Looking for Sound Card Suggestions!

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Zilong

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Jan 29, 2013
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Hey guys.
I dont know if this relevant but my motherboard is ASUS P9X79

I have just bought Headset Astro a50 and I would like a recommendation for both sound cards and dac/amp to get the best out of my new headset.

A couple of suggestions that are not too expensive should be fine!

I have tried reading elsewhere but I just ended up more confused.

Thank you for your time!~
 
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thor220

thor220

Splendid
Dec 15, 2009
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Unfortunately you just blew allot of money on headsets targeted at console gamers. The Astro a50 have their own built in sound card and ignore your PCs as they hook up through USB. Headsets that use your PC's audio device will go through audio ports like 3.5mm.

The advertised "7.1 surround sound" is just an effect applied by the astro's built in sound card. It does not actually do real surround sound. This is ironically an effect that can be done on even the cheapest of motherboard audio.

At the a50's price range there are far better sounding headphones.

EDIT **

Just saw this also has an optical connection. This will work with a sound card / DAC. Only high end DACs have optical and a limited number of sound cards. It's also kinda of a waste because this will bypass many of the selling points of the headset.
 
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chris987

chris987

Judicious
Jun 10, 2013
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since Realtek® ALC892 isnt up to your expectations i suggest an ASUS XONAR DX

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/chHMnQ/by_merchant/
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($71.59 @ OutletPC)
Total: $71.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-22 03:25 EST-0500

review <<here>>

The Xonar DX has a fantastic core feature set – its sound quality is largely indistinguishable compared to the Xonar D2X and it's significantly better than on-board audio.
Click to expand...

as the sound card actually requires (belive it or not) supplementary power and since most psu now doesnt include 4pin floppy power cables , you may need to get such adapter.

4-Pin Molex to Floppy Drive 4-Pin Power

this may be already a 7 years old sound card however it is really high quality and still better than any current onboard audio

https://www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_DX/HelpDesk_Download/

 
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thor220

thor220

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Dec 15, 2009
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It won't work with the DX. The Astro a50 only has a USB and Optical out. USB won't work with any other sound solution, so it must have optical.
 
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chris987

chris987

Judicious
Jun 10, 2013
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yeah correct, however xonar DX has High-bandwidth TOS-Link optical transmitter (shared with Line-In/Mic-In jack) supports 192KHz/24bit , it even includes 1 x S/PDIF optical adaptor . why wouldnt work!?


extras.jpg
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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Apr 12, 2015
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So what exactly is the problem there? The Astro A50 is a headset. It receives audio signals. The S/PDIF is an optical out, which transmits audio signals in the form of light, which will be received by the A50.

The USB isn't used for audio in, it is only used for power and voice signals from the mic.
 
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thor220

thor220

Splendid
Dec 15, 2009
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The only problem here is because it's a shared port, users are reporting many issues to get the optical to even work. In addition, ASUS hasn't even updated their drives since 2011. They have a windows 10 and windows 8 driver but it's mostly a jerry-rigged mess that's pretty much the same. I still remember when I had an ASUS card. I got rid of it after I had the ear-bleeding screech glitch that ASUS seems to deny even exists.
 
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