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do i upgrade my soundcard?

  • 02-01-2014 12:09am
    #1
    johnboy8
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 271 ✭✭


    i have a asus tower computer(about a year old)and i hook an 3.5 to two rca cable to an amp and then to speakers.is there any need or reason to upgrade my soundcard.(dont know what exact asus computer,but the tower on its own was about 500 euro)

    i dont game or watch many movies on the computer,its mainly music.i do have a nice amp and speakers and am wondering if a better sound card would be of any use.also someone said to me you could get a soundcard with a digital out and use the da converter in the amp instead of the one in the computer.cheers.


Comments

  • #2
    Morf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,822 ✭✭✭Morf


    johnboy8 wrote: »
    i have a asus tower computer(about a year old)and i hook an 3.5 to two rca cable to an amp and then to speakers.is there any need or reason to upgrade my soundcard.(dont know what exact asus computer,but the tower on its own was about 500 euro)

    i dont game or watch many movies on the computer,its mainly music.i do have a nice amp and speakers and am wondering if a better sound card would be of any use.also someone said to me you could get a soundcard with a digital out and use the da converter in the amp instead of the one in the computer.cheers.

    Something along the lines of a DAC (digital audio converter) might be more suitable.

    I've only really seen them aimed more at headphones with some having a headphone amp combined but I imagine there are ones for speaker set-ups.


  • #3
    johnboy8
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 271 ✭✭johnboy8


    thanks for the reply.my amp has a digital input with a d/a converter.i am just wondering about the soundcards themselves.i dont really know much about them.cheers.


  • #4
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,092 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    If you have a really good set of speakers then in theory it may help since the RCA jacks carry the sound as analog, which the receiver most likely has to reconvert to digital and then back to analog again for the speakers. So you would be cutting out one conversion using optical. Also optical connections are free from ground loops/ EMI etc as the sender and receiver are electrically isolated.

    Whether any of this would manifest in any actual perceivable listening benefits I really couldn't say. I am not an audiophile so I definitely wouldn't notice :).

    If you were to get something I'd be thinking that the cheapest one with digital out would probably serve you just as well as a muchmore expensive card.


  • #5
    johnboy8
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 271 ✭✭johnboy8


    thanks for that.it was very helpful.cheers.


  • #6
    eoin91
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 48 ✭eoin91


    Like marco_polo said, if your reciever/amp has a digital in then use this. It's DAC will most likely be better then the one present on your motherboard, negating the reason to buy a sound card.

    Check your motherboard has a digital out, as most motherboards in the last few years have shipped with digital optical out but been a pre built system this may not be the case. If you do need to buy an add on card to get digital out, then again as marco_polo said get the cheapest one. The add on card will not be doing any processing, just passing the digital audio to your new digital out so as long as it passes the digital signal, there should be no reason to go expensive with it.


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