What's the best audio card for music?

sli4 · 02-04-2009, 05:39 PM

Hey, looking to rebuild computer and i work with music a lot and listen to a hell of a lot of music/watch a lot of movies.
so im wondering if any of you have ideas for what the best sound card is for listening to music and movies.
I dont necessarily need anything with midi ports or RCA connections since i can connect my audio interfaces via firewire.
im just looking for clear great quality sound from the card
also looking to spend under 175 on the card. (closer to 125 would be nice)
i hear the x-fi's are nice but they seem to be geared more towards gaming then music...if that makes sense?

thanks for the help.

**Pauldo** · 02-04-2009, 08:30 PM

Not sure how you are going to be listening with this but the first thing that comes to mind is Asus Xonar.

Reviews are great and it looks like the price is right for the D1 at ~$90.

The difference between the D1 and D2 are that the D2 has DTS (they both have Dolby Digital) and more SPDIF options than the D1 and it costs about $100 more. Also, the only difference between the D(1 or 2) and the D(1 or 2)X is that the 'X' versions are PCI-E.

If you don't mind Creative than really the XtremeGamer would do just fine, although the Titanium would be better. At roughly $90 it has DTS support. The Titanium pci-e is roughly 410 more. The problem with Creative is that they have a nasty habit of producing static and other problems. You don't hear much about that with the Xonar. Also, if you are considering the X-fi, don't go with the Xtreme Audio as it is just a re-branded Audigy card (same chip as the Audigy based cards).

And, of course, it really matters as to what you are plugging into the card. Not sure if you could tell the difference between X-fi and Xonar unless you had a good set of speakers, such as Z5500 or similar.

Pauldo

sli4 · 02-05-2009, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pauldo

Not sure how you are going to be listening with this but the first thing that comes to mind is Asus Xonar.

Reviews are great and it looks like the price is right for the D1 at ~$90.

The difference between the D1 and D2 are that the D2 has DTS (they both have Dolby Digital) and more SPDIF options than the D1 and it costs about $100 more. Also, the only difference between the D(1 or 2) and the D(1 or 2)X is that the 'X' versions are PCI-E.

If you don't mind Creative than really the XtremeGamer would do just fine, although the Titanium would be better. At roughly $90 it has DTS support. The Titanium pci-e is roughly 410 more. The problem with Creative is that they have a nasty habit of producing static and other problems. You don't hear much about that with the Xonar. Also, if you are considering the X-fi, don't go with the Xtreme Audio as it is just a re-branded Audigy card (same chip as the Audigy based cards).

And, of course, it really matters as to what you are plugging into the card. Not sure if you could tell the difference between X-fi and Xonar unless you had a good set of speakers, such as Z5500 or similar.

Pauldo

thanks for the info Pauldo. The x-fi titanium i saw was PCI-E and was 99.99 here's the link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102024
i dont like the idea that its a noisy card though so maybe the xonar is more up my alley.

I'll be listening on either a great pair of sony studio pro/studio headphones (7506) or on a 2.1 system (which i'd eventually like to upgrade to surround) - the Klipsch promedia 2.1 thx setup

**Pauldo** · 02-05-2009, 10:21 AM

Hey how did that 4 get in there?

The $99 Titanium is what I was looking at too.

Quote:

I'll be listening on either a great pair of sony studio pro/studio headphones (7506) or on a 2.1 system (which i'd eventually like to upgrade to surround) - the Klipsch promedia 2.1 thx setup

Did you see the Xonar Essence? Out of your price range but would fit the bill with those headphones.

That said, I don't think that you would go wrong with either set, as far as sound quality goes. They both have their pros and cons. The problem would be the poor driver support and greater incompatability with Creative and the lack of DTS support with the D1(X).

My vote would be for the Xonar, unless you positively must have DTS support then I would go with the X-Fi as long as I could return it easily.

Pauldo

sli4 · 02-05-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pauldo

Hey how did that 4 get in there?

The $99 Titanium is what I was looking at too.

Did you see the Xonar Essence? Out of your price range but would fit the bill with those headphones.

That said, I don't think that you would go wrong with either set, as far as sound quality goes. They both have their pros and cons. The problem would be the poor driver support and greater incompatability with Creative and the lack of DTS support with the D1(X).

My vote would be for the Xonar, unless you positively must have DTS support then I would go with the X-Fi as long as I could return it easily.

Pauldo

also, the motherboard im going to be getting has onboard sound - im told that the quality of the onboard is really great but im kind of weary and think i'd be much better off with the xonar d1
what do you think?
http://www.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FPr...82E16813128359 gigabyte GA-ep45-ud3r

**Pauldo** · 02-05-2009, 10:37 PM

The onboard audio with that mobo is pretty decent, although I think that you would be able to tell the difference with those promedia speakers that you have. The only thing that I can see that it doesn't have that the D1 and others do have is the Dolby Digital support.

My preference is to ditch the onboard and go with a good quality pci card when it comes to using your computer as a Home Theater. I know My System specs say I use integrated audio but I don't watch movies on it or listen to much music (other than Shoutcast radio when I'm working). I have a separate HTPC for that. The exception to that would be if you were passing audio through SPDIF (or HDMI) to a receiver and letting that decode the signal.

Of course, and I will throw a wrench in here, you could always run with the onboard and see how you like it for awhile (you would do DD thru software). Worst case scenario is that you would have to order the Xonar later and it would probably have gone down in price by then.

Pauldo

Harshfield · 02-06-2009, 05:27 AM

Visit www.tweakheadz.com this may help you.

02-04-2009, 05:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
sli4 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 78 OS: xp	What's the best audio card for music? Hey, looking to rebuild computer and i work with music a lot and listen to a hell of a lot of music/watch a lot of movies. so im wondering if any of you have ideas for what the best sound card is for listening to music and movies. I dont necessarily need anything with midi ports or RCA connections since i can connect my audio interfaces via firewire. im just looking for clear great quality sound from the card also looking to spend under 175 on the card. (closer to 125 would be nice) i hear the x-fi's are nice but they seem to be geared more towards gaming then music...if that makes sense? thanks for the help.

02-04-2009, 08:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
Pauldo Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,444 OS: winXP Pro sp3 My System	Re: What's the best audio card for music? Not sure how you are going to be listening with this but the first thing that comes to mind is Asus Xonar. Reviews are great and it looks like the price is right for the D1 at ~$90. The difference between the D1 and D2 are that the D2 has DTS (they both have Dolby Digital) and more SPDIF options than the D1 and it costs about $100 more. Also, the only difference between the D(1 or 2) and the D(1 or 2)X is that the 'X' versions are PCI-E. If you don't mind Creative than really the XtremeGamer would do just fine, although the Titanium would be better. At roughly $90 it has DTS support. The Titanium pci-e is roughly 410 more. The problem with Creative is that they have a nasty habit of producing static and other problems. You don't hear much about that with the Xonar. Also, if you are considering the X-fi, don't go with the Xtreme Audio as it is just a re-branded Audigy card (same chip as the Audigy based cards). And, of course, it really matters as to what you are plugging into the card. Not sure if you could tell the difference between X-fi and Xonar unless you had a good set of speakers, such as Z5500 or similar. Pauldo __________________ SystemSpec \| Power Supply Info \| How to Post a Screen shot \| Speedfan[/center]

02-05-2009, 10:37 PM	#6 (permalink)
Pauldo Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,444 OS: winXP Pro sp3 My System	Re: What's the best audio card for music? The onboard audio with that mobo is pretty decent, although I think that you would be able to tell the difference with those promedia speakers that you have. The only thing that I can see that it doesn't have that the D1 and others do have is the Dolby Digital support. My preference is to ditch the onboard and go with a good quality pci card when it comes to using your computer as a Home Theater. I know My System specs say I use integrated audio but I don't watch movies on it or listen to much music (other than Shoutcast radio when I'm working). I have a separate HTPC for that. The exception to that would be if you were passing audio through SPDIF (or HDMI) to a receiver and letting that decode the signal. Of course, and I will throw a wrench in here, you could always run with the onboard and see how you like it for awhile (you would do DD thru software). Worst case scenario is that you would have to order the Xonar later and it would probably have gone down in price by then. Pauldo __________________ SystemSpec \| Power Supply Info \| How to Post a Screen shot \| Speedfan[/center]

02-06-2009, 05:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Harshfield Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 10 OS: WinXP	Re: What's the best audio card for music? Visit www.tweakheadz.com this may help you.