# Desktop hi-fi (soundcards etc)



## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

What would be some good soundcards beyond which the increase in sound quality is no longer justifies the higher price?

Are there bottlenecks like the motherboard that affect sound quality or is the soundcard the only component I have to worry about (in addition to obvious stuff like speakers or USB connected headphone amp)?

I think I already have a decent sounding system even with the Soundblaster X-fi gaming soundcard that I have. But I'm curious what people of discerning ear and more knowledge than me would say about this topic.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I use this instead of my computer's built-in sound circuitry. Far better sound, cleaner and more open. And it's cheap. Outputs are normal line-level RCA jacks to drive any amp or self-powered speakers.

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA...UTF8&qid=1413134590&sr=1-2&keywords=behringer


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Interference from poorly isolated electronics is the main issue with internal or on motherboard sound devices, which is why an external DAC may be preferable. Audio data processing bottlenecks should never be an issue with a modern computer. Of course that is for a well set up system, anything else that you or your computer might be doing in addition to listening to music could make the music choke but the DAC wouldn't prevent that.


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

quack said:


> Interference from poorly isolated electronics is the main issue with internal or on motherboard sound devices, which is why an external DAC may be preferable. Audio data processing bottlenecks should never be an issue with a modern computer. Of course that is for a well set up system, anything else that you or your computer might be doing in addition to listening to music could make the music choke but the DAC wouldn't prevent that.


Wait, so my headphone amp actually circumvents the soundcard? It appears as "USB Audio DAC".


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Chordalrock said:


> Wait, so my headphone amp actually circumvents the soundcard? It appears as "USB Audio DAC".


Well assuming it is set up right, yes. Instead of sending the bitstream to the soundcard to process through a DAC chip and turn into an audio signal, the bitstream is sent through the USB to an external DAC to process. Whether there is any appreciable difference to the quality of the DAC in your computer and the one in your amp is another matter.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

quack said:


> Well assuming it is set up right, yes. Instead of sending the bitstream to the soundcard to process through a DAC chip and turn into an audio signal, the bitstream is sent through the USB to an external DAC to process. Whether there is any appreciable difference to the quality of the DAC in your computer and the one in your amp is another matter.


That last is certainly an issue. Mac owners seem to claim that their built-in DACs are excellent -- the DACs in even the most modest iPods seem pretty good to me. But my old H-P PC has horrible internal circuitry, and an outboard DAC like the one I referenced makes all the difference in the world. As always, YMMV!


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

KenOC said:


> I use this instead of my computer's built-in sound circuitry. Far better sound, cleaner and more open. And it's cheap. Outputs are normal line-level RCA jacks to drive any amp or self-powered speakers.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA...UTF8&qid=1413134590&sr=1-2&keywords=behringer


Anyone else have opinions on how this would compare with an OK quality soundcard? In addition, would it be worthwhile to get a pricy DAC if you have $300 computer speakers?

I'll have to test my system more now that I know the speakers use a different DAC but from memory the sound quality is about as good as with my headphones. (edit: I guess I pretty much answered my own question, heh...)


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Personally i'm not an audiophile and i've never been interested in comparing equipment so my thoughts on the best DACs and headphones won't count for much, but "computer speakers" is something I would always avoid. I suppose $300 is some guarantee of quality but I would choose bog standard soundcard output to hi-fi speakers over expensive DAC to PC speakers anyday. Probably best to follow your ears though.


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

Well, I also have a more traditional audio system, and it does give a warmer sound but I think this could just be due to the more ideal positioning of the speakers. The computer speakers I have are otherwise as good, I'd say, as clear and so on, just not as warm sounding. With the older and much cheaper computer speakers that I had I remember one piano recording in particular that sounded awful if I didn't adjust the equaliser a lot, but with these new ones it sounds a lot better and I don't have to touch the EQ. It's pretty interesting what engineers are able to develop these days - they're small speakers but very good in all ways.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Chordalrock said:


> Anyone else have opinions on how this would compare with an OK quality soundcard? In addition, would it be worthwhile to get a pricy DAC if you have $300 computer speakers?


The soundcard *may* be more dedicated to creating effects from sound samples than to accurately converting digital to analog sound. As for DACs I can't see any percentage in spending more than the $30 for what I mentioned, which seems quite as good to my admittedly aging ears as anything else I've heard. Of course, if you're a true audiophile, the sky's the limit!

And again, of course, what you already have may be quite satisfactory. Hard to tell...


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