Hey folks. I am looking into possible upgrades to the audio on my PC. I currently have a set of Sennheiser PC360’s which I use for Voice comms. The soundcard is simply an on board RealTek built in system, which I think is 7.1 and the Motherboard is a EVGA Classified 3. I recently had a set of Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 which recently went pop, and need replacing. As I tend to switch between using my speakers, and my headset depending on what I’m doing, I’m kinda looking for some suggestions on what soundcard and speakers to get. I’ve also seen people mentioning that this headset really needs an amplifier. So I guess: What recommendations for soundcards that can do 5.1/7.1 and also still work with a headset? Any good speakers to go with that suggestion? Do I need an amplifier for that headset? Budget isn’t a major factor, so I guess under £500.
I would recommend 2.0 stereo instead of 5.1/7.1. And with your budget there's enough room for an USB-DAC and a good pair of active stereo monitors.
I'd be minded to agree - unless you're mad desperate for 5.1, you'll get a WAY better 2.0 (or even 2.1) setup for your money. I set out extensive advice on this here: Audio Discussions
5.1 is over-rated, unless you have a whole room set up for it. For pc and gaming usage 2.1 is more than good enough. As for sound cards it really depends on what you want. An Asus Xonar DG is a very good low end model, and to be honest unless you are an audiophile I don't see that buying one further up the range is worth the extra expense.
there's the corsair SP2500 that custom recommend they seemed to think they were rather good. £182 thou
