Review EVGA Nu Audio Pro Review: Who Needs a Sound Card in 2020?

[Admin]

With how far motherboard audio has come in the last decade, we went on a quest to determine the best audience for the EVGA Nu Audio Pro sound card.

EVGA Nu Audio Pro Review: Who Needs a Sound Card in 2020? : Read more

 

[JonDol]

Nice work ! Too bad we had to wait for ages since the previous sound card review on THW but here we are. There was no secret that with cheap audio equipment is difficult to see any improvements over the on board audio but it's always useful to remind this to some readers. Nice point also in noting that this could have been an USB implementation and I wish you do similar reviews of the top of the line from Creative and Asus, including if possible both their PCIe and USB versions since some will wonder if it's worth occupying one of their few PCIe slots available instead of going the USB route.

 

[pfunk 2014]

Recently bought the asus prime x570-PRO and the 5.1 sound just doesn't work with the realtek default driver, and from the search result I got I'm not alone in this, had to install an old driver and it works now, but I can ear some static noises that were not there previously. And in some games like GTA V I can clearly ear a loud noise constantly in game, but in the menu it lowers slightly. I'm really considering buying a sound card in 2020, (but not for 200 €). I don't know if this is a realtek driver or windows 10 issue, but it really sucks...

 

[Giroro]

What about recording quality?
I think the most likely person to buy a sound card right now is probably a streamer or somebody with a podcast.
Most the audiophiles I know would never buy a $200 sound card... It could be the highest quality thing in the world, but it would somehow sound too "cheap" for them.

 

[mac_angel]

I'm curious about a couple of other options that did not seem to be tested.

• Using optical out from the motherboard to the Amp.
• Using HDMI from the GPU to an amp. Yes, I know that many stereo amps don't have HDMI in, there are good quality amps that do.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I'm curious about a couple of other options that did not seem to be tested.

• Using optical out from the motherboard to the Amp.
• Using HDMI from the GPU to an amp. Yes, I know that many stereo amps don't have HDMI in, there are good quality amps that do.

If you're using digital audio outputs then your soundcard doesn't really matter. Especially if you're using a GPU output, which would bypass the sound card completely.

 

[deesider]

I'm curious about a couple of other options that did not seem to be tested.

• Using optical out from the motherboard to the Amp.
• Using HDMI from the GPU to an amp. Yes, I know that many stereo amps don't have HDMI in, there are good quality amps that do.

Presumably optical out was used as the control for listening to the amps internal DAC for the initial few weeks?

 

[neojack]

Nice to see a review of a sound card !

years ago i invested in a sound blaster Z + a 2nd hand audiophile headphones (philips Fidelio X2)
400$ CAN total and I have never been more pleased. beats out my old kit from like 15 years ago (creative megawork 550 + audigy ZS set).

good heaphones feels like the noise is coming from reality. it's doesn't feel like you are wearing a pair of headphones.

as for the review, i would have like to see it compared to say a sound blasterZ wich is 2-3 times cheaper.

 

[Artkin]

I made an account just for this.
Long time lurker (~10+ years).
What has happened to this website? It used to be the holy mecca of hardware reviews.
Who DOESN'T need a sound card?
Look at the board youre testing. Only manchildren buy these things (Yes, $200 boards are worthless). Everyone will see a substantial benefit with a sound card. Ive had Asus STX I for a few years now and it is a total game changer. Its amazing how you play it off as if a motherboard will EVER come close to a dedicated sound card - It wont. A sound card isnt priced out of peoples budgets. Nor are a pair of quality cans.
You spend 2-3x as much on a high quality video setup as you would with a high quality audio setup.

With how far motherboard audio has come in the last decade, we went on a quest to determine the best audience for the EVGA Nu Audio Pro sound card.

EVGA Nu Audio Pro Review: Who Needs a Sound Card in 2020? : Read more

Changed? Sound cards haven't changed much at all. There haven't been many sound card releases whatsoever in the past ten years. What are you referring to? Pointless filler comments? What is this. How are you even an administrator on this website?

There was no secret that with cheap audio equipment is difficult to see any improvements over the on board audio but it's always useful to remind this to some readers.

Totally incorrect. Have you ever even used a sound card? Or a motherboard? Or do you exclusively buy $200+ boards which I guarentee you still cannot come anywhere close.

I think the most likely person to buy a sound card right now is probably a streamer or somebody with a podcast.

Anyone that knows better will buy into a high quality audio setup.

Most the audiophiles I know would never buy a $200 sound card... It could be the highest quality thing in the world, but it would somehow sound too "cheap" for them.

This is because sound cards are typically reserved for games, and DACs are reserved for music. DACs are pretty much isolated from all electrical noise and I've never seen one set up for more than 5.1.
Sound cards on the other hand are able to drive 7.1, and are used for video games.
An "audiophile" isn't judging the sound quality based on a game. The game would more than likely be the limited factor in 99% of the case.

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Nice to see a review of a sound card !

years ago i invested in a sound blaster Z + a 2nd hand audiophile headphones (philips Fidelio X2)
400$ CAN total and I have never been more pleased. beats out my old kit from like 15 years ago (creative megawork 550 + audigy ZS set).

good heaphones feels like the noise is coming from reality. it's doesn't feel like you are wearing a pair of headphones.

as for the review, i would have like to see it compared to say a sound blasterZ wich is 2-3 times cheaper.

This seems like the only post thats worth reading. Even the entire article. Throw it out. Put someone in charge who knows what theyre talking about.


This website has really lost its credibility the last few years.

 

[alextheblue]

Dollar per dollar I think you're better off with the Klipsch 2.1's over the A2+, when on a budget. I agree that good speakers are more important than discrete audio, but I still stubbornly buy discrete audio. Often when I find a board that has both the power delivery AND the audio I want, it's already substantially more than a board with a cheaper audio layout and the same PD. So I just plop the money towards a sound card, and sometimes even reuse that sound card again for a new build in a couple years.

Recently bought the asus prime x570-PRO and the 5.1 sound just doesn't work with the realtek default driver, and from the search result I got I'm not alone in this, had to install an old driver and it works now, but I can ear some static noises that were not there previously. And in some games like GTA V I can clearly ear a loud noise constantly in game, but in the menu it lowers slightly. I'm really considering buying a sound card in 2020, (but not for 200 €). I don't know if this is a realtek driver or windows 10 issue, but it really sucks...

You may want to consider an AE-5. The white AE-5 is on Amazon for $135 over here, so there might be a source over there for them at a similar price point.

 

[drivinfast247]

I made an account just for this.
Long time lurker (~10+ years).
What has happened to this website? It used to be the holy mecca of hardware reviews.
Who DOESN'T need a sound card?
Look at the board youre testing. Only manchildren buy these things (Yes, $200 boards are worthless). Everyone will see a substantial benefit with a sound card. Ive had Asus STX I for a few years now and it is a total game changer. Its amazing how you play it off as if a motherboard will EVER come close to a dedicated sound card - It wont. A sound card isnt priced out of peoples budgets. Nor are a pair of quality cans.
You spend 2-3x as much on a high quality video setup as you would with a high quality audio setup.



Changed? Sound cards haven't changed much at all. There haven't been many sound card releases whatsoever in the past ten years. What are you referring to? Pointless filler comments? What is this. How are you even an administrator on this website?



Totally incorrect. Have you ever even used a sound card? Or a motherboard? Or do you exclusively buy $200+ boards which I guarentee you still cannot come anywhere close.



Anyone that knows better will buy into a high quality audio setup.



This is because sound cards are typically reserved for games, and DACs are reserved for music. DACs are pretty much isolated from all electrical noise and I've never seen one set up for more than 5.1.
Sound cards on the other hand are able to drive 7.1, and are used for video games.
An "audiophile" isn't judging the sound quality based on a game. The game would more than likely be the limited factor in 99% of the case.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This seems like the only post thats worth reading. Even the entire article. Throw it out. Put someone in charge who knows what theyre talking about.


This website has really lost its credibility the last few years.

Cool story, bro!

 

[Unolocogringo]

As someone with many years experience with sound stage setup, this review has merit.
Most people now days listen to MP3s on their phones,Alexa, computer speakers or cheap sound systems.
They have no Idea music can sound so much better, all they have ever heard is MP3s on cheap equipment.
Mp3s sound terrible on good equipment. Fidelity is shot, Highs are totally missing, bass is usually exaggerated and muddy. All of the finer details are just missing.
I do not consider myself a "Audiophile" but I like listening to music and movies the way they were recorded.
So yes I still have CDs, most of my equipment is many years old. I prefer older analog amps for their warmth of mid-range, punchy bass and very crisp highs. Something today's digital amps just cant reproduce.
You do not have to spend thousands on "audiophile" equipment to get great sound. But you will not get it out of a box from Walmart either.

 

[neojack]

As someone with many years experience with sound stage setup, this review has merit.
Most people now days listen to MP3s on their phones,Alexa, computer speakers or cheap sound systems.
They have no Idea music can sound so much better, all they have ever heard is MP3s on cheap equipment.
Mp3s sound terrible on good equipment. Fidelity is shot, Highs are totally missing, bass is usually exaggerated and muddy. All of the finer details are just missing.
I do not consider myself a "Audiophile" but I like listening to music and movies the way they were recorded.
So yes I still have CDs, most of my equipment is many years old. I prefer older analog amps for their warmth of mid-range, punchy bass and very crisp highs. Something today's digital amps just cant reproduce.
You do not have to spend thousands on "audiophile" equipment to get great sound. But you will not get it out of a box from Walmart either.

100% agree
i have a lots of CDs and some DVD audios, and the difference is clear.

I only compress music to FLAC, never mp3 wich cut all the harmonics (well it's the whole magic behind the mp3 compression : it cuts the harmonics but then the sound feels flat and artificial.

 

[Jennifer W]

I use a dedicated soundcard, because it gives you better/higher quality at higher bit/sampling rates, using better opamps. You also take the load off the cpu by using dedicated hardware. Then there are chip specific features like CMSS 3D on the x-fi cards. I absolutely LOVED using that for listening to music. God I miss it (my Auzentech Prelude 7.1 on my old Win7 rig is a PCI card, so it’s useless in newer stuff that only has PCIe). I’ve had to move to a Sound Blaster Z on my Win10 rig.

 

[hue]

I made an account just for this.
Long time lurker (~10+ years).
What has happened to this website? It used to be the holy mecca of hardware reviews.
Who DOESN'T need a sound card?
Look at the board youre testing. Only manchildren buy these things (Yes, $200 boards are worthless). Everyone will see a substantial benefit with a sound card. Ive had Asus STX I for a few years now and it is a total game changer. Its amazing how you play it off as if a motherboard will EVER come close to a dedicated sound card - It wont. A sound card isnt priced out of peoples budgets. Nor are a pair of quality cans.
You spend 2-3x as much on a high quality video setup as you would with a high quality audio setup.



Changed? Sound cards haven't changed much at all. There haven't been many sound card releases whatsoever in the past ten years. What are you referring to? Pointless filler comments? What is this. How are you even an administrator on this website?



Totally incorrect. Have you ever even used a sound card? Or a motherboard? Or do you exclusively buy $200+ boards which I guarentee you still cannot come anywhere close.



Anyone that knows better will buy into a high quality audio setup.



This is because sound cards are typically reserved for games, and DACs are reserved for music. DACs are pretty much isolated from all electrical noise and I've never seen one set up for more than 5.1.
Sound cards on the other hand are able to drive 7.1, and are used for video games.
An "audiophile" isn't judging the sound quality based on a game. The game would more than likely be the limited factor in 99% of the case.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This seems like the only post thats worth reading. Even the entire article. Throw it out. Put someone in charge who knows what theyre talking about.


This website has really lost its credibility the last few years.

99% of people don't need a dedicated sound card. If you are an audiophile you probably want to go as pure as possible which means, turntable to amplifier to speakers. Most traditional "audiophiles" despise digital anyway.

There are plenty of high quality DACs that are available for ~$100.

I had one guy (I assume he worked for NVidia by the way he was defending this card) trying to tell me that USB devices are noisy and unreliable. All the while we well know that this card is essentially a USB DAC which has been adapted for PCIE.

Anyway there are plenty of quality audio interfaces which are USB 2, 3 or Thunderbolt. The prices range from $100- several thousands of dollars(or tens of thousands). Of course, I'm thinking from a recording engineers stand point. Creative and ASUS don't even factor. No one listens to music in 7.1 anyway unless they are doing audio post.

 

[xiaolongbao]

With how far motherboard audio has come in the last decade, we went on a quest to determine the best audience for the EVGA Nu Audio Pro sound card.

EVGA Nu Audio Pro Review: Who Needs a Sound Card in 2020? : Read more

Unfortunate that no test of the A to D, i.e. recording capability was performed. I use a RME HDSP 9632 PCE card for ripping analog media into digital format. I also have a Asus Xonar Essence STX card which can do A to D but is inferior to the RME. Missing this portion of the card capabilities is a big miss, particularly considering the frequency of sound card reviews.

 

[nofanneeded]

your cons : needs expensive equipment to feel the difference has no sense ,

The card itself is targeted at the people who own/want expensive equipment. this is not a cons. this is a pro. a reality.

The card is $200 .. this is more expensive than motherboards WITH best onboard sound ALC1220 and so ..

When somen one pays $200 for just the sound for sure he is not buying it to get better sound on cheap speakers.

 

[margrave]

No mention of an ASIO driver for this.

 

[techy1966]

Nice audio card for sure. I am no fan of onboard audio and my personal opinion is only use it in a pinch if you have nothing else. Yes they have brought it to a point where it is almost usable but with most everybody using Realtek chips which barely passes for basic audio output and relies mostly on the CPU to do most of the grunt work for audio processing I will take a decent audio card any day over most every onboard solution out there.

I also noticed Realtek has not upgraded their driver data base for Windows since 2017 and the linux drivers since 2018 so the drivers are rather old. So those shiny new drivers downloaded from the likes of Gigabyte and all of the others that use Realtek are using drivers based from 2017. I had to live with onboard Realtek audio for a month a while back and it was a very long month. My creative card quick working after a Windows update and it took creative about 3 weeks to release a driver that fixed the problem. Which was rather good of them to do because my old Creative card is from 2008.

With that said even my old first gen PCI-e card can out do most every onboard audio solution out there for sound quality and still use a lot less CPU resources while doing it.

 

[alpha27]

Nice review and card being a creative fan boy for like 20 yrs + ive also used some high end mb audio, but they lack stuff like recording softwares and other fine audio adjustments like switching between head phones and speakers etc and high fidelity sound like I get on current SB-z , which I also use for games as well, and with enhancements it can add sure feeling to impacts of bullets and explosions , I also mix it with a decent sony pc 2.1 sound and asus headphones with 60 mm drivers that are like almost unbreakable, unlike me ears , but yer dedicated sound all the way I thinks!

anyway 1 of me tracks done with the Sbz

https://soundcloud.com/scott-wally%2Farctic-dubstep-transirs-2020-vision-ufo

View: https://soundcloud.com/scott-wally/arctic-dubstep-transirs-2020-vision-ufo

 

[wqgq641]

First it's great to see you covering PC Audio and I hope more is to come.
The comparison I'd have liked to have seen is this audio card vs an equivalently priced external DAC. I use a Cambridge Audio DACMagic with Audioengine A5+ desktop speakers and Audioquest USB and speaker cables. The DACMagic is vastly superior to the Dragonfly Red I use with headphone when I'm travelling. There are multiple external USB DACs in this price range including excellent ones from Shiit.
So, how about your own USB DAC shootout ?

 

[mdd1963]

I used sound cards all the time...; they were pretty much required.

then the year 2000 arrived, and I've not used a sound card since.

 

[brett_jv]

It's unfortunate that the most useful thing (to me) a dedicated sound card could provide my setup is not tested. That being whether it will compress the LPCM sound present in the vast majority of video games into a compressed 5.1 signal (DD/DTS) and transmit it over the S/PDIF out to my high-end Denon Amp hooked up to my fairly nice speakers.

Some Realtek chips can apparently perform this compression, but requires forcing on old drivers and registry hacks and various other nonsense, and even after that doesn't work with all Realtek chips (not mine, for example, at least not via methods discusssed online ... I can get the amp to 'think' it's getting a 5.1 signal, but it's always actually just stereo while gaming) and as another user mentioned above it added static/weird noises on their setup when it worked.

Presently I have a 3 pairs of analog cables to carry signal from the onboard sound card to the pre-amp 5.1 inputs on my amp that I use for gaming (since the sound chip will convert the LPCM to analog just fine) AND an optical cable I use for listening to music or watching Netflix on the PC (already in DD/DTS, so goes out in 5.1 over S/PDIF just fine) using my Denon's Burr-Brown DAC's, which sound better than the Realtek DAC.

A discrete sound card that would compress game's 5.1 LPCM into DD/DTS in realtime, with no untoward sounds, and with fast-enough performance that the sound wouldn't lag behind the action, so one toslink cable/output could be used for connection for both 2.0 PCM music and 5.1 compressed gaming over S/PDIF, would be very worth buying to me.

If you ever review another soundcard, please consider including a test of this functionality (if the card can do it).

 

[krisalex79]

In general it is good review, Kudos for it, I like it very much!

Truth is, not many websites will write the full truth as it is, most will try to bend it in one or another direction.

I do not mean to be rude or disrespectful, but I write, because i saw few inaccuracies in the review.

1. Inaccuracy i saw is that it is said you cannot control speakers separately, on the opposite, you can. In the driver interface for speaker volume there is a chain link icon, right to the volume slider. By default, the volume slider is acting as master volume slider. to make it as individual speaker volume slider, click it to become broken chain link icon. This allows all speakers to be controlled separately. While you are in broken chain link mode, Click on the speaker you want to adjust and use the volume slider to adjust it to your liking. When done adjusting individual speakers, click the broken chain link to become normal chain link and the volume slider becomes Master volume slider.

2. Another inaccuracy i saw is the claim the card will not produce great sound on cheapo-speakers. But of course it will not. This is limitation of the cheapo-speaker not of the sound card. The cheapo-speaker has issues, playing what is given to it. Not a fault of the sound card, but fault of the cheapo-speakers. there is no force in the known universe to make this card car to sound nice on a cheapo-speakers. Being on the topic i listen the EVGA Nu Audio Pro on Studio monitors - M-Audio Studiophile AV40 make1 - the one with bass boost switch on it's back.

3. Another thing not mentioned is that the main sound card board alone is built primarily around Stereo listening. For full quality surround sound experience, you need a special daughter board to add - EVGA Nu Audio Pro Surround daughter board. Pictures below:

The Nu Audio pro Surround daughter card can be bought as set with the main card (as i did) or separately as upgrade to the main card. It enables the full power of 4.0/5.1/7.1 functionality to it's full extend, for both SPDIF over optical and Analogue. This one also requires both main card and daughter card to be connected with Mini DisplayPort cable (Included in the set) and enable PCIe Peer to Peer Transaction from Bios. It is only then that the card will be able to fully use the surround sound features, and the Nahimic software bundled in the driver to be able to it's job of giving you full rich surround sound for gaming, including accurate direction and accurate position in the direction.

 

[krisalex79]

It's unfortunate that the most useful thing (to me) a dedicated sound card could provide my setup is not tested. That being whether it will compress the LPCM sound present in the vast majority of video games into a compressed 5.1 signal (DD/DTS) and transmit it over the S/PDIF out to my high-end Denon Amp hooked up to my fairly nice speakers.

Some Realtek chips can apparently perform this compression, but requires forcing on old drivers and registry hacks and various other nonsense, and even after that doesn't work with all Realtek chips (not mine, for example, at least not via methods discusssed online ... I can get the amp to 'think' it's getting a 5.1 signal, but it's always actually just stereo while gaming) and as another user mentioned above it added static/weird noises on their setup when it worked.

Presently I have a 3 pairs of analog cables to carry signal from the onboard sound card to the pre-amp 5.1 inputs on my amp that I use for gaming (since the sound chip will convert the LPCM to analog just fine) AND an optical cable I use for listening to music or watching Netflix on the PC (already in DD/DTS, so goes out in 5.1 over S/PDIF just fine) using my Denon's Burr-Brown DAC's, which sound better than the Realtek DAC.

A discrete sound card that would compress game's 5.1 LPCM into DD/DTS in realtime, with no untoward sounds, and with fast-enough performance that the sound wouldn't lag behind the action, so one toslink cable/output could be used for connection for both 2.0 PCM music and 5.1 compressed gaming over S/PDIF, would be very worth buying to me.

If you ever review another soundcard, please consider including a test of this functionality (if the card can do it).

it can, but needs extra steps. check my answer for details. It can go 32 bit/192 khz sampling rate in 4.0/5.1/7.1 mode analogue or digital, but needs additional daughter board to enable this functionality, regardless in you connect analogue speakers or digital over optical.