Sound-card? Yes/No?

E

Eddyyz

New member
Hey guys,

I'm looking at getting myself the Sennheiser PC360's and my friend mentioned that I won't get the full feel of them if I don't get a sound card.

My problem is, is I don't have any slot on my mobo due to SLI gfx cards so I pretty much can't fit one in any where.

Down to my point. Is it true that I need a sound card for this particular headset or will I be 100% fine with just the headset by its self.

This is my mother board in-case you want to see the on-board sound spec's in case. http://www.msi.com/product/mb/X79A-GD65--8D-.html

Cheers, Eddyyz
 
Erhmm if you get a PCI-E 1x card you can fit it in the middle black or the bottom blue slot, assuming your cards are dual slots.

That said, you won't *need* a sound card but it will definitely sound a lot better than on-board audio, especially when paired up with good speakers/ headphones.
 
You'd get away with a card in the bottom X16 slot fine.

I'd advise against that headset though. You can do better for the money.

Get Beyerdynamic DT770s/990s, or Audio-Technica ATH-M50s, and any lapel mic, and put the money saved towards a better soundcard.

Try and get an STX or something if you can afford it, if not, the Fiio E7 and E10 are both good options too.
 
Nothing wrong with the PC360s then if they are cheaper than the other options James advised. A soundcard is still recommended to drive them though. Soundcard will provide more accurate sound positioning and deliver more clear and precise bass,mids, and highs while still driving them to be louder.. I'm no audiophile but from my current knowledge that's what a decent soundcard will do.
 
My advice would be the following. If(!) you are set on the PC360, get them and find a friend with a high quality soundcard. Do a hands on comparison between your onboard solution and the soundcard.
See if you can hear a difference and decide if this difference warrants the extra money.

Whenever somebody asks this question a few people pop up and recommend the xonar stx and beyerdynamic, akg or audiotechnica headphones.
While these are for sure excellent pieces of hardware, I personally would be hesitant to use them as a general recommendation.

I personally prefer a decent headset for gaming, because in the end it's more practical to use than a headphone with an extra mike (stand or clamp on or whatever). And to be honest while I game I don't notice much of a difference.
What I'm saying is audio is to some extend subjective and personal preference. And use case.
I don't listen much to music on my pc. I do that on my hifi amp with my m50s. If I only had my pc the situation would be different. I probably would think about using higher grade headphones (if I limited myself to an one for all solution) and a soundcard.

I personally have had good experience with Sennheiser headsets. Especially the mics are pretty decent. Build quality, too.

So analyse what's your usecase. See what is your budget and how much are you willing to spend. Generally recommending a xonar stx and 150(+) quid headphones (even as they are excellent) is a bit overkill in my book.
 
I own a set of Pc-350's which require 150ohm to drive them whereas your 360's only need 50ohm to drive them so you could get away without buying a top soundcard, that being said though if you do buy a card like the STX you won't be sorry that you did as I just changed to one and the sound difference is just amazing games sound better, music sounds richer and movies blow you out of your chair nearly so if you can do it buy one.
 
Lazlo said:
My advice would be the following. If(!) you are set on the PC360, get them and find a friend with a high quality soundcard. Do a hands on comparison between your onboard solution and the soundcard.
See if you can hear a difference and decide if this difference warrants the extra money.

Whenever somebody asks this question a few people pop up and recommend the xonar stx and beyerdynamic, akg or audiotechnica headphones.
While these are for sure excellent pieces of hardware, I personally would be hesitant to use them as a general recommendation.

I personally prefer a decent headset for gaming, because in the end it's more practical to use than a headphone with an extra mike (stand or clamp on or whatever). And to be honest while I game I don't notice much of a difference.
What I'm saying is audio is to some extend subjective and personal preference. And use case.
I don't listen much to music on my pc. I do that on my hifi amp with my m50s. If I only had my pc the situation would be different. I probably would think about using higher grade headphones (if I limited myself to an one for all solution) and a soundcard.

I personally have had good experience with Sennheiser headsets. Especially the mics are pretty decent. Build quality, too.

So analyse what's your usecase. See what is your budget and how much are you willing to spend. Generally recommending a xonar stx and 150(+) quid headphones (even as they are excellent) is a bit overkill in my book.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice man! Will give it a good "think".

Excalabur50 said:
I own a set of Pc-350's which require 150ohm to drive them whereas your 360's only need 50ohm to drive them so you could get away without buying a top soundcard, that being said though if you do buy a card like the STX you won't be sorry that you did as I just changed to one and the sound difference is just amazing games sound better, music sounds richer and movies blow you out of your chair nearly so if you can do it buy one.
Click to expand...

I've been told to look at the Fiio E10 on a few other forums, and it seem's to be quite highly rated. What you think of the E10?
 
I have the Fiio x3, their portable audio player. Only have it since last friday, but so far no complaints.

Have you considered that the e10 has no mic in? Since you want to use a headset, I thought I'd point that out. You could always use the onboard soundcard for that, but cabling could be messy.
 
Lazlo said:
I have the Fiio x3, their portable audio player. Only have it since last friday, but so far no complaints.

Have you considered that the e10 has no mic in? Since you want to use a headset, I thought I'd point that out. You could always use the onboard soundcard for that, but cabling could be messy.
Click to expand...

Yeah man, I was thinking about that the other day, looked at the E10 and saw their were no mic in sockets. Guess I will just have to plug my headset into the E10 and my mic jack into my pc?
 
I actually just picked up a Fiio e10 2 days ago and while it's bloody amazing for music, I'm actually not 100% sold on gaming with it... My old xonar DGX had dolby headphone and that made a world of difference when playing games, sold if that's your persuasion you might want to look into a soundcard.

Also, if you plug a headset into the Fiio and a mic into your on board, you can't use the realtek mic playback feature which I really like, let's you hear yourself when your headphones are on.

I personally got it cause nowadays I don't game much, and find my time split 20% gaming 10% movies/tv and 70% music, but if you're doing anywhere over 50% gaming I'd say go for a proper internal soundcard, just for dolby headphone and mic support :)
 
I am running the PC360's myself. Started out running them on a Sound Blaster Z sound card and really never liked the sound, it was very muddy and required alot of EQ adjustments. I then tried running them on my onboard sound on my GD65 Gaming, it was actually better than the Sound Blaster Z.

I just recently picked up a Xonar STX and man the difference is amazing, even on flat equalizer settings it blows the other two I had tried out of the water on this headset. I also picked up a set of Corsair SP2500's and they sound awesome as well on the STX.

I know people will say you don't need a soundcard for a 50ohm headset, but there is something to be said for the overall sound and feel of the STX. Again this is all very subjective, but I personally am glad I picked up the STX.
 
iBeInspire said:
I actually just picked up a Fiio e10 2 days ago and while it's bloody amazing for music, I'm actually not 100% sold on gaming with it... My old xonar DGX had dolby headphone and that made a world of difference when playing games, sold if that's your persuasion you might want to look into a soundcard.

Also, if you plug a headset into the Fiio and a mic into your on board, you can't use the realtek mic playback feature which I really like, let's you hear yourself when your headphones are on.

I personally got it cause nowadays I don't game much, and find my time split 20% gaming 10% movies/tv and 70% music, but if you're doing anywhere over 50% gaming I'd say go for a proper internal soundcard, just for dolby headphone and mic support :)
Click to expand...

Hey man, Yeah i pretty much spend my days on my pc playing games, maybe 20 minutes a day worth of music, so yeah I play a lot more then listen to music. Its so annoying, 5 people will tell me don't get a sound card and 5 people will tell me to get one.

Penance81 said:
I am running the PC360's myself. Started out running them on a Sound Blaster Z sound card and really never liked the sound, it was very muddy and required alot of EQ adjustments. I then tried running them on my onboard sound on my GD65 Gaming, it was actually better than the Sound Blaster Z.

I just recently picked up a Xonar STX and man the difference is amazing, even on flat equalizer settings it blows the other two I had tried out of the water on this headset. I also picked up a set of Corsair SP2500's and they sound awesome as well on the STX.

I know people will say you don't need a soundcard for a 50ohm headset, but there is something to be said for the overall sound and feel of the STX. Again this is all very subjective, but I personally am glad I picked up the STX.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I'm stuck on the fence with regards to choosing internal or external. I'll have a look at the Stx, but as I said with my response above its really hard to decide as so many people have so many different opinions.
 
Eddyyz said:
Hey man, Yeah i pretty much spend my days on my pc playing games, maybe 20 minutes a day worth of music, so yeah I play a lot more then listen to music. Its so annoying, 5 people will tell me don't get a sound card and 5 people will tell me to get one.



Hmm, I'm stuck on the fence with regards to choosing internal or external. I'll have a look at the Stx, but as I said with my response above its really hard to decide as so many people have so many different opinions.
Click to expand...

I though I'd give my opinion here ,
If you can afford it get the STX , the sound difference is night and day over onboard sound and there are plenty of adjustments to make it sound right for you. I was recommended it by members here and it's the best sound card I've owned.
 
Mark3Max said:
I though I'd give my opinion here ,
If you can afford it get the STX , the sound difference is night and day over onboard sound and there are plenty of adjustments to make it sound right for you. I was recommended it by members here and it's the best sound card I've owned.
Click to expand...

Checked the prices now of the STX and yeah it's within my range. The only thing is with an on-board sound card is it's going to starve my gpu's of air. :/

I didn't add the bottom "red bar" for the sound as it can also go down there. But yeah my gpu's wont breathe :/

M7z69U7.jpg
 
Put it in the bottom slot, rather starve the cooler bottom card than the hotter top card.

/Edit : Depending on how the slots are wired, you could also have the sound card in the top slot, so it wouldn't cover anything, then have your cards set out the same as they are now, just each a slot lower :)
 
Last edited:
iBeInspire said:
Put it in the bottom slot, rather starve the cooler bottom card than the hotter top card.

/Edit : Depending on how the slots are wired, you could also have the sound card in the top slot, so it wouldn't cover anything, then have your cards set out the same as they are now, just each a slot lower :)
Click to expand...

My exact thoughts...

As long as you have 2 other slots that are wired for at least 8x (not counting the top one) you will be fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro Wifi + LSI raid card
Replies
0
Views
2K
GameOver
G
P
Bonus upgrades
Replies
1
Views
4K
yassarikhan786
yassarikhan786
Bang
I Finally did it.... sort of
Replies
0
Views
4K
Bang
Bang
looz
Improving H200i airflow
Replies
0
Views
1K
looz
looz
AlienALX
Mirrored NAS.
2 3
Replies
47
Views
8K
AlienALX
AlienALX
Back
Top