Noticeable difference with a dedicated sound card VS Realtek ALC892 onboard audio

[Stallingrad]

Hi everybody, I have question about adding a dedicated sound card to my computer. First off i have an Onkyo TX-NR616 receiver in 5.2 mode for now for my computer stereo. The speaker towers are JBL N38, it sounds really good and clear at really hi levels(THX Ref). The receiver is plugged into an APC(to smooth out the power coming in to it). It is all connected via S/PDIF. Would i be able to notice any difference in audio quality if I added a dedicated sound card(ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1), or just stuck with the Realteck ALC892 chipset built into the ASUS M5A99 EVO R2.0 motherboard. Currently I listen to all of my music in WAV format. Any and all suggestions or comments welcome, thank you for you time.

 

[nukemaster]

With digital(like spdif) it should sound the same. Sounds cards may have extra enhancements that you may or may not like.

For your music you can also rip cds to FLAC/ALAC/WMA-lossless or any other lossless format to save space with the same quality as uncompressed wave files.

Now if you are using analog and headphones, the extra quality of the parts on dedicated sound cards would be noticeable to some, but not all users. As it sits now, your stereo is doing the digital to analog conversion for you.

 

[Stallingrad]

With digital(like spdif) it should sound the same. Sounds cards may have extra enhancements that you may or may not like.

For your music you can also rip cds to FLAC/ALAC/WMA-lossless or any other lossless format to save space with the same quality as uncompressed wave files.

Now if you are using analog and headphones, the extra quality of the parts on dedicated sound cards would be noticeable to some, but not all users. As it sits now, your stereo is doing the digital to analog conversion for you.

Thank you, that was fast. i use Fubar2000 for the audio player with a dedicated 4TB HDD for storage. Also I do use my Sennheiser headphones through the receiver as well. Thank you again, you just save me 180$!

 

[nukemaster]

This was not to say sound cards are not useful. CPUs have become very fast so the processing is not an issue for most.

It would be all down to features. You may have a user who likes X-fi crystalizer or some other enhancement, but other users will just hate it.

It is all personal preference, but with 100% digital upto the receiver, you are getting about the best you can(unless you wanted these enhancements that you may be able to get as DSP plugins for your software anyway.).

 

[dmast]

The prior answer is just not true. There are world's of difference between different dacs. So the sound you hear from the Realtek ALC 892 will be different (better or worse) than the sound from a discrete sound card. Being digital and using SPDIF has nothing to do with it.

 

[nukemaster]

Not true, are you saying that your sound card will covert a digital signal to analog(that is what a DAC does) just to convert it back to digital so your receiver can covert it back to analog again(another DAC).

By keeping the chain digital right to the end(without enhancements) you get the best possible sound.

Now on the other hand analog outputs DO use the DAC to turn the digital signal to analog and an opamp to buffer and boost the channels voltage as needed. That opamp as well as other parts in the analog audio chain(resistors and caps change the sound) will change the sound for better or worse.

If your receiver has a crappy DAC your coaxial or optical digital signal may actually sound worse than the outputs on an analog card, but that would be another story all together.

Any difference on a 100% digital source(like lets say HDMI) would come from the cards enhancements(color the sound in one way or another) and not that fact that your DAC is different.

Analog is another story all together(different voltages/more of less distortion/sounds from audio chain components).

 

[seehear]

Hi,
Like nukemaster, I didn't expect a difference using another card to pass what I thought was the same s/pdif signal. Like nukemaster, I was wrong! When I realized the realtek chip set couldn't handle 24 /88.2 files I installed a Juli@ from ESI. What a huge difference it made! Probably, I'm guessing, because of reduced jitter and noise. Not only did the Stones' Beggars Banquet sound fantastic (24/88.2 from HD Tracks) all of my music sounded much better - lower noise floor and more rightness. Do your self a favor and try the Juli@. It's the least expensive solution I found that makes a real, beneficial, change. I've been into computer audio since the late 90s. When Foobar came along with it's bitperfect capability it started to sound good enough to abandon my CD players - now I only use my modded Denon for SACD playback. I still prefer Foobar for fidelity, but must confess to using JRiver the most now. Its SQ is very close to Foobar's and its convenience features can't be beat: I have access to all 4 terabytes of my collection anywhere I have an Internet connection. Since I live in the city, and walk a lot, I get to listen to a lot more music than I used to. Give it a try, you might find you really like it.

My setup is a homebuilt PC (i7, win 7 enterprise, 32 gigs) to an M1Dac to WA2 pre to Proceed amp to ADAM Compact Monitors.

Hi everybody, I have question about adding a dedicated sound card to my computer. First off i have an Onkyo TX-NR616 receiver in 5.2 mode for now for my computer stereo. The speaker towers are JBL N38, it sounds really good and clear at really hi levels(THX Ref). The receiver is plugged into an APC(to smooth out the power coming in to it). It is all connected via S/PDIF. Would i be able to notice any difference in audio quality if I added a dedicated sound card(ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1), or just stuck with the Realteck ALC892 chipset built into the ASUS M5A99 EVO R2.0 motherboard. Currently I listen to all of my music in WAV format. Any and all suggestions or comments welcome, thank you for you time.

With digital(like spdif) it should sound the same. Sounds cards may have extra enhancements that you may or may not like.

For your music you can also rip cds to FLAC/ALAC/WMA-lossless or any other lossless format to save space with the same quality as uncompressed wave files.

Now if you are using analog and headphones, the extra quality of the parts on dedicated sound cards would be noticeable to some, but not all users. As it sits now, your stereo is doing the digital to analog conversion for you.

Thank you, that was fast. i use Fubar2000 for the audio player with a dedicated 4TB HDD for storage. Also I do use my Sennheiser headphones through the receiver as well. Thank you again, you just save me 180$!

 

[nukemaster]

Without owning all the same hardware it is hard to say yes or no to this.

That card does seem to have LOTS of options and a capable analog section as well.

PCI will be a hard sale soon enough. I am glad you got such a boost out of it.

 

[gdunning86]

I do not have a solution for your problem, but may have an answer in the long run somewhere where within my own question. I can say that there is a difference between on-board and a separate sound card because I record my own music.

My experience so far is that on-board for the most part, has poor latency even when running a USB interface for the input and direct monitoring, as the output (if you wish to have track play back without switching sources) will cause issues through the card itself.

My receiver will play back direct but with just enough latency to drive me crazy, and my on-board sound is the culprit.

Upgrading my sound card is paramount at this point, but I do not know which card to buy, and I refuse to spend more than $100, as I have already spent most of my budget on the interface to only find out that my sound card will still effect my ability to record anything without a lot of mental will power and practice.

Practice at something that is a waste of my talent.

So now that we have actually established that there IS a difference, can anyone actually answer this question for the both of us?

Specifically, he wants better quality, and I need a low cost sound card that supports ASIO, and has very low latency issues.

 

[nukemaster]

I recommend posting a new thread about this.

Also post what your exact setup is. Digital, analog all your other setup/mixers ect.

are you trying to monitor your input audio(lets say a mic or line-in device)? you may be able to do this on the playback instead of recording, but be warned this can cause massive feedback(headphones are almost a must and they must not be loud enough for the mic to hear.). Your recoding should still just have the selected recording device.

It would be something like this. In my case I was using the front headphone jack as a line in. Please note this plays back on ALL speakers(even the center).

This is the other way some users may do it, but while it works, it is delayed for sure.

This works on most cards, but I would need much more info on how you are recording. You may just need something as simple as a mixer to combine all your sources and feed your headphones and recording computer.

When you post a new thread drop a link here or PM me because I am interested to see how this goes.

For AISO, even an older creative card may do the trick.

I think most of your latency is coming from the analog to digital(usb input) then digital back to analog conversion(playback/monitoring).