Best soundcard?

[rezo]

I have a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50Xs, my old ASUS Xonar DX broke so I'd like to buy a new soundcard. The onboard sound of my Gigabyte Z390 board is ♥♥♥♥♥ compared to the soundcard so id like to buy another one.

What is better between the;

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX

and

Asus Xonar DGX

which one is a better choice? Or are there better options out there (that are reasonably priced)

[Ulfrinn]

if you just want decent audio for cheap.. go to hyperx's website

https://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/headsets/accessories

scroll down to "USB Dolby 7.1 Audio Dongle (Black), Revolver S" Part Number: HXS-HSDG3

order that for $30, plug it into a USB port on your computer, plug ANY stereo audio, be it headphones, earbuds, or PC speakers into that thing, and you're good to go. Also, if you get a two 3.5mm into a single 4 pole 3.5mm headset adapter cable, you can plug any microphone into the adapter as well, and with your headphones going through the USB rather than your onboard audio your mic will even sound better too

[Talby]

^ I believe the HyperX usb sound card will also work with Xbox and PS4 - almost got one but the Play!3 was a bit cheaper at $22 FTW

[Ulfrinn]

i will say this though.. if youre using open back headphones, like i do, the fact my headphones bleed out so much audio, plus i hear other crap coming through, like my fan, the hyperx just isnt loud enough to compensate.. for closed backs its perfect, but stick to 32ohms

heres something else thats kinda cool, the microphone i use for live streaming and recording, ive since started to use for gaming as well, but while recording, i use the headphone jack on my microphone which is USB connected and has better audio than the PC :D

[Monk]

How good the on board is depends on the motherboard, on mid or high tier mobo's chances are it's better than the cheap sound cards.

Though, to be honest, if you aren't using good headphones the differences you'll hear are minimal anyway as it's all being heard through relituvely cheap speakers, so, no offence, but with something like the mx50, while they sound fine, no sound card will transform them, below around 250 bucks, you won't have really even listened to a truly good pair of headphones yet, sound is one of those things, until you listen to better, you can't understand how it could be better than what you have.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

The Soundblaster Zx has good drivers. It’s not a bad audio card either.

[Ulfrinn]

Originally posted by Monk:

How good the on board is depends on the motherboard, on mid or high tier mobo's chances are it's better than the cheap sound cards.

Though, to be honest, if you aren't using good headphones the differences you'll hear are minimal anyway as it's all being heard through relituvely cheap speakers, so, no offence, but with something like the mx50, while they sound fine, no sound card will transform them, below around 250 bucks, you won't have really even listened to a truly good pair of headphones yet, sound is one of those things, until you listen to better, you can't understand how it could be better than what you have.

ive been delving into the world of headphones lately.. you by no means have to go spend hundreds of dollars on good audio.. my daily drivers are phillips SHP9500s and they sound absolutely fantastic, and the best part is, ive gotten up and tried walking away from my PC with them still on because i completely forgot i was wearing them.. that comfortable on top of great sound, about $70.. status audio CB-1s sound great too and have good pads, fairly comfortable.. and just as some "beaters" for monitoring purposes (because open backs can bleed audio into my mic while recording) i got monoprice 8323s for $22. They fit like absolute CANCER, most uncomfortable headphones i have ever worn in my life.. put on some $15 aftermarket pads and they fit pretty well now, pretty comfortable, and sound great for $35

but.. if someones just using the earbuds that came with their iphones, yeah, everythings going to sound like ♥♥♥♥

[Alliesaurus]

Originally posted by Valena:

Get Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5.

Agreed

[Monk]

With headphones, you'll tend to see a big increase in quality around the £100, £250, £500 then £1000 Mark, beyond that you'll need to go nuts to see much of a difference, sub 100 you can get decent sound, but if you were to try to compare it with an actual good pair around say the 250-500 mark, outside of things like beats (all marketing crap sound for double the price) you'll hear things you never heard before and realise just how bad what you used to think were good actually are, most of the time with audio, you get what you pay for, th en you get crazy high end which costs a fortune for small improvements (generally above 1000).

[Ulfrinn]

nonsense, i paid maybe $65 for my headphones and you'll have not just myself, but many well known audiophiles and pretty much the entire head-fi forum tell you they easily sound as good as $200+ headphones.. you can pay more, but youre paying for brand names at that point.. and there are many sub $100 headphones that'll go toe to toe with sennheisers, behrs, ATs, etc

not only do my headphones sound absolutely fantastic, ive gotten up and started walking away from my desk completely forgetting i was even wearing them because the comfort is SO fantastic with these things

add a DAC, or surround sound headphone device and its a fantastic setup for gaming

detachable cable too so one could easily just clip in a vmoda boom pro, but a modmic works too for gaming purposes.. me, personally, i just use a samson Q2U dynamic mic for gaming

[Monk]

Depending on the £200 headphones perhaps, but most of the time that will not be true, compare them to a fashion pair like beats and they are probably better, compare them to proper hifi versions and I severely have my doubts.

As I said, they can sound good until you try better, you get what you pay for and you simply cannot get the quality in a cheap pair, which is why the same manufacturer has higher end pairs, put it this way, if your 65 bucks Phillips sound like a 200 quid pair, what do the £200 Phillips sound like.... Alot better is the answer.

[Ulfrinn]

specifically the SHP9500s from phillips are compared as sounding VERY close, if not as good as the sennheiser HD600s which are about $400 "proper hifi" headphones

[Kaihekoa]

They are a good value headphone with pretty good neutral sound and comfort, but unless you've actually tried the HD 600s, you shouldn't say that.

[Ulfrinn]

Originally posted by Kaihekoa:

They are a good value headphone with pretty good neutral sound and comfort, but unless you've actually tried the HD 600s, you shouldn't say that.

i have, and there isn't much difference. there isn't anything stellar going into the components most of these headphones use, when youre spending $300+ on headphones, at that point youre paying for aesthetics or brand names, and the good ol placebo effect that has some idiots believe they're hearing better audio by switching out the cable for a $100 cable.. but since my headphones spend more time being listened to than looked at, i couldnt care less about either

are there headphones that actually sound worth that price? sure, but they're getting harder to find as the mid range headphones are really stepping up their game, and thats not including mods to make them even better

sennheisers are notoriously overrated

[End0fDayz]

I have the soundblaster AE-5. It can def push headphones. The downside for me is the software is absolute garbage. It looks like something 1 guy pieced together in an afternoon as an afterthought.

[Monk]

So you can hear a difference, is that on the same source? As I can guarenteed you that if you hook up a pair of hd600's to. A decent dac / amp and your Phillips there will be a world of difference.

I'm glad you like them and that you found a good sounding cheap pair, but to say they even come close to hd600's, a pair widely regarded as freaking exelent, is kind of a joke and the sort of statement made by those who haven't really used good headphones before beyond a one time try in a store.

Personally I use a pair of shure srh1540's powered by a
Schiit audio modi/magni 2 dac /amp a setup you need to spend a grand to really get any better sound quality and I severely doubt a cheap pair of Philips can hold a candle to them, infact, I just tried to find a pair to test them as at £60 I figure sod it, but seems they can't be had anywhere for under 100 with shipping.

As for reviews there's as many stating they sound like cheap headphones as the crazy hype saying they are great, find me a pair I can buy for £60 and I'll pick them up to compare, until then, I'm going with they are overhyped and lack true definition (something even the great reviews all mention).