quote:

Originally posted by rubez playing mp3's wont sound any better, would they? - perhaps, marginally, but probably not. are my synths going to sound better? - perhaps, marginally, but probably not. not keen on the external motherfuckers though. i know they can be considered less desirable? - they are not less desirable, they are more flexible and easier to swap from machine to machine. i was getting the occasional pop and crackle with omnisphere (not CPU related, driver issue i think) but i seem to have that fixed now - Bingo, drivers on audio interfaces are far superior to onboard audio. so what's the point?

The point is driver efficiency and better latency. You'll also have the benefit of much higher quality inputs in case you want to use mics or line inputs. A quick check on my setup shows that the RME Asio driver is approximately 10 times better than the generic ASIO driver using the onboard sound card. We're talking 2-3ms latency compared with 20-30ms. That's quite a lot.

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i thought onboard sound didn't use ASIO, hence ASIO4ALL?

FL seems to have its own special ASIO driver, or you can pick ASIO4ALL, but that disables the windows audio while its in use.

would the Xonar Essence STX II be as good as an audio interface?

i only intend on using one machine, and totally ITB. so no real need for an audio interface.

From my experience...

quote:

Originally posted by rubez playing mp3's wont sound any better, would they? Yes, but it depends. My $1500 laptop is utter shit on headphones, extremely boomy beyond reason. It does depend heavily on the audio chipset you are running. The audio quality can vary between no audible difference to an incredible difference. My work laptop, which is in a similar price range as my private laptop sounds very different (way less colouring) are my synths going to sound better? Depends on the quality of your DAC. ADC. Better converters allow a truer representation of the signal to be recorded/played up to a certain degree. The most likely answer would be, very little, if noticable what difference do they make compared to onboard motherboard sound? see first answer above i may sell my graphics card and use the slot (and the cash) to get a decent sound card, if there is any real benefit. Going USB is sufficient and usually more convenient. not keen on the external motherfuckers though. i know they can be considered less desirable? Untrue i was getting the occasional pop and crackle with omnisphere (not CPU related, driver issue i think) but i seem to have that fixed now. Drivers & chipsets mostly so what's the point?

All in all it really depends on where you're coming from. If you're the unlucky one stuck with a shit chipset like me and my laptop the benefits of a dedicated soundcard will be huge. Usually the differences are less extreme.

All in all a dedicated soundcard will produce a more honest audio signal. Combined with a decent set of speakers this will enable you to make more informed decisions on your mixdown.

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Last edited by Storyteller on May-12-2016 at 13:36

better latency, more inputs (essential for hardware) and i like the separate volume controls for monitors and headphones

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finally got an audio interface, and actually mp3's sound much improved. mainly much better bass, generally sounds less tinny and i can push the volume as high as i want without it getting uncomfortably shrill and distorted, all while still maintaining the quality.

also, i used to have to disable the EQ when listening on headphones - no need for that any more.

impressed.

They don't sound improved, but how they should sound.

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can't believe Rubez fell for all of this lol.

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

The onboard Realtek soundcard on my Asus mobo sounded pretty good to me but then I hooked it up to an old home theater receiver via the co-ax spdif interface, rather than using those 3.5mm ports.

If you are using mainly VSTs you don't really need to buy an audio interface.

heavy VSTs like omnisphere, or even lesser ones at times, crackle and pop under on-board sound, so an interface is necessary i found.

i have i7 4GHz 16GB RAM, so the sound was my weak point. the issue cleared up completely with a proper audio interface.

It's the ASIO driver that solves that issue, not the hardware itself.

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i tried a native realtek ASIO driver, a special FL ASIO driver, and ASIO4ALL.

all had exactly the same results. none was better than the other.

soon as i used the interface with its ASIO driver, problem vanished.