Advice on a decent/top gaming sound card

Hey! Don't insult my lovely MIDIs' , and as true as the Speaker/headphones part is, that brings to question... What kind of speaker and headphones do you have deeps? What kind of headphones/speakers YOU have, reader? It'd make a nice poll.

hey guys, thanks for the replies
OK mixed views on PCI-E and PCI and also on weather its even worth buying a real dedicated sound card.
Also, regarding "turbo1"s comment, i didn't really understand what he meant. Does the sound card basically send raw data to the Hi-fi, in which case it doesn't matter what sound card I'm using, as the Hi-fi is decoding it etc (when linked via a digital medium i.e. Optical Cable/Coaxial Cable)

Also in regards to "gamerex" i think your right, my sound card has EAX 3.0 which means i can play some games with EAX, but mostly i cant.
And i don't use headphones while playing games, and i currently have 2 Energy and 2 Mission speakers. (The Energy speakers were originally from a 5.1 Surround Sound set up, for a living room, so i guess they must be quiet good for a Computer for games?)
And your right about Creative and software problems, that's what put me off going this route. I like the ASUS card but it doesn't support EAX, so it kind of goes against the point of upgrading my sound card lol

ok,I’ll explain that the best way that I can…..

Since you said from your previous post “ pure Analog is no good to me” ,taken from there, and you have the Denon AVR-F100 connected to 4 speakers. cool stuff,better than PC speakers with built-in amplifiers which normally reproduces Analog audio signals.

Regardless of what model of high-end sound card you have,how many numbers of
Outputs,5.1 or 7.1 sound format,you still get analog audio signals using those sub/center,front.rear outputs.

Computers processes digital audio signals that by then sent to audio CODECS,
(coder/decoder or sometimes called compressor/decompressor) before it will be
sent out (DAC – Digital to Analog Converter) to the audio channels or outputs (sub/center,front,rear).

That is for the analog side,now,lets get to digital side.

Some onboard sound cards (motheboards) as well as PCI sound cards have digital outputs classified as the SPDIF/Optical fiber connections, which your motherboard already has (COAX/OPTICAL).this is different from the sub/center.,front,rear outputs since SPDIF have digital signal processors or digital audio processors built into them to simulate surround sound from stereo sources. (if that what you mean by coding/decoding the raw data) .

You’re, lucky “if “ you have a digital input (SPDIF connection) at the back of your PC speakers with built-in amplifier.but then again,the logic is,…what will be the use of that 3 leads/minijacks If you already have an SPDIF connections in your PC speakers? That is as well the difference of a PC speaker system with an AV receiver (compatibility of input & output connections).


Now,lets go down to your AV receiver,

So,what do you get from Denon AVR-F100?

Logic and DTS. DSP with 8 atmospheres.
Income multichannel 5.1.
Virtual Surround Sound.
And more…..

And what do you prefer in terms of connections assuming you already have a high-end PCI /PCI-E sound card (name your model)?

Sub/center,rear,front outputs will give you analog audio signals.

SPDIF output (from your motherboard to digital input to your Denon (via COAX/OPTICAL) is digitized.

Whether you have a PCI/PCI-E sound card or not,you’ll still get the audio quality featured in your Denon because that will basically process the audio signal. & that is my main concern (existing equipment).having a PCI/PCI-E sound card is better though for additional bandwidth & a good bit rate.but be sure that the card has the digital output compatible to your AV receiver if that is you really care for digital sound.

Thanks "turbo1"
i think i understand it now. So because my sound card is connecting to my Denon via SPDIF, its sending raw data to the Denon which decodes it to a analogue signal, so my speakers can re-produce the sounds?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as my Denon is doing all the decoding, a newer, better sound card wont make any difference to me, as it will do the same job as my current sound card (which is just send raw audio files to the Denon)

On the other hand, if i had normal PC speakers which connected via analogue cables straight from the back of the sound card, a better sound card would be beneficial, as it is actually decoding digital to analogue so my speakers re-produce the sounds? (As there is no Hi-fi involved to decode anything)

I prefer a digital interface, as it allows me to use the same speakers from my Hi-fi, for my PC to, and it saves a lot of extra wiring, as all it took for this set up was one Coaxial cable from the PC to the back of the Hi-fi.

(hope that make sense lol)

Well, yes, the speakers will do the decoding, however, the decoding is still nothing more than an analog signal sent digitally. That is to say, the sound is still nothing more than sound, the digital signal is just a sound sent digitally, so how the sound actually sounds-well hear's how it goes.

Source-SoundcardPROCCESING-DFX-Encoded-Decoded-played.
What I assume you're thinking is

Source-soundcard-encoded-Decoded-Played.

With Analog signals, cut out the Encoded-Decoded part. Hope that makes sense.

Yes,in general,that would be the process & of course there's alot of circuits
Involved in Digital Processing System

• Processes digital signals converted (using an Analog-to-digital converter (ADC)) from analog signals. Output is then converted back to analog form using a Digital-to-analog converter (DAC)

Yes,that’s correct in terms of audio quality….unless you still want some more audio effects that your current AV receiver don’t have,like reverberation amplification (depends on the software that comes with the PCI sound card).

You got it… :grinthumb

Thanks "turbo1" for taking the time to explain it all
regarding the ADC, which i assume the sound card does, would upgrading to a better sound card somehow improve this at all? :S (i.e speed up the process, as it takes load off other components, in favor off a dedicated ADC processor), if it just uses my CPU, it wont matter, seeing as i have 4.0Ghz times 4 Cores lol)

By all means,your onboard sound has a digital output,it's an electronic device that
have digital signal processor or digital audio processors built into them to simulate
surround sound from stereo sources.

A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor designed specifically for digital signal processing, generally in real-time computing.

So,the speed is not an issue with your onboard sound using that SPDIF
connections.

same as high-end PCI sound cards with SPDIF outputs have that too,
the only thing that matter is that,it has a lot more components,functions,audio
outputs/inputs,features built into another PCB board than an average onboard sound card & also can add more consumption in terms of power to
your PSU....

Well, yes, that's all the same in terms of quality. However, audio capability is still adjustable, a max-end sound card can do many more things, such as bridging gaps in audio in terms of speaker distance, or upmixing audio channels.

In short-wait a second, are you ppl saying that in a digital signal, the speakers will sound the same no matter what the sound card, in terms of -- what?

EDIT-I think deeps is trying to tie this thread off...

yep

That's what I use and I am very happy

> In terms of the connections used or will be used (coaxial/optical fiber).

less-loss or loss-less signal transmission.

No "Hiss" sound or crackling noise like the cassette tapes or vinyl records (LPs).

Ahh, yes, unless the cable is frayed. In analog, the Cables really depend on oxygenization an' material and whatnot. So you ARE saying the quality of sound can change such as the audio frequency reproduction.

Hmmnn.....we're getting off the subject now (i feel this thread is nearing to be closed )

You said “frequency reproduction”

This one you’re referring to is about speakers or transducers
(subwoofers,loudspeakers,instrumental speakers,etc.)

Depends on the brand/model of a particular speaker,

And there are too many things to consider in terms
Of quality sound produced by a speaker:

 frequency,ie 40Hz to 4000Hz
 response
 SPL
 Wattage (RMS or PMPO,Max????)
 Voice coils (dual or single)
 Enclosures (bandpass: 4th,6th,8th order or a Transmissionline system)
 Internal volumes
 Size (6/8/10/12/16/...xx inches?)


(thread closed .. )