Weekend Open Forum: What audio interface do you use with your desktop/laptop computer?

[Justin Kahn]

While I guess some people don't use audio interfaces at all, especially with a laptop on the go or something of that nature, I find them to be an essential part of my home desktop set-up. Personally I like to have all the annoying cables and wires connecting my speakers, keyboards, headphones and other devices as hidden as possible, never mind having to manually attach and un-attach them. Even those with a set-up as clean and simple as a set of speakers and say a pair of headphones, can really benefit from a nice desktop-friendly audio interface to quickly and easily route audio to various destinations from their computer.

I like the Apogee units (but mostly because I also use my interface for audio recording, in which Apogee makes some pretty amazing sounding digital converters), but there are also some great lower priced options out there I've used/tried as well. The Focusrite Scarlett boxes are a good option in my opinion for the price and even the Avid machines for those looking to get a starter recording software package bundled in. 

So for this week's open forum, we want to know your thoughts on audio interfaces and some of the devices you use to handle audio out of your computer. Do you use any kind of an audio interface at all? If so, which is your favorite and why? Or do you always use headphones and the internal speaker? Maybe a Bluetooth option?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57186-weekend-open-forum-what-audio-interface-do-you-use-with-your-desktop-laptop-computer.html

 

[davislane1]

The only interface I use is the Guitar Rig mobile I/O. I use it to run audio from my laptop to external speakers and as an input for guitar audio signals. The guitar input is the obvious primary utility, but I also prefer to rout audio through it because it gives me much greater control over the output levels.

 

[Satish Mallya]

Output is through an xfi titanium card, dolby over optical to speakers (z5500)
Input (which I rarely use) is either a wireless Logitech f540 headset or a USB midi in.

 

[FAETHFLEX]

I use a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 audio interface with my macbook pro. I have two KRK Rokit 5" monitor speakers that I use with it; specifically for when I'm producing music. The interfaces powered through firewire but also has an optional 12V DC power input. It provides great audio fidelity (up to 96kHz), and not only am I able to use it with my Macbook but I am also able to output audio from my Playstation 3 to the interface. I sometimes will use headphones with the interface but I primarily use the monitors for audio output. Its a nice little interface and only cost me around $140 because I bought it from my friend. I recommend it to anyone looking for a nice portable interface to use with their computer.

 

[Experimentongod]

Good ol' (8 years) Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro (with external I/O console; that could be considered a so called "audio interface") connected to 7 year old Logitech Z-5500 speakers. Still rockin' that soundcard is the reason my next motherboard will need to support the pretty much obsolete PCI slot. I don't have compelling reasons to upgrade, maybe a SoundBlaster ZxR could be marginally better. Games sound great with 3D support for old titles thanks to Creative ALChemy and I can connect my PS3 through optical cable to get hardware Dolby Digital decoding. For movies I use software decoding. I have the computer hooked up to the speakers with analog cables. Basically between the Z-5500's and the soundcard I/O module I can connect a lot of stuff.

 

[yRaz]

Klipshe promedia 2.1 with Zune media center. Speakers sound great and Zune sounds pretty good. I use to use winamp but it doesn't work well when I change my default audio device. Sound stops working with it until I restart if I have it open when I switch from headphones to speakers or visa versa

 

[TomSEA]

I have an ASUS Xonar STX sound card which is run with the "Xonar Audio Center" software package. It's pretty extensive in what it can do. And paired with my Corsair Gaming Audio SP2500 2.1 Speaker System, that combination can rattle some windows (much to my neighbors delight) .

 

[FLWrd]

A Tascam US-122L. Bit old, but still works, beats the crap out of any internal sound card, and has phantom powering for mics, a simple recording mixer, and MIDI. And nowadays, it can be had really cheaply.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

What the hell are we talking about here? English please.

 

[GeforcerFX]

My main rig has just realtek 7.1 that I run to some Logitech Z520 speakers, for headset on this system I use the Logitech H800 wireless headset so that has its own soundcard as well. My other rig has a Creative X-Fi SB1090 hooked up to my Plantronic Gamecon 777's and if it ever needs a speaker both the monitors have speakers which I have on the audio feed split to both of them.

 

[LNCPapa]

Most of the time my main rig's chain is USB to my WooAudio WA7 but the rest of the time it's SoundBlaster Z - toslink - Onkyo receiver. That receiver also receives an S/PDIF connection from my linux fileserver.

 

[Mr WW]

I have an external M-AUDIO 410 firewire box. Actually only connected when I DJ or produce music.
I can't hear much of a difference between the internal sound card or the external.
So the main purpose is to have low latency and to have extra inputs and outputs (It has 4 analog stereo outs and 1 in and 1 digital in and out)

 

[Jad Chaar]

What the hell are we talking about here? English please.

I think it is an audio interface people can use to control their sound system.

I use the integrated Realtek controller. No dedicated sound system here.

 

[davislane1]

What the hell are we talking about here? English please.

The question is whether or not TS members send the audio signal from their computers through a fancy-pants audio box before sending it to their speakers. As you can gather from the preceding comments, most of us do.

 

[at0mic_Mike]

What the hell are we talking about here? English please.

Glad I'm not the only one who's never heard of this.

 

[Satish Mallya]

What the hell are we talking about here? English please.

The question is whether or not TS members send the audio signal from their computers through a fancy-pants audio box before sending it to their speakers. As you can gather from the preceding comments, most of us do.

Most of those who chose to reply. Self-selection bias rears its head again.

 

[davislane1]

Most of those who chose to reply. Self-selection bias rears its head again.

Seeing as the vast majority of computer users don't run their audio through a special interface, I figured it to be self-evident that "us" would refer exclusively to those who have responded thus far.

I'll make note to state the obvious in the future.

(I'm being sarcastic.)

 

[nismo91]

Currently still relying on the shitty realtek 5.1 with the dolby home theater thingy, because I upgraded my speakers and now only analog connection is available. I used to rely on TOSLINK (optical) to let my speaker do its own decoding. for my other pc, a logitech z-cinema which uses USB connection so the decoding is also done on the speaker itself...

also used to own x-fi before. probably won't buy another one because im sure my next speakers will be using receiver which uses HDMI. not a fan of soundcards or DACs, though I know they make a difference.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

The question is whether or not TS members send the audio signal from their computers through a fancy-pants audio box before sending it to their speakers. As you can gather from the preceding comments, most of us do.

Now why would anyone do that? Is it not far simpler, not to mention cheaper just to plug your speakers or headphones directly into your sound output? I plug my headphones directly into my Asus Xonar DX soundcard and boom, I'm good to go, no fuss, no muss. Can't you do the same thing with fancy pants speakers?

 

[davislane1]

Now why would anyone do that? Is it not far simpler, not to mention cheaper just to plug your speakers or headphones directly into your sound output? I plug my headphones directly into my Asus Xonar DX soundcard and boom, I'm good to go, no fuss, no muss. Can't you do the same thing with fancy pants speakers?

Much simpler and much cheaper, yes. However, when you run your audio through an interface you have much more control over what comes out of the output device. Same goes for input.

In a way, it's like the difference between consoles and PC when it comes to hardware/software settings. On a console, your control over hardware and software is relatively limited. With a PC, however, you can fine tune more or less every aspect of the experience. The same relationship exists between your on-board audio equipment and an external interface.

 

[misor]

Damn, I got nose bleed episodes before reading davislane1's explanation:

Much simpler and much cheaper, yes. However, when you run your audio through an interface you have much more control over what comes out of the output device. Same goes for input.

In a way, it's like the difference between consoles and PC when it comes to hardware/software settings. On a console, your control over hardware and software is relatively limited. With a PC, however, you can fine tune more or less every aspect of the experience. The same relationship exists between your on-board audio equipment and an external interface.

 

[rpjkw11]

I use an ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1 on my desktops for only one purpose: Better audio control. Onboard audio works well enough, but I like more options when it comes to overall sound. My laptop has Sound Blaster Cinema which works very well, but options are limited as is the volume. I'd like a bit more volume, especially with a headset.

 

[Tom Geml]

Aune X1 Headphone Amp>BX5A Studio Monitors + Klipsch KSW-12, Sennheiser HD-650 Headphones.

 

[Luay]

I have a 7 year old ATX desktop with a sound blaster sound card. It's fine for games but even the music sounds better than the motherboard's sound chip.

In the living room my newer mitx htpc has an R9 290 connected to my AV receiver through HDMI. the video passes through the receiver but the audio is processed there. It sounds more crisp than any sound card I have tried. Separates truly bring the best audio experience, but there are other (richer) people who have a pre/amp + surround processors instead of a single separate sound solution.

Now I'm thinking of getting a USB DAC for my laptop, smartphone and tablet. I never was a fan of listening to music or gaming on the go but as I'm travelling more often now it seems like a good idea.

 

[Wizwill]

Not sure if this qualifies but I use a device worn around my neck called a ComPilot using bluetooth to send both audio and 2-way phone calls to my Phonak hearing aids. I answer the calls by pressing a button on the ComPilot. I use the device with both my smartphone and laptops.It would also work with a bluetooth-equipped PC or Mac. The audio portion also works well with my tablets.
Because my hearing loss is rather severe, this device setup allows me to hear audio much better than any other method. Headphones feedback and listening via speakers allows outside noise to pollute the audio stream and then it is amplified by the hearing aids.