EVGA Nu Audio Card $249.71 + $14.21 Delivery (Free with Prime) @ Amazon US via AU

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B3 on 18/11/2020 - 19:21 amazon.com.au (475 clicks)
Last edited 18/11/2020 - 23:15 by 1 other user

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A fancy PCIe sound card for those who are interested in such things, and I fully accept that not everyone is but this does get a fair number of extremely enthusiastic reviews so I've ordered one. Pricing seems very volatile so I wouldn't wait too long and it has only reached this price once before.

'As far as I'm concerned, in terms of sound output quality, the EVGA NU Audio is a true hi-fi product. Many audiophiles won't be all too eager to accept that given its PCIe-card form factor, but that doesn't change the fact that it performs better than many established and well-liked external DAC/amps.'

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/evga-nu-audio-sound-card/…

Please note this is not in stock for a week and that you could be looking at a month from now for delivery if you choose the standard option.

Cheapest local price is $399 + delivery.

Price History at CamelCamelCamel.

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• 

  Ryxxi on 18/11/2020 - 19:23

  +1

  Sund card in 2020… i'd recommend an external dac. The Aune ones are amazing and dont have to worry about crappy drivers.

  • 

    xrailgun on 18/11/2020 - 21:04

    fiio k3 for me, balanced output on a budget.

  • 

    Osprey87 on 19/11/2020 - 07:45

    +1

    Should be noted that a lot of popular DACs will be out of stock for a while soon. AKM had a factory fire that has wiped out all production for some of their chips for the foreseeable future.

    https://www.stereo.net.au/news/stock-disruptions-expected-as…

    Effects a lot of companies in the audio industry. They can obviously switch suppliers but then it would technically be a new product and maybe not as good.

  • 

    SaddenAscentAspirin on 19/11/2020 - 09:46

    You still need drivers for a usb dac.

    • 

      Osprey87 on 19/11/2020 - 11:05

      Strictly speaking yes. But I think what he means is that it is plug and play with Windows. Windows 10 will automatically find and install drivers for a lot of USB DACs so there's no additional effort on the user side. Simply plug it in and off you go. Linux and Mac tend to also be plug and play.

• 

  Merlict on 18/11/2020 - 19:24

  +1

  Only good for listening to nu metal

• 

  BillyCool on 18/11/2020 - 19:46

  +1

  Yes, it has RGB :)

• 

  pandabillysi on 18/11/2020 - 21:00

  +1

  how many extra frame rates do i get?

  • 

    turkz1 on 18/11/2020 - 21:03

    Guaranteed to give you an additional 10fps and drop cpu and gpu temps by 5c*

    *Terms and conditions apply

    • 

      Click_It on 18/11/2020 - 22:38

      +5

      I bought 4 for quad audio SLI

• 

  krisspy on 18/11/2020 - 22:54

  +1

  The last place you want a sensitive piece of electronic to be in… A vibrating electronically noisy box.

  • 

    virtual81 on 19/11/2020 - 00:02

    This is a fact that cannot be avoided, no matter how much people would like to argue it.
    Physics is not always forgiving.

    It might be good, and i encourage any engineer to try their best, but nothing beats having the analogue stages of any audio device electrically and mechanically isolated from a PC.
    PC's are a rotten environment.

    That said i have nothing against such a thing existing and sometime this isolation whilst may be avoidable, might not be practically avoidable.

    That said, $250 is a lot of money for audio.
    Unless it has some brilliant silicone and hardware and offers some excellent features the value of this is arguable.

• 

  shellshocked on 18/11/2020 - 23:45

  Based on a proper audiophile review, it's a pretty average product. Also some people noticed that the off the shelf unit may have different components to the review unit.

  https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r…

• 

  ry34 on 19/11/2020 - 01:14

  how does this compare to say a Soundblaster X AE-5?

  • 

    B3 on 19/11/2020 - 05:08

    From the review above that is more enthusiastic than advertised 'That is a big step above Sound Blaster products'.

• 

  DarthAntz on 19/11/2020 - 11:30

  +1

  What speakers are you outputting this soundcard to?

  • 

    B3 on 19/11/2020 - 12:35

    Personally I have these.

    https://www.skycomp.com.au/edifier-airpulse-a100-hi-res-acti…

    • 

      DarthAntz on 19/11/2020 - 13:11

      Absolutely stunning pair of speakers. And what do you get the most benefit from? Optical connection?

      I have a 2.1 soundbar. I'm about to update my motherboard, so I'll have a new level of sound quality from that for my speakers.

      I have looked into buying a DAC or soundcard, but I dont think it'll be worth it or an improvement. I will experiment with plugging the subwoofer directly into the motherboard output to see if that makes any difference over the soundbar. I'll wait until i have a bigger room.

    • 

      krisspy on 19/11/2020 - 22:00

      But they're active? I sure hope you're not using digital inputs on your speaker lol otherwise you just wasted your money.

  • 

    Smol Cat on 19/11/2020 - 16:22

    Looking at this card I had no idea such a thing even existed. I clearly have no idea about audio equipment, but could you try to ELI5 why someone would need such a card for a PC? Professional musician/sound mixers to replicate accurate frequency outputs? Surely even a keen audiophile wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between this and a decent quality output on a built in on a motherboard?

    • 

      DarthAntz on 19/11/2020 - 17:56

      I dont think there would be much difference between a $100 and $250 sound card. Most people do say they can hear the difference after using a soundcard over onboard. I think the primary purpose is for the software, which is where a lot of complaints come from for creative, and most consumers are never satisfied with the confusing software and compatibility.

      End of the day its more tweaking, and your ears get used to the sound quite quickly. The updated sound resolution becomes normal very quickly

      However, switching between using headphones and speakers, and using various outputs can get you more value out of it. Each time you listen to music on your car stereo or phone, can make you notice the difference more easily.

      I still dont know why we cannot output to 2 bluetooth devices (would be very handy, and yes not a soundcard's job), or run a sound output through 2 different sets of speakers and 2 different outputs simultaneously (such as outputting to a TV to use as a centre speaker on line-out, and then outputting to a soundbar for left and right through optical.

      To answer your question, buy it if you have the money and the expensive speakers and headphones to output it too, and if music and sound is a big reason why you use a computer. There are plenty of people out there that throw money at these pci cards, so they keep making them, and increasing the numbers on the specs. Their friends and visitors would notice it more than they will.

    • 

      krisspy on 19/11/2020 - 22:11

      Two things.
      Dac - the thing that converts 0s and 1s from your music file to an analog signal that makes your speakers or headphones move. More expensive ones up sample to a higher degree to "smoothen" the signal per se. Higher bit rate the better. Better designs I troduce less crosstalk, distortion etc. Odac by NwAvGuy is regarded one of the most neutral dacs in the market, and it costs about $100 give or take.

      Amp stage - motherboards usually don't put out much power to headphones, hence low volume and distortion or clipping. More power the better. Some of the top headphones have high impedemce to reduce the noise floor, you need lots of power or big voltage swing to make these sound good and loud without distortion.

      Most people won't be able to tell the difference between cheap and expensive gear if you had them on the same speakers at the same volume. Now when people compare obviously they won't be at the same volume nor are they able to switch fast enough before you start making subjective opinions. Hence the world of audiophiles, if it's more expensive then it's better. If your amp/dac isn't as expensive as your speakers/headphones then they're "not doing them justice".