Sound card recommendation

[nmckay420]

I currently have an ASRock Z370 Taichi with on board Purity Sound. I have been using an SMSL amplifier but I am very unhappy with the sound and will be sending it back. My V-Moda M-100s sound far better just plugged in to the output on the motherboard. The sound quality is pretty good but it needs more volume and a little more bass. I am an audiophile and major basshead. Not much of a gamer.

I have been looking in to an FX Audio amp/DAC instead of the one I have. That way I can take advantage of the optical audio output from my MB. I am looking to spend around $100 for an upgrade. I have been looking at the ASUS and Creative sound cards, but if I get one of those, even if they have a built in amp, would it be good to still get an external amp/DAC? I am somewhat confused as to whether the sound cards that have built in amps also convert to analog. In short, I am looking for extreme clarity, but also extreme bass for around $100. I am leaning toward using the on board sound, even though everyone says not to, and going with the external amp/DAC. Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

[gamerk316]

The amps on soundcards from Creative/ASUS do convert to analog. It really doesn't make a ton of sense to get a soundcard and connect that to an amp/DAC; they're basically doing the same thing. If you connect via optical (or any other digital connection), you are pushing the majority of the audio processing to the device you connect to, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to get a soundcard then connect to an amp/DAC via optical; you'll be just as good using optical out of the motherboard at that point.

 

[nmckay420]

Thank you for the clearly worded response. After reading about digital vs. analog I realized that pushing the processing away from the tower is the point of all this. How much do sound cards affect the quality of the digital signal that is output? I guess that's more what I was trying to ask in the first place. Also, how much would the sound card brand affect the quality and intensity of bass output while using for example; the iTunes equalizer. I'm sure a lot of people will say to always leave it flat, but I have had decent, but limited success using an equalizer. The bass gets strong, but usually sounds a bit staticky at higher volumes. I have already ordered the FX Audio Amp/Dac and an optical audio cable. I also ordered a very nice 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter cable with gold plating to minimize connections on the analog end. I figured it was better than using an adapter plug and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable. I would appreciate a follow up response to my follow up questions. Thank you

 

[dontlistentome]

I think a decent soundcard is a step up from onboard. You get better signal to noise, and if it has a headphone amp it's that much better. However, the motherboard you chose has this type of setup built in, so I'm not sure you'll gain anything from a soundcard. Your best option is to take unprocessed sound out of the computer and run it through your DAC/amp. There are two things at play here. One, the quality of the DAC. In any decent DAC unit it will be better than onboard or soundcard DACs. Two, being able to drive your headphones is important. An 'amp' included onboard or on a soundcard will rarely be able to match a quality amp in this, especially if you like full bass. If you really want the bass to sound good you need a good amp. I'm not familiar with that FX amp/DAC you ordered but I think that's the way to go in general.

 

[gamerk316]

As a general rule: Digital is digital. The only real benefit you get from a soundcard if you output via digital is whatever software processing it performs on the digital audio signal. It's typically the digital-to-analog stage that drives audio quality, and in this case it looks like your Amp/DAC is going to be the piece of equipment that's handling that process.

 

[nmckay420]

Just a little follow-up on this...I received my FX-Audio Amp/Dac with an optical audio and usb cable today. I tried both cables when testing the sound, and after at least an hour of tweaking settings and double-checking connections, I have come to the conclusion that my internal Purity Sound amp/dac is far superior. It's just not quite as loud as the external one, but it is loud enough for me and probably 99% of listeners.

The amp/dac was $65 on a very well known website (not sure if sourcing products was against the rules) and had the best ratings as far as I could see. 4.6/5 with over 1000 reviews. Is it possible that the Purity Sound chipset on the new z370 Taichi could actually be better than an external amp/dac? I have 11 fans, 2 water cooling pumps, a 1080ti GPU, and 3 strips of leds and I don't hear one bit of static or interference. Basically complete silence as though my headphones were unplugged. I even have the sound at 90%. Usually the static and interference are what makes me realize that my playlist ended. I've been sitting here for at least 10 minutes with nothing playing.

It's not just the lack of interference using my on board sound, but the sound quality and ESPECIALLY the bass. Using the external amp/dac, the bass sucked so bad that I found myself turning the volume up to uncomfortable levels. I have no need for volume like that from my internal sound card because the bass is so full and all- encompassing. It took a lot of convincing to get myself to realize that I needed to send the external setup back. I'm looking in to getting a nice desktop sound setup. Trying to decide between the Harmon-Kardon SoundSticks III and the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1. Opinions on that are also welcome.

 

[gamerk316]

It's possible the internal Purity Sound is doing some bass boos on it's end; I rally can't comment. Kind of surprised it's outperforming even a cheap amp though; you sure there isn't a setting somewhere that controls bass levels?

 

[nmckay420]

Yes I’m very positive. Bass boost, in my experience, has an unnaturally heavy sound and it never sounds this good. I’m going to draw the conclusion that most people’s views are so biased against internal cards that nobody is willing to accept the fact that maybe internals have come a long way and that some may even be better than at least low end externals. After hearing the Purity Sound setup, it’s actually hard to imaging the sound getting any better without getting some high-end headphones. My V-Moda M-100s could partially be the reason for the good sound and especially the bass I’m hearing. Almost EVERY bass-heavy song sounds simply amazing. I get goosebumps and everything when plugged into my MB directly. No goosebumps with the external setup at all...just disappointment and weak, distorted bass notes.

 

[nmckay420]

Everyone should completely disregard everything I said about my onboard sound being better than my amp/DAC. I will admit that Purity Sound has good clarity and bass, but just not enough power to drive high impedance headphones.

I don't know what I was doing wrong before with the settings, but I figured out that first, you must set the volume and EQ, if using, coming from your computer. Find the point where it starts to sound shitty, then back off to about 80% of that volume. That gives the amp/DAC the perfect amount of headroom and a strong enough signal so that it's not too loud or quiet for the amp to work with. Too weak of an input signal also doesn't have the fullness that a strong signal does. All I can say is I should have gotten an amp/DAC a long time ago.