I'm just about to buy the Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard, can anyone advise on the sound quality from this board? Or its it worth investing in a decent sound card?
I want improved sound quality when playing games, watching movies and listening to music.
I was looking at the Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR, if anyone can give feedback on this card also?
I can tell you right now, from no experience with sound cards other than the old ASUS Xonar DGX, which I have in my closet.
Don't go Creative, I know a few here that will tell you off regarding Creative. You're better off with professional grade ones, such as ASUS. They make awesome ones and I'm not even into sound cards hehe
I am by no means an audio enthusiast but even I was extremely let down by the sound the ZX produced so much so I took it back the next day, Truly horrendous product.
The ZxR is slightly better than the ZX but still not worth it, Either invest in the Asus STX II or an external AMP/DAC combo.
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The majority of people on this planet have a disease I like to call "The Dumb".
Tell us more about your setup (or planned setup) which headphones are you using. Are you using studio monitors?
Because as of late with the z97 stuff almost every motherboard manufacturer has stepped up their game in the audio section... the asus on-board audio is acclaimed.
If you are on high end Beyerdynamic, Audiotechnica, Sennheiser, Dennon cans then you should probably get the STXII. If not then an "upgrade" isn't needed
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Theory is when you have the "know how" but nothing works.
Practice is when everything works but no one knows why.
In our lab, theory and practice are combined: Nothing works and no one knows why
It's always worth getting one, while onboard is getting better it always seems to lack in some way, be-it on-board inputs for mic having buzz, or generally bad quality or some kind of static feedback loop (still an issue on some boards even today). Getting a sound card will almost certainly make sure you have the best experience possible from the machine without the need to get a DAC/AMP (unless that's your thing of course).
Whatever you do, don't buy the ZXR, or anything from Creative that doesn't have X-Fi in the title. They're all software-based now and are kind of pointless, especially considering what they charge for them these days. They won't add anything to your board that you don't already have, but will take money out of your pocket for the chance.
Grab an STX 1/2 if you're using headphones, or a an STX2 with the 7.1 daughter-board breakout if you have surround sound.
It really is, exactly as simple as that.
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My suggestion is for gaming, music and movies get the STX I or II, see above review.
If you are like me and run a guitar through emulation software, then use onboard audio. I have yet to find anything that has as low latency as onboard audio at the moment while not producing static.
If I find out you bought the Asus Pheobus, you have given your PC an bad disease
My suggestion is for gaming, music and movies get the STX I or II, see above review.
If you are like me and run a guitar through emulation software, then use onboard audio. I have yet to find anything that has as low latency as onboard audio at the moment while not producing static.
If I find out you bought the Asus Pheobus, you have given your PC an bad disease
The Phoebus aint bad, Not as good as the STX series but definitely worlds better than anything Creative have
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The majority of people on this planet have a disease I like to call "The Dumb".
the phoebus have more gaming features... Especially useful for those who've bought real surround headsets like the Tiamat 7.1 by razer
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Theory is when you have the "know how" but nothing works.
Practice is when everything works but no one knows why.
In our lab, theory and practice are combined: Nothing works and no one knows why
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