In our Discord server, there have been a number of discussions surrounding Sound Playing cards and sometimes somebody cracks a joke about how motherboard audio is terrible which has caught my consideration. I’m not an audiophile and I haven’t seen something unhealthy about my motherboard audio which is probably going all the way down to not having ever used something greater than that. After questioning it, I used to be advised to present a soundcard a try to fortunately one other member of our Discord had one able to promote to me. He was promoting it as a result of his Strix B550 Gaming-A onboard audio was apparently higher than the sound card which makes me much more confused in regards to the declare that motherboard audio is unhealthy. So let’s see for myself how good SoundCard Audio truly is.
The ASUS Xonar AE
The cardboard in query is the ASUS Xonar AE, a card that delivers 7.1-channel, 192kHz/24-bit-Hello-Res audio output with a excessive 110dB signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio plus includes a built-in 150ohm headphone amplifier that gives wealthy, detailed sound and outlined bass. All of these phrases don’t imply a lot to me as as soon as once more I’m not an audiophile and my solely audio data is a Advantage in BTEC Music, which I’ve realized means jack-diddly squat. On the I/O of the cardboard, there are 7 ports together with Mic/Line in, Headphones, Entrance, Rear, Heart, aspect and SPDIF plus a tiny paintbrush was included within the field however I don’t suppose that got here from the manufacturing facility.
What Motherboard Are We Evaluating To?
So I discussed earlier that the particular person I obtained this card from had determined that his STRIX B550 Gaming-A on-board audio was higher than the soundcard which was used together with his earlier MSI X470 Gaming Plus board. With this information I’ve expectations to see some enchancment, particularly placing my B450 towards an X470 board. My system makes use of an ASUS TUF Gaming B450M Professional II which makes use of a Realtek S1200A audio controller however I couldn’t discover a lot data surrounding it and its not like I might clarify the specs precisely anyway.
What Audio system Am I Utilizing?
The audio system I shall be utilizing are the audio system I take advantage of every day, the Edifier R1580MB 42W Studio Bookshelf Audio system. These audio system are pretty reasonably priced at simply £89.99 and supply nice sound with each Bluetooth and AUX connectivity. Curiously, Bluetooth was what prompted this take a look at as I felt as if the Bluetooth audio from my cellphone was higher than my motherboard audio and much more punchy. The 2 speaker items have 4-inch bass drivers and 13mm silk dome tweeters plus aspect panel controls for quantity in addition to bass controls to fine-tune as you want. These audio system will be related via RCA and AUX inputs in addition to characteristic twin mic inputs. I’d love to do a headphones take a look at however I take advantage of wi-fi Logitech G733’s which received’t be affected by the cardboard.
How I Will Take a look at
To do that comparability I’ll be testing with some real-world situations together with music, YouTube movies and gaming. I can even be testing the sound card as is with none alterations to the EQ however shall be setting it to 192kHz and utilizing the profiles included with Sonic Studio. It should even be famous that audio high quality is a subjective opinion and outcomes will all the time differ.
Music Take a look at
For music, I’ll be sticking to what I do know greatest with a wide range of a few of my favorite songs to try to hit the totally different highs and lows. The Ocean’s Cambrian II: Everlasting Recurrence begins us off with some heavy steel palaeontology then we transfer onto Bell Witch’s Mirror Reaper, the hour-long doom epic to essentially hit these deep lows. Subsequent is Thresholds’ Protected To Fly, a extra traditional progressive steel tune then we transfer onto Soens Phantasm a sluggish and laid-back fashionable prog rock track. Lastly, we now have Seals Kiss From A Rose simply because it’s an absolute tune. All songs shall be via Spotify with the Home windows quantity at 100 and Spotify quantity at round 70% with the music knob on the audio system set to max.
Immediately after switching to the soundcard audio, I realised precisely what I used to be lacking out on. The audio is full, vibrant and rounded, an immediate enchancment in comparison with the motherboard audio. I switched between each audio outputs as I listened and the distinction was one way or the other each refined and apparent Even discord pings sounded nice. While listening to Phantasm I seen slight undertones to the Piano that I couldn’t hear with the on-board audio which undoubtedly bought me to the thought of premium audio.
Video Take a look at
So for the video Take a look at, I made a decision that Andy can be the right voice to check out these audio system together with his voice of an angel that’s simply fallen off a bench after an evening out. Initially, Andy gave the impression of he was speaking in an echo chamber however that was shortly fastened once I modified the settings in Sonic Studio from music to communication which enhanced voice readability. I then modified to the flat preset to offer a more in-depth take a look at in comparison with the on-board audio, it sounded largely the identical which is sensible and I didn’t count on way more from that.
Gaming Take a look at
For my gaming take a look at, I switched to the gaming preset and hopped right into a spherical of CS:GO. Now granted this might be way more splendid with headphones for peak aggressive gameplay however we’ll work with what we’ve obtained. My first ideas have been that the audio sounded a bit unusual however it undoubtedly sounded sharp however extra of a pointy spoon. I might hear all of the wonderful particulars and the weapons sounded punchier however it sounded grainy in a means which is probably going simply all the way down to CS:GO’s age. After taking part in CS:GO I moved on to Cyberpunk 2077 the place essentially the most notable enchancment was within the basic atmosphere. With the soundcard, all of the deeper sounds of engines, automobiles flying overhead and different basic metropolis sounds have been enhanced with the bass. Throughout the sounds have been much more dynamic with the smaller sounds being introduced up a bit creating a terrific soundscape.
Remaining Ideas
Total the variations between a soundcard and on-board audio I discovered have been refined however undoubtedly noticeable. I’m positive that with some extra tweaking in Sonic Studio, these variations will be additional enhanced which the on-board audio might technically do via using third-party apps however not in the way in which the cardboard does. Shifting onto the principle query, are SoundCards price it in 2023? Effectively, it actually will depend on how a lot you care about audio and what motherboard you might be utilizing as newer B550 and above boards supposedly can characteristic the identical if not higher audio and if like me you’ve gotten an older board then you may see some affordable enhancements largely with music. Now granted I’m solely utilizing a less expensive mannequin and the dearer playing cards might supply higher outcomes so my opinion right here is to be taken flippantly and subjectively.
I’d like to listen to your ideas, do you employ a soundcard and suppose it’s nonetheless price it in comparison with fashionable on-board audio? Tell us within the feedback.
