Hi,
so, my on-baord speaker port has broken down (only one channel can be heard; wiggling the jack around helps but only so long as it's being pushed in by hand). I suppose this is not that unusual -- 3.5mm jack ports have always been finicky, especially on cheaper HW.
Now, I'm hardly an audiophile. I run Genius SP-HF 1800A (2+0 ch. stereo, 3-band, 2x25W RMS) -- a decent set of value speakers, but hardly a hi-fi rig. I have an AsRock Z68 Extreme7 motherboard and have been quite happy with using the on-board Realtek ALC892 sound chip. I use the sound mainly for movies and some mild gaming. I use a 3.5mm jack to plug the speakers into the motherboard; this has recently broken down, as described above. Wear and tear, I guess. I do plug it in and out sometimes. The motherboard is out of warranty by now.
I would not consider buying a sound card if the jack were functioning; however, now it seems I don't have much choice (I realize that simple parts such as audio ports can in theory be repaired or replaced, but I don't have the skill or the understanding of the technology to do so).
So, I'm looking for a fairly cheap (say, up to $40) sound card, basically to replace the broken port. I don't mind if I can't get improved sound for that money (or if the Realtek "maxes out" the quality of my speakers, i.e. is being held back by them, anyway). But I wouldn't want to actually lose sound quality, so I guess I'm looking for a standalone sound card under $40 that can match or exceed a Realtek ALC892 in terms of apparent sound quality (I don't care about fancy features if I won't be able to hear the difference), given the speakers are Genius SP-HF 1800A. What would you recommend (assuming that these conditions can actually be met)?
Just for the record, I don't want to upgrade my speakers right now and I'm not planning to do so in the foreseeable future. Any significant upgrade would require funds I don't really have free to sink into it, considering that, as I said, I'm quite content with the current rig's performance.
Alternatively, if you know of a simple way to repair the audio port, that would work for me too.
Thanks
so, my on-baord speaker port has broken down (only one channel can be heard; wiggling the jack around helps but only so long as it's being pushed in by hand). I suppose this is not that unusual -- 3.5mm jack ports have always been finicky, especially on cheaper HW.
Now, I'm hardly an audiophile. I run Genius SP-HF 1800A (2+0 ch. stereo, 3-band, 2x25W RMS) -- a decent set of value speakers, but hardly a hi-fi rig. I have an AsRock Z68 Extreme7 motherboard and have been quite happy with using the on-board Realtek ALC892 sound chip. I use the sound mainly for movies and some mild gaming. I use a 3.5mm jack to plug the speakers into the motherboard; this has recently broken down, as described above. Wear and tear, I guess. I do plug it in and out sometimes. The motherboard is out of warranty by now.
I would not consider buying a sound card if the jack were functioning; however, now it seems I don't have much choice (I realize that simple parts such as audio ports can in theory be repaired or replaced, but I don't have the skill or the understanding of the technology to do so).
So, I'm looking for a fairly cheap (say, up to $40) sound card, basically to replace the broken port. I don't mind if I can't get improved sound for that money (or if the Realtek "maxes out" the quality of my speakers, i.e. is being held back by them, anyway). But I wouldn't want to actually lose sound quality, so I guess I'm looking for a standalone sound card under $40 that can match or exceed a Realtek ALC892 in terms of apparent sound quality (I don't care about fancy features if I won't be able to hear the difference), given the speakers are Genius SP-HF 1800A. What would you recommend (assuming that these conditions can actually be met)?
Just for the record, I don't want to upgrade my speakers right now and I'm not planning to do so in the foreseeable future. Any significant upgrade would require funds I don't really have free to sink into it, considering that, as I said, I'm quite content with the current rig's performance.
Alternatively, if you know of a simple way to repair the audio port, that would work for me too.
Thanks
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