40% off cheapest I can find
The Sound Blaster X7 is the ultimate upgrade for pro-gamers and audio enthusiasts. This feature-packed ultra High Resolution Audio (HRA) device acts as an external USB DAC and a powerful audio amplifier with low-latency Bluetooth® connectivity and Dolby Digital decoder.
$5 credit for the referrer.
Another Education Question - Why/how are sound cards still a thing? I get it back in the day when Soundblaster the rage. But with the onboard sound these days is $400 a viable upgrade for a computer - stacked against other opportunities? There must be something I am missing…..
External sound cards provide better isolation from interference on the motherboard. They provide more features and functions. Also if you got high end headphones that need an amplifier to get the full sound of the headphones then your motherboard one most likely can't provide that.
Also even more important IMO for microphone being powered over audio jack. As soon as I plugged my Sennheiser headset into my basic DAC/AMP all my friends on Discord were stunned with the quality, they thought I got a new microphone.
Big agreement! I spent years trying things to deal with motherboard and graphics card interference on my audio. At the end of the day, the things that worked best were/are dedicated sound cards and audio interfaces (plus a ground loop breaker for one amp).I think I've ended up spending more an audio isolation over the last four years than I did on my last PC upgrade!
Wish I knew about ground loop isolators years ago, just got one works wonders.
@blkcar: I knew about them years ago, tried a couple of cheap ones (which worked about as well as you'd expect). Finally bit the bullet and went with a Radial last year. Haven't looked back! Damned expensive, but I also stopped thinking about hums and buzzes - everything just works like it should!
One of those times where the OzBargain spirit just isn't the right answer (I mean I still waited for a good sale, but those prices - OUCH!).
Replace a broken onboard sound card, extra power to drive high impedance equipment, need extra output or inputs if the existing onboard has crap support, etc.
Very niche need but what else are you going to do if you need it replace a whole motherboard?
EDIT: I'm actually thinking of replacing my motherboard since my onboard audio has pretty much carked it.
Yeah I agree with the responses above. I've got an Asus Xonar PCI-e soundcard and still going strong since 2012. It was a gateway for me to get into high impedance headphones since it has an amplifier to support 600ohm. I also use studio monitors on my set up and having the aux red white connections on the back is super handy. Friends of mine that use studio monitors on their rigs using MB sound card get this low hiss on the speaker when not in use. All in all, not necessary for most but its the cherry on the cake for some
Still have a xonar as well. In it's 3rd PC by now.
Adding to what others have said an external sound card or DAC&Amp can be a better sounding output. People buy some integrated amplifiers (or AVRs or other sound devices) over others because they like the perceived increased audio quality. Same goes with external sound outputs for computers. Some people find the external outputs sound better than their motherboard outputs.
I used a sound blaster Z in my last build. Wasn't blown away by it or anything but I used it for 4 years.
A few weeks ago I built a new rig with X570 Tomahawk. The on board sound is terrible and not loud enough. You don't miss what you have until you've gotten used to it for years and then you switch. Yes, I even miss the crystallizer which I didn't notice the difference of until after 4 years I listened to the same sounds without crystallizer and the sound is not as crisp.
So I ordered an external sound blaster, though I'm not happy with it.
Do I think you should spend $400 on a sound card though? Hell no.
Have you considered getting a USB DAC? Even like a simple Topping D10? Do you have an amp? You'd need an amp with a USB DAC for either headphones or speakers if you don't have an amp. There are headphone DAC/Amp combos.
i have a couple of portable DAC/amps but wanted something that stays plugged in so I got the SB X3. It is an external sound card (which is a DAC) and supports up to 600ohm headphones.
I thought on board would suffice but it's no good, even through speakers.
I bought topping D10 for music, it can do high resolution audio format.
I think something like the D10 and an amplifier is a pretty good choice for improving audio out of computer.
I also bought this UGREEN USB sound adapter for laptop and already better than the onboard.
Chipset: ALC4042
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B06XP5R449/ref=ppx_yo_d…
buy proper DAC you can get better dac for that price
external sound solutions for pc are the best - vast number of options now.
this is good but still expensive and old now.
In 2021, this is overpriced
Get the fiio btr5
Cheaper, amazing dual dac/amp that also can go wireless via Bluetooth. Insane little device for half this price.
a bluetooth dac? Does it connect to the output device via BT, or to BT headphones?
Yup. Connects to phone or pc via Bluetooth and converts high end headphones into wireless.
eh, no thanks.
The very best BT codec still doesn't beat copper wire. Expensive headphones are wasted on BT. It's like buying a McLaren but only being allowed to drive it in school zones.
@lostn: You can still use it as a usb dac. It’s what I do. Yes there is a quality difference between wired and Bluetooth, but I find it negligible. Ymmv
https://www.whathifi.com/au/creative/sound-blaster-x7/review
Bad review for such an old model.