box to "Disable all sound effects".

What model Sony Receiver are you using? Does it have HDMI input? If so, you could always use that - at which point it would be using your GPU as a basic "sound card".
Click to expand...

There is an enhancement tab, already checked to disable. It's an old old Sony STR-K740P. No HDMI. All analog inputs expect for optical. I've had this receiver since new and understand how it work. None of the sound field effects are active. It's perfect for computer use.
 
Asus Xonar, Asus STRIX, Standalone DAC, Sound Blaster Z in that order.

I have a Sound Blaster Z and it's great. It has some red LED's that I didn't care for which I replaced with white. You can do something similar or just snip them off if you care to.

If you're using a microphone I wouldn't recommend a DAC as most don't have input. Sound cards also have more gaming friendly features while having everything the latter does at the high end.

It's about time for a new product from Creative Sound Blaster, but who knows when that will come out. Probably never or it will simply be a rebrand rebadge with sound based RGB LED's gag
 
Kwaz said:
Asus Xonar, Asus STRIX, Standalone DAC, Sound Blaster Z in that order.

I have a Sound Blaster Z and it's great. It has some red LED's that I didn't care for which I replaced with white. You can do something similar or just snip them off if you care to.

If you're using a microphone I wouldn't recommend a DAC as most don't have input. Sound cards also have more gaming friendly features while having everything the latter does at the high end.

It's about time for a new product from Creative Sound Blaster, but who knows when that will come out. Probably never or it will simply be a rebrand rebadge with sound based RGB LED's gag
Click to expand...

Not sure how they are going to top the ZXR as it is a very nice setup. I bought mine used for cheap without the volume control module for the headphones.

The dedicated headphone and mic jacks are nice as you don't have to unplug the headphones if you want to use the speakers... and it has a real headphone amp built in.

SNR is great.. the software package is pretty sweet, and you can even swap out opamps if you want to.
 
I'm not an audiophile, and a sound card having blingy LEDs isn't my thing. I like my music loud and clear, and my system performs well.

Again:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4M53F51005

Poop on it all you want. It's working fantastically for me. Why do you people so desire LEDs in every piece of tech? Who among us doesn't have some device with a blinding blue LED?
 
No optical out on that sound blaster. Bought that Xonar DG. We'll see, can't hurt for $35.
 
Solid choice. I have a Xonar DG connected via TOSLINK to my DAC. It does exactly what you're looking for.
 
I agree with GotNoRice that this must be a signal-processing issue on the PC. HTH would a bitstream work for everything except bass?
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019H3BI4W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With the ongoing $20.00 mail in rebate it's hard to beat this wonderful Asus Soar STX sound card.
I purchased this month cause my gaming had sound problems with the on-board sound so it's all history now. These drivers are excellent win 10 64 bit. I downloaded from Asus support and the work fine first time.
I upgraded the Op amp to OPA134 Sound Plus for a better bass. I tried a few Op-amps and this was too good to mess with.
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium 250 ohm headphones rock with this card.
Also AudioEngine 5+ rocking the house.
You won't regret this upgrade.
 
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