Asus xonar dx vs realtek alc892

bob salter

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
2
0
18,510
Hello,
Just bought an asus sabretooth 990fx motherboard and was wondering wether the onboard realtek alc892 audio would be better than an asus xonar dx pcie card I have in my old system. Any opinions?

Thanks
Bob
 


Not even close! Use the card!!!


Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
116dB for front-out, 112dB for other channels dB
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
112 dB
Output THD+N at 1kHz:
0.00056% (-105dB) for Front-out
Input THD+N at 1kHz:
0.0004% (-108dB) for Line-in
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input):
<10Hz to 48KHz
Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage
2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)
Main Chipset Audio Processor:
ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit)
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources:
Cirrus-Logic CS4398*1 for Front-Out (120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit), Cirrus-Logic CS4362A*1 for other 6 channels (114dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs:
Cirrus-Logic CS5361* 1 (114dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)


P_500.jpg
 

PaperBoy

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2012
73
0
18,630
Creative is excellent choice as well but I hear great things of Asus Xonar cards and OP the best way I can say to you is that HD graphics are the same as HD sound as in a GTX 580 is to onbard graphics what an Asus Xonar is to onboard sound the difference is night and day you have to hear to believe is real and a tangible upgrade.
 

festerovic

Distinguished
Bob, that card is great. The only reason not to use it would be that your spare PCIe slot is inbetween two graphics cards in SLI/xifre, since its kinda long and would block airflow. The onboard, while being better than most, is still a$$ compared to the card.
 
While I agree that the specifications of the Xonar are head and shoulders above the onboard audio, I would wonder if there was an Audible difference when using standard PC type speakers. Unless you have an audiophile sound system (and Audiophile ears!) most people won't hear a noticeable difference between the onboard and discrete audio.
 
For the ASUS Xonar sound card you can use the PCIe 2.0 x16_4 slot which is the bottom (Dark Brown) PCIe slot. You'd run into the same issue with CF/SLI using the PCI slot (with a PCI Sound Card).

Otherwise ideally, find MOBO's with a top PCIe x1, above the GPU PCIe top slot, are best for sound cards, and in this case often the bottom PCIe slot for other PCIe cards (RAID, SSD, etc).

It depends upon the 'mix' of PCIe cards...
 

The differences are when u listen on good speakers quality music through the quality card vs on board audio, u hear instruments, that didn't sound that rich , therefore did not get separated from the other sound.

And u can play it much louder and it still plays great, when on board doesn't reach the frequencies like the quality card and it sounds distorted. And people sometimes think that is an error on the audio file.

The best differences u can tell on quality head phones.

When it feels like the musician plays just a few feet away from u.

When u play it loud and all of the sudden sound stops for a moment and u hear the quiet nothing, not some noise.

But people don't match all the components properly, so that is why it does not sound right, even on the expensive PC's : )
 

festerovic

Distinguished
the range of sound being produced is actually much better, and you can definitely hear it on sh!tty speakers too.

Does that mobo have onboard HDMI? If so, when you keep the sound digital, it sounds a lot better than if you use analog out, and then you may have a harder time saying which would sound better. The main reason for soundcards is to get better ANALOG out signals from the cardm using the better parts. If its all digital, a card doesn't contribute very much.
 

We are saying the same things: Good speakers, Quality card, Quality Amp, Quality headphones, then Yes the discrete card will shine! Most people get the quality discrete sound card, then attach $50.00 speaker system with a built-in amp. The cheap speakers don't have the frequency response to reproduce the quality sound. Also, most people don't know what to listen for!

If all you are going to use to produce the actual sound is a cheap pair of speakers, then a QUALITY sound card is a waste, IMHO.
 

Yes, I agree with that : ))
 

PaperBoy

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2012
73
0
18,630

Hey you two seem to know what you are talking about so do I mostly but I am still just learning and my question is does a pure digital optical out completely bypass the sound card circuitry cause to my ears Digtal optical out sounds more muddy and less clear and, separated and pronounced as compared to a decent or better sound card.
 

festerovic

Distinguished
If your digital optical output sounds muddy, its because the D/A convertors in the receiver are poopy, OR you are used to hearing EQd audio out through the analog connections. Digital out = studio reference, analog out = potential for sound shaping due to preamps, EQ and other effects.

The onboard sounds forte is actually reproducing DIGITAL sound, so when you compare sound card vs onboard, the noticeable difference in audio quality is less than when you compare their sounds through the analog outs.
 

Computer guy

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
26
0
18,530

So my Logitec Z 5500s must be crappy or not as good as they where pumped up to be cause they sound muddy on digital optical and seems form what you are saying a DAC could be a better option for some people cause you can swaps out the DACs on some sound card and receivers to customized the sound scape to owns personal liking. Is this true to your knowlage IYHO ?
 
Interesting the same folks from the Gaming Headsets review are posting here... ;)

Don must hate some of us.

BTW - I'm not trying to put down Creative, I just had so many driver issues that I'm hesitant to recommend them. I know many like 'em just fine.
 

festerovic

Distinguished


I'm not sure what your problem is but z 5500s sound pretty freaking fantastic from where I sat when I demoed them. They were running on optical from onboard sound of a h67 intel mobo. I didn't compare it to the analog inputs to see if they sound better or not. I was listening to a DVD. Have you tired both methods on your z5500 from the same sound device?

Some cards have replaceable parts that let you tune the output, but I have minimal experience with it, so i couldn't comment.
 

Computer guy

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
26
0
18,530

I agree Creatives software is clunky and a bit buggy but I do stand by the actual sound cards cause to me they sound good but the new one are stupid over priced and are they same.
 

Computer guy

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
26
0
18,530

I have used the analog and digital outputs on the Z5500s and to be honest the z5500s just sound muddy and loose, soft for the size of the sub and all plus the lack of any dedicated tweeters don't help at all with the muddiness of them they real are crap I gave them to a friend and have been using a set of old Creative Gigaworks.
 

Computer guy

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
26
0
18,530

Ya the digital sounded flatter than analog through the sound card and the sound card used was Creative x-fi extreme music.
 

Computer guy

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
26
0
18,530

Could have been the source file bit rate played through the digital flac.
 

vlbphoto

Commendable
Mar 14, 2016
3
0
1,510
For years I use the computer to edit music for me, customers, and friends.
When I bought my new computer with one Asrock fm2a75m pro4 + with ALC892.

With my pre-amp intput connected on the back, seriously I was thinking of buying a new sound card, until I have connected the output for headphones.
Given the set of amplification and speakers and cables have mounted even for spindif
I see no reason for you to spend money to buy a sound card dedicated to music and games, even for home audio editing.

The TI® NE5532 chip with ALC892 are almost unbeatable.

Check the electrical installation of the house, the power supply of your PC, and that is connecting the PC.
Don't need to spend a lot of money start by a dedicated amplifier, find one like this! http://www.whathifi.com/nad/d-3020/review
and take all the juice ALC892.


Do not forget to buy decent cables, to avoid jitter and packet errors.http: //www.audioquest.com/fiber-optics/cinnamon
And in the case of CDs to listen on your computer, try using https://www.dbpoweramp.com/cd-ripper.htm to extract the tracks, they will notice the difference because no longer have jitter errors, or lost bits of correction and others maladies.

If you use a lot of usb connectors use filters.