Sound Card for work PC

Jonesiani · 17 Dec 2019 at 14:58

Hi all.

I spend a lot of time at my desk with a very uninspiring work PC. The onboard sound is seriously lacking.

I'm after recommendations for a sound card to chuck into it, hopefully one with solid windows 10 compatibility, only needs to drive 2.0 speakers, budget up to £75 I guess.

Cheers!

easyrider · 17 Dec 2019 at 23:54

Cyrus Soundkey DAC & Headphone Amplifier

Can be had for £49 can also use it with your phone.

JasonM · 18 Dec 2019 at 04:57

If your computer takes regular PCI, there some refurbished Asus Essence ST cards on popular auction site for £65. I would take the plunge for that amount of money.

I personally have 2 Asus Essence ST cards, one is from 2011, old but there still one of the best cards out there. Totally superior to on-board, and more natural sounding than a Creative Titanium HD I owned once. Windows 10 drivers have been in beta since 2015, but had zero issues with the card in Windows 10, everything just works.

I'm a software dev, and my own workstation uses one of the Asus ST's, I have a subscription to Amazon Music HD, and card is easily good enough for this. I have a 2.0 setup and listen while coding.

Also note your computer will need a spare Molex connector as the card uses external power.

https://www.asus.com/uk/Essence-Hi-Fi-Audio/Xonar_Essence_ST/HelpDesk_Download/

PapaLazaru · 18 Dec 2019 at 07:22

What speakers are they?

easyrider · 18 Dec 2019 at 10:30

Better sound external DAC

JasonM · 18 Dec 2019 at 16:10

External DAC is better and is what I prefer, however there are some poor external DAC's out there.

Going back to the Asus ST, I can A/B that sound card compared to quite an expensive Pioneer amp/dac, the sound difference is almost identical, the signature of the sound is so close most people would not even realise the difference unless they watched me switch the buttons on the amp.

What i'm getting at, unless the OP is going to spend a few hundred on an external DAC, then those second hand Asus ST cards I mentioned will probably still be better, certainly better than one of those cheap sub £100 external DAC's.

Pyr0m@nI@]{ · 18 Dec 2019 at 16:28

Are you sure it's not the speakers that are seriously lacking?

easyrider · 18 Dec 2019 at 17:32

JasonM said:
External DAC is better and is what I prefer, however there are some poor external DAC's out there.

Going back to the Asus ST, I can A/B that sound card compared to quite an expensive Pioneer amp/dac, the sound difference is almost identical, the signature of the sound is so close most people would not even realise the difference unless they watched me switch the buttons on the amp.

What i'm getting at, unless the OP is going to spend a few hundred on an external DAC, then those second hand Asus ST cards I mentioned will probably still be better, certainly better than one of those cheap sub £100 external DAC's.

Cyrus Soundkey DAC & Headphone Amplifier Is a very good bit of kit.

Quartz · 18 Dec 2019 at 17:39

Jonesiani said:
I'm after recommendations for a sound card to chuck into it,

Get a USB device.

Jonesiani · 19 Dec 2019 at 09:01

Thanks all,

The speakers are Gigaworks T20, they're fine for work. Ideally I want to keep the card inside the pc due to less desk clutter.

Marsman · 19 Dec 2019 at 11:23

JasonM said:
External DAC is better and is what I prefer, however there are some poor external DAC's out there.

Going back to the Asus ST, I can A/B that sound card compared to quite an expensive Pioneer amp/dac, the sound difference is almost identical, the signature of the sound is so close most people would not even realise the difference unless they watched me switch the buttons on the amp.

What i'm getting at, unless the OP is going to spend a few hundred on an external DAC, then those second hand Asus ST cards I mentioned will probably still be better, certainly better than one of those cheap sub £100 external DAC's.

You've not asked what speakers the OP has...

We now know, but you've assumed he must have some good speakers that can make use of a good sound card or DAC.

The T20's are decent for what they are, but they don't need anything like ST/STX quality sound card. Heck, even the better motherboard audio codecs are fine for them, assuming there are no issues.

Maybe getting a used ST/STX would be worthwhile if he ends up getting some good speakers for his work place, otherwise a Audigy FX for £30 will be more than good enough.

PapaLazaru · 19 Dec 2019 at 11:48

Jonesiani said:
Thanks all,

The speakers are Gigaworks T20, they're fine for work. Ideally I want to keep the card inside the pc due to less desk clutter.

In all honesty, it will be aware of money. Not dissing the T20's, but I really doubt you will hear any difference. You're better off upgrading the speakers.

Marsman · 19 Dec 2019 at 12:55

I think I've misunderstood the OP. For some reason I got the impression, that there may have been an issue with the PC's motherboard audio, causing poor quality sound from the speakers.

Issues aside; if the OP is hoping to improve the sound from the T20 speakers by getting a sound card, then I agree with what Papalazaru has said.

JasonM · 19 Dec 2019 at 18:05

Marsman said:
You've not asked what speakers the OP has...

We now know, but you've assumed he must have some good speakers that can make use of a good sound card or DAC.

He asked about a sound card, but next time i'll ask the OP about his front end and room setup also.

Jonesiani · 19 Dec 2019 at 19:03

So in a utterly bizarre twist of fate, one of the lads at work after me mention it in passing, turned up to work with a Xonar D2. it’s been lying around in his bits box for a few years unused due to it being pci and not the pci-e of his current rig. He’s let me chuck it into my work pc for free. The noise floor is noticeably lower, and there’s more oomph.

JasonM · 19 Dec 2019 at 19:19

Jonesiani said:
The noise floor is noticeably lower

More evidence of how bad motherboard audio is, the fact that you can notice this difference on just the Gigaworks T20's.