- Jan 11, 2014
- 129
- 0
- 10,760
The on-board audio outputs on my ASRock Z87 Extreme4 went bad last night, so I am in the market for a new sound card. I have come up with a work around that sounds better than the on-board sound that I was getting (the on-board wasn't all that impressive anyway), but it requires a good deal of extra hardware. I would prefer to have my audio solution inside of the chassis, so that is why I'm looking for sound cards.
My current work-around (In case it is of any use)
I'm leaving the computer via USB to an old M-Audio MobilePre. From there, I am going to an extra Ashley GQX Series 1502 EQ. I am then going from the EQ to my Sennheiser PC360's.
The EQ is a bit unnecessary, but I was getting quite a bit of distortion from the MobilePre if the volume was raised at all on the computer or the MobilePre itself. The EQ allows me to raise the volume without distortion and it gives me the ability to get the sound how I want it.
I'm just glad that I have a father that has been working in the sound industry for years and we just had this extra stuff lying around.
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I know getting a sound card would help relieve a lot of the need for this extra hardware. Looking around, the first decent solution without spending an arm and a leg would be the Asus Xonar DGX. Would something light like this compare to what I am currently doing? I just want something that doesn't sound like crap, preferably better than the "Purity Sound" that the Extreme4 offers. An EQ would be a plus as well as any sort of surround sound ability, although that wouldn't be a deal breaker. It would be used to drive the Sennheiser PC360's and would be doing quite a bit of gaming as well as listening to music.
Would it be wise to hold off until I can get a more expensive sound card? Would I be fine to just get the DGX?
Any help is much appreciated. Thanks guys.
My current work-around (In case it is of any use)
I'm leaving the computer via USB to an old M-Audio MobilePre. From there, I am going to an extra Ashley GQX Series 1502 EQ. I am then going from the EQ to my Sennheiser PC360's.
The EQ is a bit unnecessary, but I was getting quite a bit of distortion from the MobilePre if the volume was raised at all on the computer or the MobilePre itself. The EQ allows me to raise the volume without distortion and it gives me the ability to get the sound how I want it.
I'm just glad that I have a father that has been working in the sound industry for years and we just had this extra stuff lying around.
------------------------------
I know getting a sound card would help relieve a lot of the need for this extra hardware. Looking around, the first decent solution without spending an arm and a leg would be the Asus Xonar DGX. Would something light like this compare to what I am currently doing? I just want something that doesn't sound like crap, preferably better than the "Purity Sound" that the Extreme4 offers. An EQ would be a plus as well as any sort of surround sound ability, although that wouldn't be a deal breaker. It would be used to drive the Sennheiser PC360's and would be doing quite a bit of gaming as well as listening to music.
Would it be wise to hold off until I can get a more expensive sound card? Would I be fine to just get the DGX?
Any help is much appreciated. Thanks guys.
/maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
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