# Sound cards... good ones?



## larry613 (May 27, 2014)

I mostly just use onboard sound, so my advice here is limited.. 

In the past, I've exclusively used Sound Blaster cards. The newer Soundblaster ZXR looks pretty good.


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## JessupBrady (Jul 2, 2014)

for audio editing cards they can be a bit pricey. But, try Apogee Duet 2 or RME babyface


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## jtjordan07 (Jul 4, 2014)

Pretty sure I've seen those features on-board before, but Creative and Asus both make good soundcards. Just find which one fits your needs / budget the best and check online reviews.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

larry613 said:


> I mostly just use onboard sound, so my advice here is limited..
> 
> In the past, I've exclusively used Sound Blaster cards. The newer Soundblaster ZXR looks pretty good.


After a bunch of looking around, I went back to soundblaster. Settled on the ZXR.

It's actually pretty good. It'll do the job anyway. I don't like the daughter card it comes with though. It doesn't actually plug into the mobo but rather has kind of an extension cord off the main card. The problem is that it's built to fit into a card slot anyway so it takes up a slot when it doesn't really need to. When I get some time I'll extend the wires and find a better place for it.


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## cj133 (May 16, 2011)

Haven't thought about this in quite a while. My X-FI Platinum went on the shelf in around 2009 when I installed a motherboard with decent onboard sound.

I know years ago there were tons to choose from but I'm betting the pickings are slim these days with the quality of onboard stuff.

How is the software the ZXR came with? I recall the Audigy I had as well as the X-FI having pretty cheesy software compared to previous Creative products. When I bought my AWE-32 in 1994 it seemed like an amazing product with really good software.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

cj133 said:


> How is the software the ZXR came with? I recall the Audigy I had as well as the X-FI having pretty cheesy software compared to previous Creative products. When I bought my AWE-32 in 1994 it seemed like an amazing product with really good software.


Better than previous versions.

I'm impressed with this card. Clearly Creative is trying to up its reputation and cater to the higher end users. The card comes with a traditional rca jack set for the left and right to be better compatible to serve other equipment. The headphone jack is 600 ohms to better match the pro end headphones and you don't have to unplug them anymore either. There is a simple switch which switches you back and forth between speakers and headphones.

They have made drastic changes to the software. Much simpler and they have gotten rid of most of the cheese. Some good testing tracks to balance out the speakers. Sounds pretty good too. Overall I'm pretty happy


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## cj133 (May 16, 2011)

I used to use my Grado SR325s with my X-FI's 5 1/4" bay thing. I was always amazed at how strong it's headphone amp was. I don't think I had to unplug them either, but I can't remember for sure. I do know it had it's own volume knob right next to the 1/4" jack.


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## Mucatinter (Aug 6, 2014)

I try to go with Creative if I do have a soundcard. Honestly though, the way that soundcards have evolved in the last few years, you really do not need them for anything but professional music. Even if you are a hardcore gamer you are not really going to notice the difference.


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## r0ckstarr (Jan 8, 2013)

Mucatinter said:


> I try to go with Creative if I do have a soundcard. Honestly though, the way that soundcards have evolved in the last few years, you really do not need them for anything but professional music. Even if you are a hardcore gamer you are not really going to notice the difference.


You're limited by your speakers. If you get a good sound card, but keep the cheap 2.1 speakers you won't notice much of a difference. Upgrade the speakers with the card, and you'll see noticeable improvements in sound quality.


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## PD_Lape (Nov 19, 2014)

On-board sound cards from mid to high end MOBOs are pretty good I think. But if you need more than that try checking out ASUS sound cards. I own one for 2 years now I have never been more satisfied. I highly recommend ASUS Xonar Phoebus if it fits in your budget.


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