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Rokha88 · ‎02-08-2018

Hi everyone,

I am thinking about buying a soundcard for my maximus viii ranger. I am interested in the Sound Blaster Z.

But first I would like to know the opinion of people who have bought a soundcard for this mobo, did you notice a difference ? Was it obivous or the changes in the sound quality were very slight ?

For those who are audiophile, what are your thoughts about the quality of the integrated sound chipset of the mobo ? Do the 80€ for the Sound Blaster Z are worth it ?

For the information, my main audio device is a Sennheiser Game Zero headset. And as you may guess, it's mainly for gaming.

Thanks in advance.

Daniel0303 · ‎02-08-2018

Rokha88 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I am thinking about buying a soundcard for my maximus viii ranger. I am interested in the Sound Blaster Z.

But first I would like to know the opinion of people who have bought a soundcard for this mobo, did you notice a difference ? Was it obivous or the changes in the sound quality were very slight ?

For those who are audiophile, what are your thoughts about the quality of the integrated sound chipset of the mobo ? Do the 80€ for the Sound Blaster Z are worth it ?

For the information, my main audio device is a Sennheiser Game Zero headset. And as you may guess, it's mainly for gaming.

Thanks in advance.

Im using Strix Soar for gaming and Xonar u3 for music

All of those are way better than on board sound, the board that im using are Asus Crosshair vi hero and Maximus ix Apex

claudej · ‎02-09-2018

I'm no expert but I doubt it makes a difference, your sound card (my sound card) being above average.
It seems, a good part of the difference for an headset lies in wether there's a dedicated amplifier, and there is.
Tell us when you know 🙂

DarkStone · ‎02-09-2018

As much as motherboard on-board sound cards have come along, I still swear by sound cards overall.

I have the VIII Gene and for say optical or digital connections there is pretty much zero difference however when you start factoring in analog that is where you will see a difference.

My rig I use the ZxR which I cannot say enough good things about. The spacial imaging I get is leaps and bounds better than the on-board. I do notice differences in music, movies, and games for overall immersion.

That said, if you are just going for the Z I would say it is marginally better than the on-board for music. However if gaming is all you really do than I would say Z is a decent upgrade overall. If you can get a good deal on the Zx with the dedicated amp for headphones you will get your monies worth.

sxcccy · ‎02-26-2018

There are more types of sound card sales on Amazon, you can look for what you want.

But the First recommend is Creative Sound Blaster Zx

JustinThyme · ‎02-26-2018

If you waant audiophile skip the soundcard, use the already exisiting Toslink optical output and buy an external DAC. Ive not heard any onboard or PCIe soundcard deliver audiophile quality sound. Im running the Audioengine D1 DAC that double as a headphone amp aand supports 192kHZ sampling rate that you wont get from any sound card.

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, I'm not sure about the former” ~ Albert Einstein

R5Eandme · ‎02-26-2018

I get audiophile quality with an ASUS Essence STX II PCIe sound card, and it does sample at 192 kHz. The cost of the STX II is comparable to the cost of a good DAC ($200 - $300). That being said, a professional DAC is probably a step up for audiophiles and professional sound editing but they can be expensive.

Would you recommend to buy a sound card ?