Audio noob

[UFN]

tl;dr at bottom.

So, remember back in the day when PC speakers were little plastic cubes, roughly the size of a terry's chocolate orange? Well I do, because I still use a set of speakers that google tells me pre-dates this entire millienium - The cambridge soundworks fps1000 set of speakers...or the bits I have left (only 2 of the 4 speakers remain plus the subwoofer). I have no idea when they were actually released, but I found a thread from 1999 of someone trying to sell his set. The point i'm making is that perhaps it's about time I updated my audio system.

But before I can do that, I'm a little lost with the technical specifications of post-2000 audio technology. So I come to you for a lil' help

Firstly, I would like to spend most of my audio-upgrade-cash (~£100) on a set of decent gaming headphones, rather than speakers, because i tend to game at night and the people in my immediate surroundings are not appreciative of loud noise. The set I was looking at are the Turtle beach Z6a's

But here's my first problem, The reason I like them is because they are 5.1 surround sound headphones (along with being turtle beach) but I'm not sure if the onboard sound of the p67 sabertooth supports 5.1 surround, the only info I could find is that it has 8 channels...which means nothing to me. So I don't know if i'd need a sound card to use the 5.1 headset.

second question - Would it be better to stick with my aging (but functional) FPS1000 speakers OR bin them and get a cheap (but modern) replacement with whatever money I have left over?

tl;dr - Does the p67 sabertooth's "8 channel" on board sound mean it does or doesn't have 5.1 surround support AND Is it worth sticking with my super old fps1000 speakers or picking up a cheap modern set?

Thank you in advance =]

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

The way sound works has changed very little of at all since the first speakers were introduced. There are only about 2or3 gaming headsets that offer good sound quality and those are roughly $300. The reason most don't have very high end sound reproduction is because the drivers in the cans are built to last for a long time, so what trey do is make the very tight, which means the drivers do not have a lot of play thus resulting in lower quality sound. If you want good sound reproduction as well as surround you will need to drop a few more bucks or get a nice set of stereo headphones. A $100 set of stereo headphones will sound infanatly better than any gaming head set in that price.

I hope this helped. I posted this via iPhone so for give the grammar errors, also remembering a long post on such a tiny screen is a tedious task

 

[UFN]

I'm not much of an Audiophile, So I while I can tell the difference between my current pair of headphones (cheap £20 ones from Philips) and a set of turtle beach headphones (a few models, specifically which ones I forget, I got to test out at gamefest) I don't have the experience to notice the difference between a pair of turtle beach and a pair of Uber audio, premium headsets. So dropping more cash on the best surround sound would be pointless as I wouldn't be able to appreciate the difference, and I'm more interested in the surround sound accuracy than the best audio quality.

Which brings me back to my original question of not knowing if the Sabertooths onboard sound is 5.1 capable

But, still, thank you kindly for your input

should I ever come into more money I'll remember your words of wisdom

 

[fcb]

I'm not much of an Audiophile, So I while I can tell the difference between my current pair of headphones (cheap £20 ones from Philips) and a set of turtle beach headphones (a few models, specifically which ones I forget, I got to test out at gamefest) I don't have the experience to notice the difference between a pair of turtle beach and a pair of Uber audio, premium headsets. So dropping more cash on the best surround sound would be pointless as I wouldn't be able to appreciate the difference, and I'm more interested in the surround sound accuracy than the best audio quality.

Which brings me back to my original question of not knowing if the Sabertooths onboard sound is 5.1 capable

But, still, thank you kindly for your input

should I ever come into more money I'll remember your words of wisdom

The onboard sound for current motherboards are a big improvement over those from yrs back. I think you could check out the new headphon/mic from Corsair. They've got some interesting gaming gear out now.

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

I'm not much of an Audiophile, So I while I can tell the difference between my current pair of headphones (cheap £20 ones from Philips) and a set of turtle beach headphones (a few models, specifically which ones I forget, I got to test out at gamefest) I don't have the experience to notice the difference between a pair of turtle beach and a pair of Uber audio, premium headsets. So dropping more cash on the best surround sound would be pointless as I wouldn't be able to appreciate the difference, and I'm more interested in the surround sound accuracy than the best audio quality.

Which brings me back to my original question of not knowing if the Sabertooths onboard sound is 5.1 capable

But, still, thank you kindly for your input

should I ever come into more money I'll remember your words of wisdom

Sabertooth on board audio is crap, i know I have a 990fx sabertooth. All sabertooth use realtek. But it is capable and for gaming headphones it's enough, but for audiophile grade headphones you will need better. A nice sound blaster card would out perform that realtek one.

 

[fcb]

Sabertooth on board audio is crap, i know I have a 990fx sabertooth. All sabertooth use realtek. But it is capable and for gaming headphones it's enough, but for audiophile grade headphones you will need better. A nice sound blaster card would out perform that realtek one.

Definitely. Even the slightest upgrade from onboard to an Asus Xonar DG would be great for all around sound.

 

[UFN]

Sabertooth on board audio is crap, i know I have a 990fx sabertooth. All sabertooth use realtek. But it is capable and for gaming headphones it's enough, but for audiophile grade headphones you will need better. A nice sound blaster card would out perform that realtek one.

Good job i'm getting gaming headphones and i'm not an audiophile then

Even the slightest upgrade from onboard to an Asus Xonar DG would be great for all around sound.

I'll certainly look into that! Thank you

though I probably won't purchase a discrete sound card unless I encounter problems with the onboard (which is doubtful) or at least until I have used the onboard for a while so I have a point of reference for noticing the upgrade.

 

[fcb]

Good job i'm getting gaming headphones and i'm not an audiophile then

I'll certainly look into that! Thank you

though I probably won't purchase a discrete sound card unless I encounter problems with the onboard (which is doubtful) or at least until I have used the onboard for a while so I have a point of reference for noticing the upgrade.

If you're going for a gaming headphone, the Asus Xonar DG would be a perfect little upgrade to the onboard as it will handle sounds better and especially for the headphone users. Price wise, it's a budget card, but it's a good performer as well.

 

[UFN]

If you're going for a gaming headphone, the Asus Xonar DG would be a perfect little upgrade to the onboard as it will handle sounds better and especially for the headphone users. Price wise, it's a budget card, but it's a good performer as well.

I agree and So do reviewers so Its certainly something i'm seriosusly considering buying

just going to let myself get used to the headphones without the card first so that when I get the card I can appreciate the improvement

Thank you for your help!

 

[fcb]

I agree and So do reviewers so Its certainly something i'm seriosusly considering buying

just going to let myself get used to the headphones without the card first so that when I get the card I can appreciate the improvement

Thank you for your help!

Hey that's totally cool. Do you have the headphones already or are you planning to get a new pair? You're welcome; glad to be of some help.

 

[UFN]

Hey that's totally cool. Do you have the headphones already or are you planning to get a new pair? You're welcome; glad to be of some help.

I'll be getting a new pair, my current headphones are comparatively embarrassing; just a cheap £20 set I picked up, some of these which I own primarily for watching TV at night when everyone else in my house is asleep.

The Turtle beach's will be my first set of headphones that could be considered "Enthusiast" and i'm pretty excited

 

[fcb]

I'll be getting a new pair, my current headphones are comparatively embarrassing; just a cheap £20 set I picked up, some of these which I own primarily for watching TV at night when everyone else in my house is asleep.

The Turtle beach's will be my first set of headphones that could be considered "Enthusiast" and i'm pretty excited

Well they're not that bad just for all around use. You're aiming for gaming and movies as well right? Steelseries makes some fantastic headphones and the built in microphones don't interfere with the sound quality they produce either. So that's something to look into as well.

http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-5hv2

http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-siberia-v2

http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-7h