2.1 Speaker Setup, Worth Getting a Soundcard?

Just wondering since I'm getting the same onboard sound with a 4.1 setup. What about it don't you like? Did you have an older setup with better sound?

My hunch is that a $60 card will not give you much of an improvement in a 2.1 setup, but wait for a better answer.

Nothing i dont like as such with my on board sound i was just wondering if i would get more clarity out of my sound system as sometimes the songs seem a bit muffled but that might be the quality of the mp3's

Not knowing your specific board, I'd say that a few of the on-board sound systems are very good, but some are barely worth the name. They may put out some sound, but that's about it. There can be few, if any, options for changing the sound to the way you want it to sound. If that's the case for your board, then even a $60 card might make a vast improvement.

Unless you play games alot or wear headphones, the on board should be fine. If you have the extra money you could buy a sound card, you may notice a difference.

the largest difference is simply going to be in the quality of speakers youre using, after that is going to come the sound card and source file that actually has the sound (whether good quality or not)... such as, if youre going through a digital output from your sound card, youre pretty much bypassing the sound card quality altogether, and going straight to the speakers (so to speak)... but, if youre using analog outputs, youre involving the quality of the sound card a lot more, which 'can' have a more profound positive impact if you have quality speakers attached too.

if you have horrible, or even mediocre pc speakers, a better sound card isnt going to make too much difference anyhow (possibly a slight amount, but not near as much as there could be otherwise).

i would look into connecting the speakers digitally if thats at all possible, for uncompressed stereo pcm output over a coaxial or optical cable (that way you really are getting the most out of your current speakers, as you wont have other electical interferences and hum and such getting in the way either), otherwise though, it does seem to be more of a waste to continue investing in your current 2.1 setup, as has been stated.

after all is said and done, it is the speakers youre listening to, not the sound card, or even the sound file. with that said, and even with what chookman said, make sure your setup is balanced, or youll be 'bottlenecking' something... it doesnt seem your current speakers would have much more room to stretch acoustically, and so higher quality sound files, and a higher quality sound card, most likely wont have the impact you might be expecting.

edit: however, if youre wanting an overall major acoustic improvement, thats also affordable... look into getting some headphones, and you should see a fairly major improvement thats also within your budget... and after getting some headphones, a sound card might make more sense then.

got a pair of Panasonic RP-HT355 Headphones a couple years ago... for only $20, they really cant be beat... and for only $20, theyd probably be expected to suck too, lol... thats just it with headphones though (compared to speakers), its that you can get a lot of quality, for not a whole lot of money... and just like with speakers, that doesnt hold universally true either, so youd want to read some reviews first beforehand, to be sure youre getting your moneys worth.