What Soundcard to buy for My M1Active's?

[oO_KoPiTe_Oo]

Firstly i'd just like to say I'm not an audiophile, I don't produce or edit audio. The reason I got a pair of Studio Monitors is because I'm living in university accommodation and really needed some powered speakers as I did not want to bring my amp. Also they're very portable and usually take them to other flat's in the accommodation, they're perfect for me. After listening to a couple of studio monitors others owned they blew me away. The amount of clarity in the audio is superb and I'm listening to music differently now. The sound really fills my room. Although I would love a sub to hook up to these, anyway...

My current onboard soundcard is pretty much broken. the connection is loose and i have to fiddle about with the cable to get my speakers to work. When they finally do I hear some sligh feedback coming through which is really annoying. I basically want this soundcard pretty much with the intention of listening to music as well as gaming with my headset. I have a limit of £150 but the cheaper the better, I don't want to lose quality though just because the price is low. I'd rather save and pay more. I don't intend to use 5.1 or 7.1, I want the option to use TRS as well as 3.5 jacks as my monitors use TRS and converters are a real pain in the bottom.

Any advise?

 

[Perturabo]

Ive got an ASUS Xonar Essence STX with a pair of beyerdynamic dt 990s and together they produce the best sound quality I have ever heard. The difference it made to my speakers is less noticeable as they are pretty crappy and so dont really show off what the sound card can do. I have tried a couple of the creative ones and wasnt impressed, they really dont reproduce music very accurately in comparison so I would avoid them personally.

The Essence STX is ~£140, so the top of your price range but I cant see you ever needing to replace it unless it breaks cos the quality is in the audiophile region. Asus do a number of cheaper models too that are pretty good but they lack shielding so they may pick up noise from your other electronics.

This is all just my opinion but I dont think you would be disapointed.

 

[oO_KoPiTe_Oo]

Ive got an ASUS Xonar Essence STX with a pair of beyerdynamic dt 990s and together they produce the best sound quality I have ever heard. The difference it made to my speakers is less noticeable as they are pretty crappy and so dont really show off what the sound card can do. I have tried a couple of the creative ones and wasnt impressed, they really dont reproduce music very accurately in comparison so I would avoid them personally.

The Essence STX is ~£140, so the top of your price range but I cant see you ever needing to replace it unless it breaks cos the quality is in the audiophile region. Asus do a number of cheaper models too that are pretty good but they lack shielding so they may pick up noise from your other electronics.

This is all just my opinion but I dont think you would be disapointed.

Wow that thing is beautiful. I may have to get saving. Also saving up for a 120gb SSD, a 560ti and maybe this piece of kit. It looks perfect.

 

[fcb]

For portability, you may take a look at an external sound card such as the Creative X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB. It's a nice little unit that will be able to connect 5.1 speakers or RCA, mic, headphone and SPDIF.

A very decent internal sound card to recommend is either the Asus Xonar DG and the DX. The DG is of value, but the quality shines through in all aspects of entertainment. No questions asked, it's still much better than the onboard sound.

The Xonar DX is the mid range sound card and is built to last. This card is PCIE, so you'll be able to transfer it into the new system that you're planned for if you want to move away from using PCI components or that the new motherboard only has PCIE support.

You may take a look at these:

Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Sound Card

Asus Xonar DG

Asus Xonar DX