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Topic: Xonar DS vs Onboard (Read 5510 times) previous topic - next topic
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Xonar DS vs Onboard

Hello there. First post and I need a little extra help.

I have a motherboard with integrated audio ....it says VIA HD Audio and I'm thinking if I plug in a Asus Xonar DS soundcard will that improve the sound.
Main use will be music listening in stereo, analog output. No fancy 7+1 or hdmi. Just plain old analog stereo output.

Now I've read alot of reviews of that card (Xonar DS) and it's clear that it is better than onboard for analog output.
BUT, my system is a little strange.

First - a handmade amplifier with "barebone" features - volume, bass, treble and that is. I has one 3.5 mm stereo jack - connected to the soundcard stereo 3.5 mm output.
Pictured here (ignore the Sony sticker  )

And then two old russian speakers...they were good back in the days....but I swapped bass and middle drivers. Tried to be as close as possible to the originals.


Anyway - its a system build for power, not hi-fi.
So what you think under these conditions - will I hear improved music or the better sound form the Xonar will be drowned in transition.

Right now I'm pleased with the sound (with a liiiiitle tweaking in f00bar) but I tried plugging my phone in the amp (LG optimusOne) and it sounded a little better that the computer. That got me thinking of trying new sound card.
Opinions ? Help ?

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #1 –
Quote from: lamerstein on
Hello there. First post and I need a little extra help.

I have a motherboard with integrated audio ....it says VIA HD Audio and I'm thinking if I plug in a Asus Xonar DS soundcard will that improve the sound.
Main use will be music listening in stereo, analog output. No fancy 7+1 or hdmi. Just plain old analog stereo output.

Now I've read alot of reviews of that card (Xonar DS) and it's clear that it is better than onboard for analog output.


People say the darnedist things. Given the nature of the rest of your audio system, you might be better off investing in say speakers.

In this day and age it takes  *a lot* to improve on the sonic performance of a good on-board audio interface. If you have any questions about the technical performance of your on-board sound, download the Audio Rightmark program, and see how it measures.

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #2 –
Quote from: lamerstein on
Now I've read alot of reviews of that card (Xonar DS)
Quote
(with a liiiiitle tweaking in f00bar)

If you use foobar2000 as your main audio player it might be worth to search its forums for problems that have been reported in conjunction with Asus Xonar cards. Also read what you are advised to in the FAQ's troubleshooting section:
Quote
Get rid of this card and get a card from another manufacturer.
This is HA. Not the Jerry Springer Show.
 

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #3 –
I have an Asus Xonar DX and I'm using it for Foobar2000 (quite recent, prolly not the latest) under Windows 7 64. I only recall it did not work in 1.0 version of Foobar2000 (but it worked in 0.9* so it was no problem).

It also works in recent Linux, although the volume control was a bit broken two years ago (haven't tried since then).

I use on-board Realtek for everything else, as Xonar used to cause several games (e.g. Bioshock) to crash and so I gave up. I don't really mind as I'm using my more comfortable (but worse sounding) headphones for gaming/watching Youtube so I don't have to swap anything.

I have to partially agree about getting another card. I wouldn't want the Xonar to be the only (or even primary) sound card in my PC.

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Martel on
I use on-board Realtek for everything else, as Xonar used to cause several games (e.g. Bioshock) to crash and so I gave up.

Sounds like it was somthing to do with the EAX emulation on the Xonar, did you disable it on the adavance settings?

Quote from: Martel on
It also works in recent Linux, although the volume control was a bit broken two years ago (haven't tried since then).

Pulseaudio strikes again
"I never thought I'd see this much candy in one mission!"

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #5 –
Unless your onboard chipset is broken (like mine, lots of static), you're hard pressed to hear an actual difference between it and a dedicated sound card.

Xonar DS vs Onboard

Reply #6 –
Hook up that amp to the onboard, don't play any music, and crank the volume.  Then use the computer.  If you don't hear any hiss or noise from things like hard disk access then its probably not worth upgrading from onboard unless you want to move to digital out or something.