# Asus Xonar U7 or onboard SoundCore3D



## AlexAXL (Sep 22, 2015)

Hey Guys,

Couldn't find anywhere any info on the Asus U7 USB solution versus the onboard solution of Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7, the SoundCore3D. Is the U7 worth it ? Will there be a difference in sound quality or any other?
In the near future the sound will be played through the Edifier R2730DB.
Thank's!


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## OneMoar (Sep 25, 2015)

the onboard is likely better


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## hat (Sep 25, 2015)

Another vote for the onboard.


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## RejZoR (Sep 25, 2015)

Core3D is a pretty capable audio chip, especially for gaming. Considering I'm on Creative solutions for years and I quite vividly hate ASUS audio solutions, Core3D is a rather obvious selection.


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## AlexAXL (Sep 27, 2015)

Not just for gaming, for listening to music, I want as much audio quality as possible.
I will be getting soon the Edifier R2730DB, and I want it to be a good combination.


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## Slizzo (Oct 8, 2015)

If you're a true audiophile you won't want to use onboard sound. They've gotten pretty good at isolating it from noise, but it's still present.


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## RejZoR (Oct 9, 2015)

True audiophiles are fruitcakes anyway. It's their obsession that turned gaming audio into ridiculous bits this and kilohertz that and decibel ratings everywhere instead of focusing on 3D positional audio technologies and environmental effects. *cough* EAX *cough* Sure, I don't mind if circuitry is capable of outputing crystal clear sound, but to be honest, we've reached that level with introduction of onboard HD audio codecs, that are mainstream for years now.

I don't care if audio output has SNR of 300 billion dB at 512 kHz rate if input audio is all washed out plasticky sounding crap. Not a single, even the most advanced software audio engines in games produce believable reverberations and other effects when you compare them to much older games that are powered by EAX 4.0 HD or even 5.0 and actually run in HW mode.

That's why I get pissed almost every single time I see these discussions about audio.


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## Slizzo (Oct 9, 2015)

And yet, the OP is not talking about something just for gaming. He will be using it for music as well.

And don't like audiophiles? Well tough. I am not one, but I know there are people out there that take their sound seriously, and they are entitled to that.


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## OneMoar (Oct 9, 2015)

the ops board has better snr(120+db) then a lot of cheap sound cards
if he wants something truly better with a difference he can hear he needs to spend some serious coin on both speakers and a card
and most audiophiles that I have met are frankly misinformed idiots with a pension for blowing money on gear ... because they have convinced themselves it matters


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## RejZoR (Oct 9, 2015)

Slizzo said:


> And yet, the OP is not talking about something just for gaming. He will be using it for music as well.
> 
> And don't like audiophiles? Well tough. I am not one, but I know there are people out there that take their sound seriously, and they are entitled to that.



I've always been a bit hit on the high end soundcards and to be honest, I can't notice a difference between a well encoded MP3 and FLAC. Besides, as soon as you drop games into the mix, something from Creative, ASUS ROG or MSI with their audio enhancements falls into consideration (mostly motherboards with high end audio, not sure if ASUS soundcards come with any similar software). Because the Xonar that I had was rubbish with 3D game audio. It had really high specs even for today's standards, but it was just awful for 3D positional audio.

It's simply better to have a well rounded soundcard than one which is superb at music and absolutely rubbish at games. It's pointless.


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