Sound card hierarchy chart?

[Novadreams]

Has anyone recently created a sound card hierarchy chart? I think it would be useful! I just got a Asus xonar ds 7.1 and I don't even know where it stands. Or if anyone could give me a quick thought on it that'd be great

 

[davcon]

Good card i grade it as a 7.1 entry level.

 

[gamerk316]

I actually plan to do a review of all major soundcards once I get around to finishing my audio guide. [One section to go!]. But as a general rule, at a given price:

ASUS > Auzentech = HT Omega > Creative

The ASUS Xonar DS is my lowest level recommendation of a entry level soundcard for non-headphone use. [For headphone users, I recommend the DG over the DS]. The slightly more expensive ASUS Xonar D1/DX is a better all around package, but costs almost twice as much. Even so, the DS is a very capable option as a cheap upgrade for users with a mid-end audio setup.

 

[Novadreams]

Awesome thanks. I have a 200w klipsch speaker system so I figure it middle of the road, and I'm just glad to hear the ds is a good entry level card, hopefully it will convince me that onboard sound is indeed crappier compared to a card

 

[scurry3]

I had a lot of problems with the Windows 7-64 drivers from Asus for a Xonar Essence XT. I upgraded my NVidia drivers and used the latest install app from the Asus website to no avail. Computer crashed, ran slow, lot of corruption. What other manufacturer makes a high quality card with RCA outputs? I can't afford to destabilize my system.

 

[gamerk316]

^^ Sounds more like a NVIDIA problem to me...

 

[Novadreams]

Yeah.. I would uninstall your NVIDIA drivers and reinstall and see what u get.

 

[davcon]

Yeah.. I would uninstall your NVIDIA drivers and reinstall and see what u get.

Lol!a guy that responds to his own post.

 

[gnomio]

Depends what you use the card for. All the cards are good for these days is if you got a set of headphones to make use of the headphone amps the card gets shipped with these days.

For music onboard good enough as there DACs fill the SNR without adding noise

 

[erly_Cuylers]

Has anyone recently created a sound card hierarchy chart? I think it would be useful! I just got a Asus xonar ds 7.1 and I don't even know where it stands. Or if anyone could give me a quick thought on it that'd be great

I think a chart like that would be great too. it sure could help break it down for the end-user. as long as it was comprehensive covering ALL price ranges and that it was detailed with fact, not opinion. an excellent idea!!

 

[sykozis]

I think a chart like that would be great too. it sure could help break it down for the end-user. as long as it was comprehensive covering ALL price ranges and that it was detailed with fact, not opinion. an excellent idea!!

The only issue with creating a sound card "heirarchy chart" is the fact that everyone has a preference. What may sound great to 1 person, may not to someone else. Features that are important to 1, such as EAX....may not be a factor to someone else. In any case, the "chart" will be almost exclusively based on the "reviewer's" preferences.