Does sound card impove sound significantly?

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nikalagio

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Jun 5, 2013
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Hello. I would like to ask how much difference a sound card makes compared to a on-board sound card. For example i have corsair sp2500 speakers and they work well with the on-board sound card but i have neither the money or someone to lend me a stand alone sound card so i could try and see if there is any difference. So i would like your opinion: does a stand alone sound card worth the money? And will a mid-range sound card improve sound quality or will i have to buy something high-end like asus xonar stx? I think these speakers are fairly good and i would like to get the best out of them. Your opinion will be appreciated.

Thanks a lot for your time.
 
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JRAtk94

JRAtk94

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May 26, 2013
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What motherboard do you have? Some motherboards have superb onboard audio, and some have comparably poor audio.

An ASUS Xonar will no doubt sound better in 9/10 instances (although maybe not noticably, unless you're an audiophile), but you must ask yourself if it is really worth forking out for - it's damn expensive.
 
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gopher1369

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Jan 20, 2012
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Audio is entirely subjective. I cannot listen to MP3s at 128kbps, to me it sounds awful. I have friends who can't tell the difference between 128 and 320kbps.

I'm a DJ (not full time, sadly) and I use a Native Instruments Audio DJ 2 sound card and the difference between this and onboard sound is like night and day. To me. I'm sure other people can't tell / don't care.
 
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JRAtk94

JRAtk94

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May 26, 2013
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I also do not like MP3 at 128kbps. In fact, I use FLAC instead, as it's lossless, and sounds much better than even 320kbps MP3.

Like gopher said, some people will notice the difference straight away - some will be none the wiser. You need to decide which kind of person you are. If you are't likely to notice, there's no point in buying a Xonar.
 
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nikalagio

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Jun 5, 2013
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I have asus p8z68-v lx with that crappy on-board sound card... I was thinking to solve both buy getting asus maximus vi hero but will get me a fair time to gather so much money plus i don't think that upgrading to haswell worth. I am thinking about waiting for next generation, since i have a good graphics card and no need for more cpu power. But since i gave almost 300 euros (because i am from greece and everything is more expensive here) i want to get everything i can from my speakers.
 
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nikalagio

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Plus i would love to use the rca connection of the speakers. But the only sound cards with rca output are over 150euros... That's why i thinking so much about it. Because i think having speakers with rca connection and using the standard 3.5mm jack is just a shame...

Thanks a lot for your suggestion. But i am a little afraid of second hand materials of any kind... I have seen many having trouble with them.
 
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