SB live or on board sound ?

[Niklas_13]

Hi all, I have a ep45-ud3p gigabyte MOBO, And was wondering if the on board sound on that would be better then my old SB live card. Some have said that the sound chip in the mobo would be better then a add on card less you spend about 100 bucks on one. the SB live is about 5 years old. Thanks

 

[belial2k]

the current crop of HD audio onboard the MBs is more than the average user needs. You really have to step up to studio grade cards to get better audio. The only other reason to add a sound card would be if one had a special feature you needed that was not available on your mb.

 

[Niklas_13]

Sounds good i just need it to play cds on my PC, i have some EV speekers but there old. that might be the problem blowout going to buy some THX Klipchs 2.1 but i didnt see a option for 2.1 on the onboard sound setup program just stero or 5.1 or 7.1 maybe use the 5.1 and turn off the back set ? Thanks

 

[AKM880]

The onboard sound is pretty good, but as the others have said if you are connecting it to lets say a receiver of some sort that will process the sound to better quality. My Diamond XS 7.1 C Sound card can only output 2.1C PCM Digital SPDIF Coaxial but the Yamaha receiver can make it play through all my speakers.

 

[belial2k]

Sounds good i just need it to play cds on my PC, i have some EV speekers but there old. that might be the problem blowout going to buy some THX Klipchs 2.1 but i didnt see a option for 2.1 on the onboard sound setup program just stero or 5.1 or 7.1 maybe use the 5.1 and turn off the back set ? Thanks

I think if you are looking at the Klipsh all they need is a stereo output from the mini pins. They process the subwoofer through an internal crossover. I use the onboard audio to output to my $10,000+ audio system, and it holds its own. There are a few options if you do this...although I recommend if you use the minipins you shop around for high quality ones...otherwise the coax or optical will work great if your preamp/receiver can handle it, and you can let it process the surround sound instead of going directly into the descreet 7.1 inputs.

 

[Niklas_13]

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/promedia-2-1.aspx < link for the ones i'am thinking about, I guess they are made for PCs so they have the minis jack. I'am not hooking up a receiver or amp just the speekers to my onboard output jack.

Question, In realtek HD audio manager i see a option to set the speekers to
1. stereo
2. quad
3. 5.1
4. 7.1

I dont see a option for 2.1 setup should i use the 5.1 option and turn off the rear speekers in the setup? Or use the stereo option ? not sure if the bass speeker would work

Thanks

 

[belial2k]

you want to choose stereo , front speakers....the Klipsh will do the rest with its crossover.

 

[Niklas_13]

Thank You for all the help!

 

[dokk2]

Yeah !! I've got one of those SB live's which is also 5 or more years old,how good any sound is, I would think, depend on two things 1,your ears and 2,your speakers,it's all subjective..