Sound card advice

[MrBish]

Hey guys,
I've been looking at getting a sound card, but I've no idea about anything to do with them. I don't know what specs makes them good, whether a headphone amp is needed etc.
I use an Astro A40 headset and I'm looking to spend between £40-£60.
I've been looking at a Xonar DS and DX, but I don't know what they're like compared to other makes with headphone amps.

Any advice/ recommendations would be appreciated

 

[PetrolHead247]

You have the A40's so i'm guessing you have the mixamp too? If so you don't need a sound card

 

[MrBish]

I have got the mixamp, but when I use the mixamp people say my microphone is really crappy compared to when I use the headphone 3.5 mm jack and the mic 3.5 mm jack.

 

[PetrolHead247]

I have got the mixamp, but when I use the mixamp people say my microphone is really crappy compared to when I use the headphone 3.5 mm jack and the mic 3.5 mm jack.

How do you have it plugged in? I just have the headset plugged into the front of the mixamp and then the mixamp is plugged into the PC via USB

 

[MrBish]

I have the mixamp plugged into the pc with the usb and the optical cable, then my headset is plugged into the front of the mixamp with the cable that takes both the connectors from the headset and makes it into one that goes into the "headset" port. Sorry for the bad description haha

 

[Rastalovich]

... I'd use the onboard tbh.

 

[fredtrix]

I use the Asus Xonar DX and if you'd ask me it's night and day compared to the integrated one on my motherboard. The music is clear, clean and detailed. The sounds in HD movies is good as well, especially voices. In gaming it works just fine, it picks up detailed sounds and when it's quiet it actually is quiet.

+It's cheap.
+Decent quality.
+Almost no interference/noise.
+Great overall sound.

-Some minor bugs with the current driver in certain scenarios (at least on my PC).
-Looks ugly in your rig (if you care about that stuff).

For the price you pay, it's not really that much bad to say about it!

 

[SkinToxicated]

I have astro A40s with the mixamp and a D2x sound card.

Do you have external speakers on you pc or do you use your a40s exclusively as you sound output? if youre solely using you A40s, then a sound card is probably unnecessary as the mixamp is acting boosting your mobo sound signal, if you have speakers as well, then the Asus ds or Dx will be a good purchase as the will drive your speakers better than the onboard motherboard sound

you say you have your astros connected via usb. my suggestion would be instead of using the usb, use the optical out and the mic in connections on you mobo and run those to the mixamp, that way you are using purpose built connections for you sounds rather the the "jack of all trades" usb

 

[Kyle]

I use the Asus Xonar DX and if you'd ask me it's night and day compared to the integrated one on my motherboard. The music is clear, clean and detailed. The sounds in HD movies is good as well, especially voices. In gaming it works just fine, it picks up detailed sounds and when it's quiet it actually is quiet.

+It's cheap.
+Decent quality.
+Almost no interference/noise.
+Great overall sound.

-Some minor bugs with the current driver in certain scenarios (at least on my PC).
-Looks ugly in your rig (if you care about that stuff).

For the price you pay, it's not really that much bad to say about it!

If you only plan to have a 5.1 system and a pair of digital 5.1 headphones, is it still better to get a 7.1 card or doesn't it make a difference whether you decide to spend less and get a 5.1 card?

 

[fredtrix]

If you only plan to have a 5.1 system and a pair of digital 5.1 headphones, is it still better to get a 7.1 card or doesn't it make a difference whether you decide to spend less and get a 5.1 card?

The price difference on already cheap products really doesn't matter that much, I don't know how much more the DX cost compared to a 5.1 edition, but really? The DX card is a low cost audio product to begin with, if you really just want the cheapest possible, then stick with the onboard audio you have.

 

[Kyle]

The price difference on already cheap products really doesn't matter that much, I don't know how much more the DX cost compared to a 5.1 edition, but really? The DX card is a low cost audio product to begin with, if you really just want the cheapest possible, then stick with the onboard audio you have.

Thanks but what I was wondering was if there was an audio difference between a 7.1 card with a 5.1 system or a 5.1 system on a 5.1 card.

 

[fredtrix]

If you use a 5.1 system on a 7.1 sound card, it will adjust to 5.1 (maybe you need to do it manually). So there won't be any improvement on the surround, but the card is backwards compatible.

I got plenty of sound options on my driver:

-Headphones (Stereo)
-2 Speakers (Stereo)
-4 Speakers
-5.1 Speakers
-7.1 Speakers

And more options like PCM and digital sound.

 

[Kyle]

If you use a 5.1 system on a 7.1 sound card, it will adjust to 5.1 (maybe you need to do it manually). So there won't be any improvement on the surround, but the card is backwards compatible.

I got plenty of sound options on my driver:

-Headphones (Stereo)
-2 Speakers (Stereo)
-4 Speakers
-5.1 Speakers
-7.1 Speakers

And more options like PCM and digital sound.

Thanks for the reply. I plan to get the Logitech X-540 speakers and the DG sound card (5.1)