Recommend me a Soundcard

[SolarNova]

Greetings.

My old rig had a Creative X-Fi Extreme soundcard. It wont fit in my current rig as my Motherboard is to new now(P9x79 Pro). However i can get the same card that will fit the newer PCI slots for around £37 (Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - OEM )

Now my speaker system is a totaly OTT Logitech Z5500 ..which is no longer on sale, infact i dont think Logitech do anything that big anymore. Anyway its a very nice speaker system.
Problem is my current onboard sound chip doesnt seem to give the nice bass im used to. I have to really crank up my sub woofer to get any meanfull base to come out. Usualy 6/9 bars or more. With my old sound card i only needed 3/9 bars on the controler at max and it would produce enough base to rattle the windows.

Im more interested in music quality than gaming quality beleve it or not lol. Even though my rig is directed to gaming, when it comes to sound i would prefer better music quality over good gaming sound.

Im willing to spend in the region of £80 for a good all round card.
The cards iv seen are all Creative or Asus cards. But being that iv only EVER used creative cards i have no clue how the scale of cards work with Asus and which ones r better than others. Like the Asus Xonar DX vs Asus Xonar D2X

Sugestions ?

 

[Mark3Max]

Hi SolarNova,
If you have the money check out the Asus Xonar Essence ST or STX.
I was recommended them by a few members here . I'm not sure which one to recommend for your speaker system. I have the STX on a Klipsch 2.1 and it sounds great , quite a bit of adjustment for different listening taste.

 

[iBeInspire]

Didn't I hear somewhere that the STX can't do 5.1..?
Anyway, I'd suggest a Xonar DX for 5.1 cause it's very good value for money and it'll do the job just right

Word on the bass though : The DX might not produce the insane levels of bass your after... It's made more for a balanced sound; making your bass tighter but not necessarily more full and although you can alter that (Change the op-amp/EQ) I wouldn't really recommend it. To me it sounds like your old sound card (being a creative number - not generally favored around here) was far less balanced and far more bass heavy.

But none the less, for a massive step up in audio quality have a look at the Asus Xonar DX but don't be surprised if you have to mess with the settings a little to make it sound like what your used to

 

[paulstung]

How about the Creative soundblaster recon 3d , I just splashed out on 1 a few weeks ago and will never go back to onboard again . For £45 it's awesome . The bass is very heavy to the point where I have it basically set to flat and just use the control on my speakers . The nice little feature I like is the one for dialogue plus , it comes in handy for when your streaming a movie and the voices are a bit subdued . It is overall a great little card that looks nice too , and I think it might be the best £45 i have spent .

 

[Mark3Max]

The DX would be a better choice for a 5.1 setup. Not sure how much it would cost , But the stx and the h6 combo would work too . Asus does make some damn nice sound cards though.

Edit ... Sorry I meant the ST and the H6 combo

 

[Snortan]

I would say go for DX or D2X (has better SNR and DAC afaik).
Stx is out of his price range and is aimed more towards headphone users. Also the H6 extension card works only with ST and to use 5.1 on STX you can use the Digital S/PDIF.

 

[SolarNova]

Im unlikely to buy it very soon, unless i find a really good deal that i cant pass up ...So no rush.

ATM it seems i should choose between the Xonar DX or the D2X. The DX is £60, the D2X is £90. Is the price difference worth it ..should i stretch to the D2X over the DX ?.. like i said. .i know nothing about Asus cards.

 

[Snortan]

I chose D2x because it comes with Battelfield 3 and I read it has a better SNR and DAC, also I like that shield it has on.

 

[Noz_God]

I would get the Asus Xonar D2X i have one in my rig and its worth the money will never go back to on board sound.

 

[SuB]

How about the Creative soundblaster recon 3d , I just splashed out on 1 a few weeks ago and will never go back to onboard again . For £45 it's awesome . The bass is very heavy to the point where I have it basically set to flat and just use the control on my speakers . The nice little feature I like is the one for dialogue plus , it comes in handy for when your streaming a movie and the voices are a bit subdued . It is overall a great little card that looks nice too , and I think it might be the best £45 i have spent .

DO NOT buy that card.

They are trash, sorry. You've been conned...

Get a Xonar Essence STX

 

[paulstung]

That's a bit harsh , why's that then ?
I find it to be great , no issues at all . I read that some had driver issues . I find mine to be flawless , it is a great match to my Bheringer MS20's . Like mentioned the only downside is the bass is very heavy , but that's no biggie , just turn it down . My neighbor is a sound engineer , and it's convinced him to buy one , changing from his DG...

 

[SolarNova]

Im leaning towards the Xonar D2X.

The D2X is an older model from what i can find out about it (2008/9) but anything newer i suspect will be outside my price range as the D2X is technicaly above what i originaly wanted to spend.

 

[Snortan]

Don't worry about it being a bit old because sound cards don't have as much progress as video cards for example.
You could go for DX if you want to spend a bit less.

 

[Noz_God]

Yes don't be put off my the age of the card its still one of the top cards.