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The title is quite self-explanatory so I'll end with the fact that I don't have any special speakers that are of 'high quality'. But I do have a headset worth $50 that sounds really nice, so if I were to pair that with a 5.1/7.1 Surround Sound sound card, would it be with it? I can also get a better headset if need be - I enjoy good quality video and audio.
The sound card I have been looking at is this one.
Jesse
Posted 2016-05-19T20:44:47.533
Reputation: 22
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For a $50 pair of headphones I would say a different sound card is not going to make a noticeable difference. Computers these days come with pretty decent stereo sound cards that are capable at that level. There are companies that make hi-fidelity, external sound cards that sit outside of your computer with their own decent headphone amps and controls that sound very nice, but they would probably cost more than your headphones (~$90-$300).
The main determinant of sound quality is going to be the source material and how compressed the sound files are.
Nick D'Amato
Posted 2016-05-19T20:44:47.533
Reputation: 43
I just got finished changing my audio quality for my on-board audio.
I changed it to 24 bit and 192,000 Hz which Windows states its "Studio Quality" which to me, sounds about right. However, I'm assuming I'd need some good speakers to test the validity of that.
In the future (near future, perhaps), I'd like to get a $100-200 headset or even just a speaker set - I'm not sure really which is better. I'm assuming that they are both great in their own ways and both have their purposes that they're best at. For instance, a headset is probably better for gaming since its in your ears. – Jesse – 2016-05-19T21:20:55.520
1Soundcards are rather trivial tbh. Also not sure if this is proper for this site. – Slava Knyazev – 2016-05-19T20:47:17.133
1If you want the sound card, purchase it, but unless you have 5.1/7.1 stereo headset you won't notice any difference at all. If you do have a stereo headset then you already have the best audio you will get out of them. – Ramhound – 2016-05-19T20:52:32.107
Do your headphones connect to the sound card output and reproduce 5.1/7.1? – fixer1234 – 2016-05-19T20:52:34.480
Currently my headset connects to cheap speakers, and those speakers are what are connected to my on-board audio. I'm not sure what my on-board audio is capable of, but my desktop speakers are just presumably cheap ones; as they have built-in bass. Having said that I'd probably need to directly plug in my headset to the computer to know for sure. – Jesse – 2016-05-19T20:57:12.580
It sounds like you don't have surround sound headsets, if you did, you would have said so. – Ramhound – 2016-05-19T21:19:39.190
I'd have my serious doubts that my headset has surround sound, given its price. And I'm wondering, actually, how does surround sound 'work' on a headset which has only two speakers? Are there several small speakers inside the muffs or is the surround sound virtual? – Jesse – 2016-05-19T21:24:44.437
I don't know what improvements you are looking for: higher dynamic range, lower background noise, improved D-A conversion? I don't think that a comparatively cheap audio card will give you noticeable differences over the on-board audio, especially with 16-bit audio sources. For significant improvements, you would need a studio card at five times the price and audio devices of similar quality. The best quality affordable sound is likely to come from a digital feed to an external amplifier which you can choose to suit your budget, and you will not get authentic surround sound without speakers. – AFH – 2016-05-19T21:26:52.820
I see. And I suppose the best way I can put it, as I don't know how else to, as I'd just like very clear audio in music and videos/movies. For games, such as FPS's (more/less Call of Duty / Battlefield), hear footsteps and whatnot very vividly. Granted, all of this probably comes at a hefty cost if done how you might say 'expertly/professionally' so I'd go for 'good enough'. – Jesse – 2016-05-19T21:33:04.840