sound cards vs realtek alc1150

[communion]

Asus xonar d1
Soundblaster recon 3d
Soundblaster z
Xonar dx
Or more expensive ones
Xonar d2
Sounblaster zx
Xonar pheobus
Vs realtek alc1150

Im using 2.0 microlab 7c

 

[i7Baby]

Compare specs - http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=328

 

[Tradesman1]

Why not go ahead and see how you like the onboard alc 1150 before buying a sound card and see how you like it, the 1150 is really pretty good

 

[Outlander_04]

Mostly it depends on the quality of your speakers .

So far I havent heard any pc speakers that needed a sound card to get the best from.
Maybe if you are outputting to a pre-amp and then running through an expensive sound system a good sound card is a better option

 

[Tradesman1]

Mostly it depends on the quality of your speakers .

So far I havent heard any pc speakers that needed a sound card to get the best from.
Maybe if you are outputting to a pre-amp and then running through an expensive sound system a good sound card is a better option

____________________

2.0 microlab 7c

 

[Outlander_04]

I use Microlab 7C's for my HTPC/TV and they are good . Very good for the price

But they are PC speakers and not good enough that you need a sound card , I would run with the onboard sound

 

[communion]

Ive used them with the onboard audio for a while now and all i can say is that they sound really really good. Especially when i watch blurays, but then when i switch the music on(i use aimp) whether is from original cd or mp3 copy they sound flat. I tried to play about in realtek control panel, aimp panel but there is something missing. I need my volume up to 40(60max) and my room is 5m over 3, so its not the biggest. I mean those speakers sound great, clear, crisp and look great but as i said, with aimp when i listen to music the sound is rather flat and bass is average comparing to when i watch a movie using power dvd.

 

[Tradesman1]

If going to a sound card then, I'd look at the DX or D1 and might consider a sub-woofer

 

[communion]

Would you recommend any good subwoofers?

 

[Tradesman1]

BIC America has a few, haven't shopped for just a woofer in awhile, I normally just get an entire system, but if things are flat when you listen to music, a woofer might help the overall quality of the sound

 

[Outlander_04]

I doubt you need a sub .
The 7C's have a 6 inch woofer anyway

Try using VLC media player and see if that makes a difference .
Remember you have the speaker remote too and can alter the bass and treble independently , as well as speaker volume AT THE SPEAKER

 

[d3stroyah]

i looked for this answer SO LONG and the frustration of NOT having an answer got me buying one of the best ALC1150 implementations: Z170X GAMING G1. I then compared this to my LOVED X-Fi Titanium and THIS IS the truth about ALC1150: without the X-fi MB3 suite bundled with Gigabyte, the Realtek driver by itself SUCKS quite a lot, it's totally retarded, 5, 6 options to configure, that's it...and audio quality is pretty flat even equalizing it. I then installed the X-Fi MB3 (audio driver that gets over the realtek one) and things changed a bit, more settings, something better, and somewhat better audio quality.....but the comparison with the dedicated Titanium IS AWFUL and ALC1150 emerges and total bullmarketshit that people is selling as "excellent" on rightmark. This is one of the biggest SCAMS i've ever experienced. There are also switches on the motherboard to amplify even more this "result". Yes the audio quality MIGHT be mistaken for "good" for average people. But c'mon, this is not even near a cheap-ass dedicated. I'm sorry i've been kinda rude but truth needs to come out eventually and many people have the same question i had for YEARS. Now i finally have the answer. Don't even bother with integrated audio, go straight for dedicated, you'll understand.

Edit some days after of testing:
i tried to push out the best every solution had to offer and i want to refine my reply adding an ALC892 basic config against those two (so ALC892 vs ALC1150 X-Fi MB3 vs X-fi Titanium dedicated).

The 1150 is clearly the winner against the 892, more definition, more basses and the Creative MB3 panel makes everything shine against the basic realtek configuration. So if you really want integrated audio only consider partners that support this Creative panel (otherwise you'll have to pay for this extra if i got it right). Then i tried again 1150 vs Titanium and at the beginning it was a hard match but i quickly figured out that i was testing with too poorly defined music and i wasn't pushing enough to test. So i can surely say that "sometimes" they sound the same (Sennheiser 595 here) but....when they don't....it's a world of a difference. The 1150 completely struggles when it comes to bass definition (not quantity, it's the quality). It's like listening to a really loud garbage, with any clarity to it, and that's where the Titanium really shows itself making your mind blow.

I then gave the 1150 another chance and switched to 6x the motherboard switch to enable the highest amplification, what they call "amp up". Sadly things didn't change, i had the same garbage, only amplified six times.

Things don't get wrong only on low frequencies, also high ones are really affected when there's "a lot going on". Weird enough for rightmark this should be "Excellent" quality. Something must be fussed up here.

Don't get me wrong, most people won't even notice any difference from a dedicated to this 1150 implementation, maybe you, reading this right now, are one of these people. But since you asked yourself to look for my answer (which i will define THE correct answer to this question), do yourself a favour, buy a dedicated soundcard, even a used one will blow away every integrated solution.

My only regret now is spending 40 euros more aiming for one of the best integrated audio solutions...just out of curiosity.

 

[Skylinestar]

"best ALC1150 implementations: Z170X GAMING G1"
^ It's the driver that makes the magic?

 

[munchy22]

using the z5500 logitec on my pc with realtec is great but I also bought a xonar d2 card. Using this card and mostly dureing movies this card is better than my 1055 onboard realtec audio, and I'm only testing with my ears. The only issue I have is in order to achoice superior audio on the card I have to set sound as wasapi. I say problem cause it causes you tube videos to freeze after a fair few seconds. Works for everything else though. Point is the xonar d2 is better sound than the built in audio on my z77x ud5h board. ive tested it for hours on end in mad max fury road.

it took speakers at arouind 1200 pounds to beat the z5500 logitec in sound, honestly most cheap home theatre setups just don't cut it even against these older speakers. I'm shocked how good they are.