USB Sound Cards Explained: Tech, Benefits, Do I Need One?

[Inle]

Why do you need a good quality USB sound card, and how can such a device improve your everyday life? We're taking a deep dive into the world of PC audio to figure out when it makes sense to upgrade our integrated sound cards and what to upgrade them with.

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[TheDeeGee]

Looked into moving from internal to external a while ago. But turns out all of these USB devices are a downgrade compared to my Sound Blaster ZxR. The Sound Blaster X7 would be a sidegrade and i will end up with a huge box on my desk.

Gonna stick with the ZxR for another 10 years most likely as i don't use a Mic anyways.

(onboard still sucks, tried it for fun some months ago)

 

[Rokugan]

Same here, Sound Blaster ZxR with 4x Burson V6 Opamp, I haven't found any real upgrade since:

Supreme Sound Opamp V6 - Burson Audio

The Burson V6 is a Class-A discrete opamp, epitomizing Burson Audio's engineering excellence. Offering unmatched clarity and detail, it's a top choice for audiophiles upgrading their equipment.

www.bursonaudio.com

Sound Blaster ZXR with Burson V6 Opamp - Burson Audio

The sound is now much more clear, brighter, dynamic and detailed. I recommend this product to others.

www.bursonaudio.com

I can tell you that those opamps do make a very real difference, no other card will be able to compete.

Tbh nowadays for movies and games, I use HDMI over my AVR with a full 7.2.4 Home Cinema setup.
The sound card is used only for stereo music listening with another pair of external speakers.

 

[thewan]

Thankfully, every device capable of playing music is equipped with an amplifier of some kind

I kinda disagree with this statement. Can VSG maybe chime in on this since he did some reviews on USB DACs. There are reviews here on TPU (no need to hunt from other places) that review DAC + AMP stacks/combos. You can buy the DAC or AMP by itself separately, or as a combo. I seriously doubt the USB DAC by itself in this case is usable with headphones even though it may still have some kind of amplifier in it. This statement can mislead people to think they can save money by just buying a really good DAC that they think is at a bargain price without realizing it doesn't have an amp. Buying a DAC + AMP in a combo is usually cheaper since its usually sold at a bundle price most of the time.

 

[X71200]

These are garbage and have no place in my PC, to be honest. Buy Schiit or similar if you're after a good DAC. Connections, op-amps, everything is going to be better and not necessarily for a whole lot more expensive than these, either. TPU should stop being sponsored by these gamer stuff. You want good audio, you buy quality audio brands.

My mom had a pair of Mackie's connected to onboard, they were not only cheap but the setup will blow Creative's attempts out of the water as far as speakers go.

Sound cards are half arsed EMI burdens as well. People need to realize these already.

 

[Roph]

Google "creative daniel_k" to find out why creative deserves bankruptcy and why they'll never get a penny from me.

 

[SunMaster]

"controversial Master Quality Authenticated (MQA)."

Not sure why anyone would consider MQA anything but a hoax/scam.

 

[zlobby]

These are garbage and have no place in my PC, to be honest. Buy Schiit or similar if you're after a good DAC. Connections, op-amps, everything is going to be better and not necessarily for a whole lot more expensive than these, either. TPU should stop being sponsored by these gamer stuff. You want good audio, you buy quality audio brands.

My mom had a pair of Mackie's connected to onboard, they were not only cheap but the setup will blow Creative's attempts out of the water as far as speakers go.

Sound cards are half arsed EMI burdens as well. People need to realize these already.

Yep, bit-perfect to a decent DAC. Then, it's up to users' specific needs, e.g. headphones, amps, etc.

These soundcards (yes, basically they just get sound out of them) are nothing but flashy, overpriced garbage.
Most of them can't even decode DSD, let alone DXD, let alone in high bitrates.

They are noisy because they use cheap components and cheap designs. They only tout some glorified DAC chips they use but that's pretty much it.
For the price one can get a really decent DAC, iFi, Schiit and some others come to mind.

"controversial Master Quality Authenticated (MQA)."

Not sure why anyone would consider MQA anything but a hoax/scam.

The cringe of MQA! Ughhh!

I kinda disagree with this statement. Can VSG maybe chime in on this since he did some reviews on USB DACs. There are reviews here on TPU (no need to hunt from other places) that review DAC + AMP stacks/combos. You can buy the DAC or AMP by itself separately, or as a combo. I seriously doubt the USB DAC by itself in this case is usable with headphones even though it may still have some kind of amplifier in it. This statement can mislead people to think they can save money by just buying a really good DAC that they think is at a bargain price without realizing it doesn't have an amp. Buying a DAC + AMP in a combo is usually cheaper since its usually sold at a bundle price most of the time.

Most decent DAC have decent amps built-in. They can drive 300-600Ohm earphones with ease.

If someone is ready to buy a $1500 DAC just because they heard it's a good thing, i.e. without them doing at least some research, they deserve to be bamboozled when they find out it also needs an amp/preamp. IMO.

 

[harby13]

Couple of months ago I decided to buy a G6 to replace my aging xonar d2x which was misbehaving badly. I originally wanted a schiit fulla or hel but it would have costed me almost double the msrp to get it here in Greece.

I was sceptical because I don't exactly hold sound blaster to high regard but every review praised the thing way too much.

And tbh they weren't wrong. This little dacamp is awesome if all you need it good stereo and not multichannel and dont wanna spend more than a hundred bucks give or take.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I'm using a Cambridge DacMagic 100 to a Onkyo CR-715DAB/yamaha sub and Cambridge Minx min12 speakers. Haven't bothered with a internal soundcard for a long time.

 

[zlobby]

Couple of months ago I decided to buy a G6 to replace my aging xonar d2x which was misbehaving badly. I originally wanted a schiit fulla or hel but it would have costed me almost double the msrp to get it here in Greece.

I was sceptical because I don't exactly hold sound blaster to high regard but every review praised the thing way too much.

And tbh they weren't wrong. This little dacamp is awesome if all you need it good stereo and not multichannel and dont wanna spend more than a hundred bucks give or take.

For a hundred bucks you can get a FiiO or similar USB dongle that would A) sound better, B) decode more formats C) is portable and you can hook it to a mobile in your pocket.

 

[maxli86]

Being the longest user for Creative sound card and onboard sound.
The biggest issue I had with Creative sound card are drivers, it tend to bug out especially with Windows 10 periodic update.
As well as if you are using AMD Ryzen PC, Creative sound cards can have issue with Ryzen PCs.

I still have a Creative sound blaster Z on a Windows 7 Intel PC it works flawlessly but if I use on Windows 10.
There are lots of issue so not sure about these newer one which I dare not try.
A dedicated USB DAC or sound interface will definitely be better than these cards.

Not to mention for proper functionality and feature, you have to install the correct driver package for it work properly.
Onboard audio wise, some onboard audio are better especially Realtek Drivers are much stable with Windows 10.
The onboard audio that are featured on ASUS STRIX Motherboard are exceptional, it also have option to let you
increase the sound output by three options under the Amplify option.

As well as jack sensing and the sound card can detect the ohmn of the headphone so it can drive properly.
So it depends what headphone and speaker you are using.

However some headphones and speaker have USB connection, a DAC will not be necessary.
If the motherboard have crappy onboard sound codec, just use a USB headphone or speaker.
Unless you are into recording or into pro audio than you probably will want to invest in a dedicated USB DAC or sound interface or even a mixer.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

I've got a few. One PC has a schiit fulla, other has a steelseries game dac (suprisingly good for a gaming company), and I have a hillidac which can work on PC or my iPhone. All of these also contain an amp in the package. These guys are lesser known https://mayflowerelectronics.com/ but I have that work.

The better the headphones, even IEMs, the more you need to drive them. You can get a good desktop option for 100-300, and a good portable one in the same range.

It's really not all that expensive and the improvement is massive.

 

[zlobby]

I've got a few. One PC has a schiit fulla, other has a steelseries game dac (suprisingly good for a gaming company), and I have a hillidac which can work on PC or my iPhone. All of these also contain an amp in the package. These guys are lesser known https://mayflowerelectronics.com/ but I have that work.

The better the headphones, even IEMs, the more you need to drive them. You can get a good desktop option for 100-300, and a good portable one in the same range.

It's really not all that expensive and the improvement is massive.

IEM are another type of beast. They have their own needs and many DAC/amps neglect to address these.
Sadly, there is no 'one-fits-all' solution when we talk about audio.

 

[TheDeeGee]

Same here, Sound Blaster ZxR with 4x Burson V6 Opamp, I haven't found any real upgrade since:

Supreme Sound Opamp V6 - Burson Audio

The Burson V6 is a Class-A discrete opamp, epitomizing Burson Audio's engineering excellence. Offering unmatched clarity and detail, it's a top choice for audiophiles upgrading their equipment.

www.bursonaudio.com

Sound Blaster ZXR with Burson V6 Opamp - Burson Audio

The sound is now much more clear, brighter, dynamic and detailed. I recommend this product to others.

www.bursonaudio.com

I can tell you that those opamps do make a very real difference, no other card will be able to compete.

Tbh nowadays for movies and games, I use HDMI over my AVR with a full 7.2.4 Home Cinema setup.
The sound card is used only for stereo music listening with another pair of external speakers.

Looked into those once, but can't fit that in my PC, and the dangly wire solution isn't what i want to go with either.

AE-9 would be an upgrade, but i don't like that it requires the external volume control in order to plug in the headphones.

 

[X71200]

'one-fits-all' solution about audio.

Something like this might come close, it's sort of crappy but some stuff like this have BT, this one can power phantom mics as well. It was dirt cheap on a music store site... at least still better than Creative, lol.

 

[zlobby]

Something like this might come close, it's sort of crappy but some stuff like this have BT, this one can power phantom mics as well. It was dirt cheap on a music store site... at least still better than Creative, lol.

View attachment 246405

Honestly, pretty much everything is better than Creative. xD

EDIT: @X71200 - your pic reminds me of a guy at ASR. Could that really be you?

 

[Ferrum Master]

It is just another English language profanity calling a card a thing that is not even close to it. Like calling power and current - wattage and amperage, no other languages allow such disgrace, those were actually surnames of significant people. There usually are no cards you slide in as an expansion via USB. If they look like it, people call it dongles etc.

Most stores and sane makers use the term Audio Interface... like here in Thomann. It precisely describes what it might be.

Another topic is the ideological mish mash what DAC really is, component/block wise then adding some blocks like amplifier, headphone amplifier etc... and make it as a distinctive device, who told anyone to do that? Because those are fake news. Each device has their own design and the term DOES NOT EXPLAIN ANYTHING it might have or not.

First of all most USB audio interfaces consist of a very important bit - USB to i2s/DSD driver IC, okay let it even be vintage 1394, whatever, it talks to the real DAC IC and it may have additional MCU for controls, effects, resample etc ie in software mode, if Hardware mode is used, it can be gimped. Yes there are AIO ICs that include built in USB and SPDIF communication blocks and yes also headphone amplifiers, power supply and become to look like a Realtek Codec jack of all trades and good for nothing. But in reality all those things are still split. Where does the term USB Sound card come in? Because it has more knobs? Hillarious and beyond stupid. A standalone USB interface may hold inside more sophisticated modular solution that the so called USB sound card despite the simple looks and few I/O ports.

Where did the term USB sound card come from? Chinglish maybe? I have no idea - simpletons and reviewers that shout the nonsense further for the sake of simplicity. The attempt at explaining things here - what is what... is kinda waaaay off, despte Creative is paying for the tune.

 

[X71200]

Honestly, pretty much everything is better than Creative. xD

EDIT: @X71200 - your pic reminds me of a guy at ASR. Could that really be you?

I'm more off shape now and turning 30... but will get back on lifting and stuff some time.

 

[Dr. Dro]

All I am gonna say, you gotta pry my EVGA Nu Audio from my cold dead hands

 

[X71200]

All I am gonna say, you gotta pry my EVGA Nu Audio from my cold dead hands

Experience lifelike 7.1 audio from EVGA! Oh what am I saying, Yamaha HS5 on sale... lols.

 

[Inle]

I kinda disagree with this statement. Can VSG maybe chime in on this since he did some reviews on USB DACs. There are reviews here on TPU (no need to hunt from other places) that review DAC + AMP stacks/combos. You can buy the DAC or AMP by itself separately, or as a combo. I seriously doubt the USB DAC by itself in this case is usable with headphones even though it may still have some kind of amplifier in it. This statement can mislead people to think they can save money by just buying a really good DAC that they think is at a bargain price without realizing it doesn't have an amp. Buying a DAC + AMP in a combo is usually cheaper since its usually sold at a bundle price most of the time.

Just to clarify, you can find all three types of devices: just DACs, just amplifiers, and DAC/amp combos. A DAC can't produce sound on its own (needs an amplifier), and an amplifier can't produce sound from a digital source on its own either (needs a DAC). So when I wrote "every device capable of playing sound...", what I meant was a device that has both a DAC and an amplifier in it.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

It is just another English language profanity calling a card a thing that is not even close to it. Like calling power and current - wattage and amperage, no other languages allow such disgrace, those were actually surnames of significant people. There usually are no cards you slide in as an expansion via USB. If they look like it, people call it dongles etc.

Most stores and sane makers use the term Audio Interface... like here in Thomann. It precisely describes what it might be.

Another topic is the ideological mish mash what DAC really is, component/block wise then adding some blocks like amplifier, headphone amplifier etc... and make it as a distinctive device, who told anyone to do that? Because those are fake news. Each device has their own design and the term DOES NOT EXPLAIN ANYTHING it might have or not.

First of all most USB audio interfaces consist of a very important bit - USB to i2s/DSD driver IC, okay let it even be vintage 1394, whatever, it talks to the real DAC IC and it may have additional MCU for controls, effects, resample etc ie in software mode, if Hardware mode is used, it can be gimped. Yes there are AIO ICs that include built in USB and SPDIF communication blocks and yes also headphone amplifiers, power supply and become to look like a Realtek Codec jack of all trades and good for nothing. But in reality all those things are still split. Where does the term USB Sound card come in? Because it has more knobs? Hillarious and beyond stupid. A standalone USB interface may hold inside more sophisticated modular solution that the so called USB sound card despite the simple looks and few I/O ports.

Where did the term USB sound card come from? Chinglish maybe? I have no idea - simpletons and reviewers that shout the nonsense further for the sake of simplicity. The attempt at explaining things here - what is what... is kinda waaaay off, despte Creative is paying for the tune.

People call it a USB soundcard because of creative. Back in the day an "audio interface" was something that went over IEEE 1394 and was massive, often stacked units. These had multiple inputs and outputs and yes knobs. They were very high quality and had very low latency and were very expensive. This was also the time of PCI soundcards. Creative pushed external solutions under the same Soundblaster monikier and called them USB Soundcards. The name stuck around.

Today, due to the gaming market it's still around. A gaming "DAC" or extenal DAC typically means something that connects via USB (may or may not have optical or spidif) but it only outputs sound. An external USB Soundcard usually has the same sort of connections and but not only outputs sound but also takes sound input from a mic. Going beyond if you are buying something that's billed as an external DAC that usually means there is no software associated with it for silly effects. A USB Soundcard implies there is software you are going to be installing to do all sorts of fancy crazy stuff. A good example is comparing schiits gaming DAC/AMP to creatives products. The schiit is a simple device that you just plugin and go with nothing else to it that takes both headphones and a mic. The creative has all sorts of drivers to deal with and also has creatives software. It's that distinction that separates them.

Stuff is still sold as an audio interface but that implies you are actually creating stuff with it, it's pro gear and different.

Most people are savy enough to know the slang.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I wanted USB DAC only, then i can swap and change amps at will without changing the whole thing.

 

[zlobby]

I wanted USB DAC only, then i can swap and change amps at will without changing the whole thing.

Again, decent DAC/amp combos can also act as a line out with even zero distortion in top models.

That is the beauty of it. You can unplug them and go mobile or use them in your home system.