sound card with headphones

fruscai · 06-13-2006, 11:32 PM

this is a very noob question, but i'm buying a new pc, and i'm debating whether or not to get a sound card, i'm already a bit over budget, and there's no way i'll be buying nice speakers, however I can save up fairly quickly to get excellent gaming/mp3 headphones, do i need a good sound card as i'm not going to have good speakers and my motherboard has integrated realtek audio?

[-0MEGA-] · 06-13-2006, 11:37 PM

Onboard sound is fine if your not an audiophile, or arent going to be using decent speakers/headphones. However if you do want to get high quality speakers/headphones, a sound card such as an X-Fi will show major improvements.

Cab00se · 06-14-2006, 01:09 AM

or you could just buy a USB headset because it has built in soundcard qualities, although soundcards are generally the same price as these (70-80) bucks so it might be more advisable to just get one of those and a pair of Platronics Audio 90's (I've had 2 great ones)

fruscai · 06-14-2006, 11:30 AM

the headphones im looking at are more in the 150 dollar range, quality philip or sony headphones and a nice little stereo amp to go with it, would this sound card be enough to give me good sound and work well with headphones (for gaming and listining to proper Drum n Bass)

AuzenTech XMYSTIQUE7.1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
- $79.99

or would it be better to dish out the extra 40 bucks to get a Creative X-Fi? As in, will the 40 bucks really make a realistic performance or sound difference?

[-0MEGA-] · 06-14-2006, 12:34 PM

Dont go with that sound card, i would recommend getting the X-Fi XtremeMusic for around $80. It has improved CMSS-3D for headphones, which simulates virtual surround sound, and i must say it works very well since i used to have one myself.

holyjunk · 06-15-2006, 12:17 AM

About the headphones. Go bose for around $150 usd.

Starman* · 06-18-2006, 04:40 AM

I got a sound card for one reason, nothing to do with audio! Onboard audio is decent quality but it needs to use the processor. If you are doing anything processor-intensive like playing games, video or graphics editing, you don't want the processor taking time off to do audio. It tends to slow things down and can produce jerky audio too. A sound card takes most of the audio load from the processor, allowing you to blast the crap out of some dude in your fps game without interruption.

Starman*

dillon157 · 06-29-2006, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holyjunk125

About the headphones. Go bose for around $150 usd.

No, don't go bose. Everything Bose is extremely over priced for the quality and even saying the work "bose" is going to drive an audiophile nuts. You need to visit http://www.head-fi.org/ and the people there can answer all of your questions, but as far as the sound card thing goes... The source of your audio is just as important as the means by which you are listening to it. In other words, you can have the best speakers/headphones in the world but playing them off your onboard soundcard is not going to do them any justice.

You're making the right move with headphones though. You can get better sound for less money with headphones because with headphones you dont have to worry about background noise and room acoustics as much as with a speaker system. But I can't stress enough that the source IS important.

Check out the forums at head fi and good luck!

fruscai · 06-19-2006, 11:57 AM

alright well ive decided on the xi-fi xtrememusic from creative, as omega suggested, only thing is, on newegg, its $121.99. I'll figure out a cheaper price though, maybe in an actual shop.

Neway, can someone now give me some advice on a good headphone set, maybe one that can switch between gaming mode and music mode or something like that. Also, does anyone know any good sites i can check out to learn as much as possible about hi-fi audio and headphones?

fruscai · 06-20-2006, 08:38 PM

ive decided to go with beyer DT 880 for headphone, and then work out a suitable amp, maybe the Bithead. Neway, can someone explain what the difference between 7.1 and 5.1 is realistically? will i care with my headphones and amp?

06-13-2006, 11:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
fruscai Silver Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Age: 21 Posts: 103	sound card with headphones this is a very noob question, but i'm buying a new pc, and i'm debating whether or not to get a sound card, i'm already a bit over budget, and there's no way i'll be buying nice speakers, however I can save up fairly quickly to get excellent gaming/mp3 headphones, do i need a good sound card as i'm not going to have good speakers and my motherboard has integrated realtek audio?

06-13-2006, 11:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Goffstown, NH Age: 21 Posts: 28,943	Onboard sound is fine if your not an audiophile, or arent going to be using decent speakers/headphones. However if you do want to get high quality speakers/headphones, a sound card such as an X-Fi will show major improvements. __________________ Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.1GHz Asus Rampage Formula X48 ATI 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 960 300GB Raptor // 2x 750GB Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 22605 www.photosbygeoff.com

06-14-2006, 12:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Goffstown, NH Age: 21 Posts: 28,943	Dont go with that sound card, i would recommend getting the X-Fi XtremeMusic for around $80. It has improved CMSS-3D for headphones, which simulates virtual surround sound, and i must say it works very well since i used to have one myself. __________________ Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.1GHz Asus Rampage Formula X48 ATI 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 960 300GB Raptor // 2x 750GB Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 22605 www.photosbygeoff.com

06-15-2006, 12:17 AM	#6 (permalink)
holyjunk Diamond Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Age: 18 Posts: 1,622	About the headphones. Go bose for around $150 usd. __________________ pentium 4 1.5GHz 512mb pc133 19inch crt monitor Radeon 9200se X-Fi Extreme Music LOGITECH Z-5300E!! *family pc, hope to get mine in a year or so.

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06-14-2006, 01:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
Cab00se Silver Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 23 Posts: 134	or you could just buy a USB headset because it has built in soundcard qualities, although soundcards are generally the same price as these (70-80) bucks so it might be more advisable to just get one of those and a pair of Platronics Audio 90's (I've had 2 great ones)

06-14-2006, 11:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
fruscai Silver Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Age: 21 Posts: 103	the headphones im looking at are more in the 150 dollar range, quality philip or sony headphones and a nice little stereo amp to go with it, would this sound card be enough to give me good sound and work well with headphones (for gaming and listining to proper Drum n Bass) AuzenTech XMYSTIQUE7.1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - $79.99 or would it be better to dish out the extra 40 bucks to get a Creative X-Fi? As in, will the 40 bucks really make a realistic performance or sound difference?

06-18-2006, 04:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
Starman* Gold Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 441	I got a sound card for one reason, nothing to do with audio! Onboard audio is decent quality but it needs to use the processor. If you are doing anything processor-intensive like playing games, video or graphics editing, you don't want the processor taking time off to do audio. It tends to slow things down and can produce jerky audio too. A sound card takes most of the audio load from the processor, allowing you to blast the crap out of some dude in your fps game without interruption. Starman*

06-19-2006, 11:57 AM	#9 (permalink)
fruscai Silver Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Age: 21 Posts: 103	alright well ive decided on the xi-fi xtrememusic from creative, as omega suggested, only thing is, on newegg, its $121.99. I'll figure out a cheaper price though, maybe in an actual shop. Neway, can someone now give me some advice on a good headphone set, maybe one that can switch between gaming mode and music mode or something like that. Also, does anyone know any good sites i can check out to learn as much as possible about hi-fi audio and headphones?

06-20-2006, 08:38 PM	#10 (permalink)
fruscai Silver Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Age: 21 Posts: 103	ive decided to go with beyer DT 880 for headphone, and then work out a suitable amp, maybe the Bithead. Neway, can someone explain what the difference between 7.1 and 5.1 is realistically? will i care with my headphones and amp?