Soundcard astro a50

[Romas86]

So I just got a new motherboard that supports my 2 evga 970...but I noticed there is no digital optical output on this motherboard!!! I own Astro a50 and in the manual it says use optical output for best experience on the PC...my last motherboard had optical output and it was brilliant just supported crossfire not sli so had to change...so just asking what sound card for my build?
i5-4690
Msi z97 gaming 5 mb
2x evga sc acx2.0
Thermaltake armour revo case

 

[gondo]

The A50 takes optical input only, or 3.5mm analogue. Using the 3.5mm will bypass the DAC of the A50 and use your onboard sound which probably sux. It just adds wireless and a headphone amp to your onboard sound. Using optical takes advantage of the DAC and dolby headphone virtual surround sound of the A50.

I'd recommend a USB DAC that adds an optical out. Something like the M-Audio Super DAC for $150. You could use the optical out from that to feed your A50 headset. That USB DAC can also feed a regular pair of studio headphones. So any nice pair of AKG, Seinheisser, etc.... for under $200 will blow your A50 out of the water. And a regular pair of studio headphones should last forever as they have easily replaceable parts. They also do double duty for music, stereo system, cell phone, mp3 player, guitar, etc...

Now what your missing using the USB DAC is the virtual surround sound for games. The only way to get surround sound for games is to use a headset with 3 speakers in each side which is great for games, not so great for music. Or to use virtual surround sound which is not bad for games, and turned off great for music. A sound card comes with the software to do this and that's the difference between just a DAC and a soundcard. A soundcard is a cheap DAC + software. Your A50 headset is an external DAC + Dolby software. The M-Audio super DAC is DAC only. You need a program to give you virtual surround sound. Creatives offering and Dolby is not available as a stand alone program. Razer however offers a free Razer Surround as a stand alone product for free. Run that and use the Super DAC in games for virtual surround sound. However using the optical out with your A50 you don't need the software. But lets say your A50's break.....you just need a regular pair of headphones on the cheap and plug into the super DAC.

What the regular headphones don't have though is a microphone. That ok. Go get a YETI or Blue snowball and get better audio than any headset. And you don't have a microphone hanging off a pair of headphones in your face and in your mouth. Or if you have a webcam just use it's built in microphone and problem solved.

My recommendation is to get a USB DAC with Optical out like the M-Audio. Use your A50's for now. When they stop working get a regular pair of headphones and use the Super DAC. Or take the money of the super DAC and replace your motherboard. But if you get a new motherboard, the day your A50's break you're left with nothing. At least with the super dac you have the option of always buying a cheap motherboard in the future and will never have to worry about audio problems.

FYI most people are claiming that Dolby headphone isn't that great. They say Razer Surround is better. And it's free or just $20 to unlock all it's features.

 

[Romas86]

Ok I got it....I have around 550 Australia dollars in credit at a PC store they have a creative sound x7 what has optical out and has some high praises....I do have other nice headphones Bose for when I travel so they be great for when I'm using iTunes....if I purchased this DAC would I get surround or because it's a external dac...would I still need software to get the true gaming experience...the reason I say that dac is they only have 4 and that's the only 1 with optical out but also most exspensive 1 which I don't mind???

 

[gondo]

That DAC has a built in AMP for speakers. It's overpriced and not that great.

What you want is a USB DAC. From a music store not a computer store. Asus used to have one but not sure if they still do. Creative had a half decent USB soundcard without the amp. I'd be looking at music stores that sell guitars, instruments, PA, and pro audio.

Emotiva makes a beautiful one not expensive but you would have to have it shipped to Australia from US. The M-Audio is amazing and has the optical out......look for that one. Otherwise you could always just get an Asus Xonar internal sound card that has optical out.

 

[gondo]

Something like the Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card would work. Asus is what you want for a sound card now...they have drivers that actually work. There is also an onboard headphone amp for your BOSE for music. Just get a 3.5mm extension cable to go from the back of the computer case to your desk.

I know what it's like in Australia. Stuff is hard to find and expensive. The USB DAC may be hard to find so settle for the sound card. It'll sound amazing.

 

[Romas86]

Ok so for the m audio its 170 Aus dollars and I can get through Amazon so I'll get back to when I get it...thank so much for your time gondo

 

[gondo]

I think you'll be happy. Plug it into a USB 3.0 just for more stable voltage compared to USB 2.0. Get the drivers from M-Audio website.

What I like about it is how quiet it is. When there is no sound it's dead quiet. No hiss at all. You'll be using the optical for games but with your BOSE it'll be super quiet.

Just FYI the Razer software is free or $20 to unlock all the features. There is also a program called TB Isone. It's basically like an EQ but not really. It's a HRTF or head related transfer function. It'll process audio and make it sound like it's coming from a $20,000 set of speakers. It gets rid of the in your head sound that headphones do and makes it more like speakers. People rave about it for headphone and DAC use. Personally I tried it and didn't like it. I like the sound of straight up headphones.

To hear the full glory of the DAC you'll want to use a high quality lossless audio like FLAC. And now that you have the DAC future motherboards can be el cheapos. No need for high end onboard audio anymore or optical out. And if you don't overclock as long as it works I guess and has an ethernet port for your internet. It'll save you money in the long run.