# should i get a sound card?



## zombine210

didn't want to hijack the advantages to a sound card thread, so i made this one.

i have a Kenwood VR-616 (old but still working good)
here's a guy playing with one, lol
[yt]F6EqnP4xerc[/yt]

i've always been interested in the HT | Omega cards.
however, i don't listen to a lot of music, only youtubes. and not very loud either. i just thought it would be nice to have one


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## diduknowthat

How are you connecting your computer to the receiver and what speakers do you have. If it's via analog cable then a sound card should improve things. However if you really do only use your speakers for youtube music then i doubt you'd notice a big difference. If you're connecting it via digital cables then a sound card would not help at all.


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## zombine210

diduknowthat said:


> How are you connecting your computer to the receiver and what speakers do you have. If it's via analog cable then a sound card should improve things. However if you really do only use your speakers for youtube music then i doubt you'd notice a big difference. If you're connecting it via digital cables then a sound card would not help at all.




i'm using three of these RCA / 3.5mm cables from the mobo's Realtek ALC885 using generic windows 7 drivers





to the bundled kenwood ks-706ht speakers





the receiver has an optical input, and i tried using it but for some reason i can't remember i didn't like it and got teh rca cables instead.

and i do play games on this computer though. i think if i did have a nice sound card, i would be more into music & stuff.


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## diduknowthat

Ah well by using RCA cables then yes a sound card would help. What's your budget?


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## yoyojoe

get an asus sound card
although i would say skip it unless you plan on listening to high bit rate music


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## zombine210

diduknowthat said:


> Ah well by using RCA cables then yes a sound card would help. What's your budget?



i'm still comparing. most seem 24-bit 192KHz.
i wouldn't mind spending $200-$250 on a good card, but if a $100 card will give me enough good features, i would get that instead.



yoyojoe said:


> get an asus sound card
> although i would say skip it unless you plan on listening to high bit rate music



i recently installed and began playing with ubuntu studio. i'm gonna make some beats and likely use some as ringtones.

one thing though: it has to be PCI. i read a while back that PCI-e X1 does not have enough bandwith or throughput for audio processing.


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## taj mahal

Does 2.1 speakers need sound card?


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## diduknowthat

zombine210 said:


> i'm still comparing. most seem 24-bit 192KHz.
> i wouldn't mind spending $200-$250 on a good card, but if a $100 card will give me enough good features, i would get that instead.
> 
> 
> 
> i recently installed and began playing with ubuntu studio. i'm gonna make some beats and likely use some as ringtones.
> 
> one thing though: it has to be PCI. i read a while back that PCI-e X1 does not have enough bandwith or throughput for audio processing.


Both PCI and PCI-e X1 is fine for sound cards. As for spending $100 or up to $250 on a card that's really up to you. I have an Asus D1 and it sounds great (~$100 card). I can't really comment how good a $200 card would sound.



taj mahal said:


> Does 2.1 speakers need sound card?



Depends on what pair and what you do with the speakers. Generally the way I see it is if your speakers are cheaper than your sound card then somethings wrong.


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## taj mahal

diduknowthat said:


> Depends on what pair and what you do with the speakers. Generally the way I see it is if your speakers are cheaper than your sound card then somethings wrong.



I am buying altec lansing mx6021 and my motherboard can support up to 8 channel audio.
On speakers I do all kind of stuff i.e. movies, games and music.
Just wondering whether shedding off bucks on sound card will really make a difference.


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## zombine210

thanks for hijacking my thread lol

i recently discovered dubstep music and am playing it kind of loud -35dB on my kenwood HT system. there are dust bunnies flying all over 

currently using onboard Realtek ALC885. specs
# High-performance DACs with 106dB dynamic range (A-Weight), ADCs with 101dB dynamic range (A-Weight)
# Meets performance requirements for Microsoft WLP 3.0 Premium desktop and mobile PCs
# Ten DAC channels support 16/20/24-bit PCM format for 7.1 sound playback, plus 2 channels of concurrent independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the front panel output
# There stereo ADCs support 16/20/24-bit PCM format, one for stereo microphone, one for legacy mixer recording
# All DACs and ADCs supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
# 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-OUT supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
# 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-IN supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
# Supports 444.1k/48k/96k/192kHz ADAT® digital output

the HT | OMEGA CLARO 7.1 has good reviews on newegg, are these specs worth upgrading?

#4 pcs 24-bit/192kHz AK4396VF (120dB-part spec.) DACs for 7.1channel output. (24-bit/192kHz in 7.1channel playback)
#1 pc 24-bit/192kHz WM8785G (110dB-part spec.) ADC input (24-bit/192kHz recording)
#1 pc CMI9780 AC'97 2.3 CODEC for AUX input, CD input, MIC input (16bit/48kHz playback/recording)
#Integrated up to 192k/24-bit S/PDIF high grade special Optical and Coaxial connectors for 44.1kHz,48kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz SPDIF output. (work simultaneously)
#Integrated up to 192k/24-bit S/PDIF high grade special Optical receiver SPDIF (PCM) input.
#Supports onboard Coaxial or CD Digital input connector for up to 192kHz SPDIF input. (Optional Cable need for Coaxial input) 

i think i might get that.


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## Okedokey

Are you gaming?  If so sound cards also take the role of sound processing off the CPU, increasing framerates.


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