# Audio Card for Gaming and Music



## Carlos Panades (Jul 1, 2017)

Hi all!
I own an Asus Motherboard Maximus Hero IX that has a SupremeFX audio chip and Sonic Studio software.
I have a Siberia V2 and Sennheiser HD 202 headphones and I use to play Racing games and listen to Rock and Heavy Metal and my previous motherboard has a normal Realtek HD audio chip (I am almost sure Supreme FX is Realtek regular drivers too lol).

I am not satisfied with the sound quality of the Asus motherboard. My previous mobo was an EVGA X58 Micro Sli and I am pretty sure all games and music sounded better.

I am considering to buy a Superlux Hd 668B headphone and an audio card to benefit from them to get a better audio experience, specially in racing games and to listen music.

I noticed that the sound I have now with my mobo is muffed and has not much output volume. I need to set in Sonic Studio a parameter to "Extreme" to be able to have a decent volume. In the older computer the sound was better, more detailed and louder... Seems like the Sonic Studio software distorts the sounds too much via software and I am not liking it. Even when I listen to music, the songs sound weird sometimes, as it has too much bass and are poor in detail. Everything seems to be overwelmed with "virtual and fake" effects.

I used the audio drivers from the cd that came with the mobo and let the Asus software update drivers automatically. Am I doing something wrong? Other people that own this series of mobo are getting better results perhaps?... 

What you guys recommend me to do? 
Buy an offboard audio card will improve the quality considerably or not much of a difference compared to onboad audio?
I am thinking to buy that headphone because I have been watching some great reviews and it is a very cheap product. I am in a budget so best bang for buck is a consideration.

Thanks in advance for helping.

Carlos.


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## GoldenX (Jul 1, 2017)

I have an old PCI Sound Blaster Live 24bit lying around, it's almost 15 years old, still sounds a lot better than today integrated sound cards.
Any card should improve sound quality, especially in the analog outputs, they only problem is driver support. To give you an idea, Realtek ones are considered good.


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## AlienIsGOD (Jul 1, 2017)

nothing but praise for my asus xonar DSX, needs UNi modded drivers for best usage tho


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## Carlos Panades (Jul 1, 2017)

GoldenX said:


> I have an old PCI Sound Blaster Live 24bit lying around, it's almost 15 years old, still sounds a lot better than today integrated sound cards.
> Any card should improve sound quality, especially in the analog outputs, they only problem is driver support. To give you an idea, Realtek ones are considered good.


Analog output you mean the regular green, pink and blue jacks?



AlienIsGOD said:


> nothing but praise for my asus xonar DSX, needs UNi modded drivers for best usage tho


What are Uni modded drivers? What does it change?


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## AlienIsGOD (Jul 1, 2017)

http://maxedtech.com/uni-xonar-features/


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## evernessince (Jul 1, 2017)

No point in spending money on a sound card for any of those headphones.  The Superlux are excellent budget cans but will only be a small bump over what you got with or without a new sound card.

You won't really benefit with a sound card unless you have something like a Sen 598 or better.


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## Carlos Panades (Jul 1, 2017)

evernessince said:


> No point in spending money on a sound card for any of those headphones.  The Superlux are excellent budget cans but will only be a small bump over what you got with or without a new sound card.
> 
> You won't really benefit with a sound card unless you have something like a Sen 598 or better.


Oh man, they cost around 170 usd  for sure it must be killer tho! 
The thing is a simple realtek chip of my old mobo was better than this one with Supreme FX.. that is upseting me, I want to


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 1, 2017)

Sound Blaster or HT Omega


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## WhiteNoise (Jul 6, 2017)

If you have a receiver that can be used then output from current onboard to receiver and use receivers headphone jack for your cans. Or buy a little amp/dac but might be a waste on those headphones.


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## Carlos Panades (Jul 6, 2017)

Thanks for all the help guys, good to know other opinions, but I got a bit confused as I see some say not worth to buy a soundcard for those headphones.
A Sennheiser 598 is simply impossible to acquire where I live, it cost a LOT of money. Any other cheaper solutions you may recommend then?


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## Vya Domus (Jul 6, 2017)

Carlos Panades said:


> Thanks for all the help guys, good to know other opinions, but I got a bit confused as I see some say not worth to buy a soundcard for those headphones.
> A Sennheiser 598 is simply impossible to acquire where I live, it cost a LOT of money. Any other cheaper solutions you may recommend then?



Look for used ?


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## Carlos Panades (Jul 6, 2017)

No problem with used itens but the shipment can be expensive to Brazil..


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## WhiteNoise (Jul 7, 2017)

I'm not putting down your headphones at all. What I mean by might be a waste is that they do not require much power so buying an amp might be a waste with those headphones but if you really want better SQ then an old receiver would do the trick nicely. Buy a used one for cheap.


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