Best Sound Card
Sales of sound cards declined as the on-board audio on PC's grew better
and better. However, the last few years have seen gamers, audiophiles, and even
ordinary computer users seeking out the best in audio quality and thus are
looking again to add-on sound cards. We’ve chosen the following best sound
cards in 2021 because they offer a minimum of 24 bit audio reproduction for the
highest quality sound reproduction. They also all possess class leading signal
-to-noise ratios of at least one hundred decibels (DB) in addition to sampling
rates of at least ninety-six kilohertz (Khz).
Buying a sound card is a difficult thing to do for a lot of reasons.
One, there are many industry standards and so many specifications. Two, most PC
gamers are not overly familiar with audio-related terminology. Therefore, we
have put together this guide for newcomers to the audio industry so that you
can experience the best of the best.
The sound card uses a
4-pin Molex connector for extra power, which is connected to the main board.
The main board uses PCM1792A DAC while the daughter board uses PCM1796 DAC.
These DACs are high-quality components with an SNR of over 122 dB and provide
24-bit/192-kHz audio.
There are three OpAmps
on both the main board and the daughter board, which are swappable, and there
are three extra OpAmps available in the swap kit. The main board also provides
a high-quality headphone Amp with a maximum supported impedance of 600-Ohms.
The software controls of
the sound card are pretty straight forward and offer controls for the output
selection, mixer, effects, and some predefined DSP modes. The channels can be
configured to operate in the virtual 7.1 mode while providing a great
customization experience. There are four ranges for the headphone amplification
and they should be chosen accordingly to prevent damage to the headphones (or
your ears).
Overall, this audiophile
sound card provides staggering audio quality with a major focus on music
quality. No doubt, this is easily one of the best sound cards for music, as
well as gaming, but it is pricey.
The sound card provides
two boards, just like the Asus Essence STX II, along with an Audio Control
Module (ACM). The mainboard provides outputs for Mic, Headphone-out, Front Left
and Right, Rear and the Sub/C while the daughter board provides Aux-in and
Toslink Optical S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out.
Sound Blaster ZxR uses
the SoundCore3D chip replacing the X-Fi chip in the older models. The PCM1794
is used for headphone-out and Front-out while PCM1798 is used for Rear and
C/Sub. The sound card also provides swappable OpAmps like the Essence STX II,
although there are no extra OpAmps in the box. The headphone Amp provides
support for headphones with impedance ranging from 32-Ohm to 600-Ohms.
The Sound Blaster Pro
Studio suite provides many features dedicated to gaming, such as: surround
sound, Crystalizer, and smart volume. There are two headphone amplification
settings, the 32-300 Ohm setting and the high-gain setting for 600-Ohm
headphones.
PCIE card from top tier manufacturer Asus is aimed at
audiophiles but is sure to please any user or gamer as well. It offers an
unprecedented one hundred twenty-four decibel (DB) signal to noise ratio for
clear, noise-free sound. This card also features a multi-layer PCB circuit board
design to help eliminate unwanted noise and distortion while the analog outputs
are designed with shielding from elector-magnetic interference (EMI) for
distortion free analog output. It also uses an exceptional
Burr-BrownDigital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) with a 127dB signal-to-noise ratio
for the clearest digital audio possible. While all this performance comes at a
high price, this card delivers the absolute best in sound quality for your PC.
Aimed
at audiophiles and gamers, this premium two piece offering from Creative has an
input/output (I/O) module that fits in an external drive bay on your computer.
This provides front panel access to headphone and microphone jacks, a volume
control and THX TrueStudio controls. The card offers twenty-four bit audio reproduction
and a one hundred two decibel signal to noise ratio. It’s equipped with Dolby
THX TrueStudio Pro sound enhancement technology and a SoundCore 3D multi-core
audio processor for best in class sound reproduction. However, all these great
features come at a very steep price but it’s well worth the price of admission.
The Creative Sound
BlasterX AE-5 is Creative’s latest addition to the gaming-oriented sound cards
and it’s packed with features. First and foremost, while this is insignificant
in the grand scheme of things, this is a nice looking card. This is largely due
to its Aurora Reactive Lighting System, which makes this the first sound card
with a built-in RGB controller.
The RGB does require a
Molex power connector to power, which is an unfortunate requirement that you
need to be aware of before investing in it. The sound card itself functions
just fine without the additional power, though.
Like the Creative Sound
Blaster ZxR, this sound card also does not feature 7.1-channel support, which
is still disappointing, but not nearly as much so since it is significantly
cheaper.
ASUS Strix RAID PRO is
from the Strix lineup of sound cards, which are made for gamers, unlike the
Essence series (seen with our first pick). Strix RAID PRO features two main components:
the sound card and the additional volume control box.
The sound card provides
a total of seven 3.5mm jacks, with support for 7.1-channel devices, box-link,
mic-in, line-in, and S/PDIF-out. The sound card requires additional power apart
from PCIe power, which it receives through the 6-pin power connector.
The sound card features
ESS Sabre9006A DAC, which supports up to 24bit 192-kHz playback with an SNR of
116 dB, which could have been a bit higher like the similarly priced BlasterX
AE-5. The sound also incorporates a dedicated headphone amp, supporting
headphones with an impedance-range of 16-600 Ohms.
The Strix Sonic Studio
software provides many options to customize the audio such as Compressor,
Perfect Voice, Noise Gate, and Voice Clarity. The sound card also supports the
virtual 7.1 surround sound, with great control over the channel positions.
Overall, this gaming
sound card rivals the features of the Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5. While the
AE-5 arguably offers better sound clarity, this supports 7.1 Surround Sound and
has its snazzy volume control box.
A Headphone amplifier is
an important component of sound cards and is a must if you own a pair of
studio-grade headphones. Such headphones usually have a higher impedance, which
is why they cannot be adequately driven by low-end sound cards that do not
include a headphone amplifier.
If you use studio-grade
headphones with poor audio solutions, you will have low volume. Therefore, if
you want to use studio-grade headphones, make sure that the sound card you are
buying offers a dedicated headphone amplifier whose supported headphone
impedance is greater than the rated impedance of your headphones.
When we speak of the
interface, there are two types. First is the interface of the sound card with
the computer and the second is the interface of audio devices with the sound
card. Most of the latest sound cards use a PCI-Express slot so make sure you
have an extra, unobstructed slot.
Sound cards, such as
Asus Essence STX II or Creative Sound Blaster ZxR, require two PCI-E slots: one
for the main board and one for the daughter board. This might be an issue for
people who are using micro-ATX motherboards, which do not provide a lot of
PCI-E slots.
As for the audio device
interface, one must take a look at the output ports on the sound card. Some
sound cards provide multi-channel support through RCA jacks while others use
3.5mm jacks. In the case of headphones, some sound cards provide 3.5mm jacks
whereas others use 6.3mm / ¼-inch jacks.
