Sound cards w/ headsets

A

AndrewLL

New Member
In general, will a sound card (not a sound card that comes with a motherboard) still improve the quality of sound if I am using a headset?

At the moment, I am looking at two headsets: http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/akr8/home.aspx (Turtle Beach USB PC Gaming Headset) and http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/headsets/devices/5095&cl=us,en (G35 Surround Sound Headset). I don't *need* customizable G keys that come with the G35 headset because I already have the G9x mouse and G19 keyboard, both of which have enough G keys. Of course, I don't need the voice morphing that comes with the G35 headset. So should I go with the Turtle Beach or would I still benefit from the G35 headset in some way? I'll be primarily using the headsets for gaming.
 
AndrewLL said:
In general, will a sound card (not a sound card that comes with a motherboard) still improve the quality of sound if I am using a headset?
Click to expand...

That is debatable. Most motherboard sound chipsets are on par with the quality of standalone cards these days. There is, however, potential for less noise and cleaner audio (though imperceptible to most) with a card as its electronics are more separated from the motherboard's.

Now, this is with standard analog headphones - i.e. the ones with a headphone jack that you would plug into the sound card, not a USB connector. Those are a different case. See below.

At the moment, I am looking at two headsets: http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/akr8/home.aspx (Turtle Beach USB PC Gaming Headset) and http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/headsets/devices/5095&cl=us,en (G35 Surround Sound Headset). I don't *need* customizable G keys that come with the G35 headset because I already have the G9x mouse and G19 keyboard, both of which have enough G keys. Of course, I don't need the voice morphing that comes with the G35 headset. So should I go with the Turtle Beach or would I still benefit from the G35 headset in some way? I'll be primarily using the headsets for gaming.
Click to expand...
In general here, since you are considering a USB headset, your choice of onboard sound is irrelevant. USB headests are a standalone audio output source themselves. Audio routed to them will in no way be touched or processed by the onboard audio of your computer. The digital audio stream is instead directly routed to the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) of the USB device, your headphones. The USB headphone's drivers may have some play in the audio processing as well. You are essentially adding another "Sound Card" to your system anytime you plug in a USB headset.

The surround headsets tend to be a bit gimmicky but, from the various reviews I have read over the years, do their job fairly well. I have not heard or read about a pair of surround headsets that anyone would claim completely replace a good surround speaker system. But, either headset looks fine.
 
Thanks, Zatharus. I read in a review the G35 headset uses the motherboard's sound card or your own dedicated sound card although it is a USB headset because it doesn't have its own sound card. If I were to go with that headset, then I presume a sound card other than the motherboard's sound card would improve sound quality, right?

And thanks for sharing that most people will never notice the difference between the motherboard's sound card and a separate dedicated sound card. I'm probably one of those people. Would you take a look at the Intel Desktop Board DX58SO (http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/DX58SO/DX58SO-overview.htm) for me and tell me if you know whether it has good sound quality? I didn't find anything about that in any of its reviews.

Thanks again.
 
Most integrated audio on motherboards are more than enough for gaming, listening to music and pretty much anything except professional studio use.

since the G35 is USB it will not use the soundcard at all. From what i hear it has very good sound quality and the microphone is excellent too. (it auto-mutes when you put it in the upper position :eek: )
 
My pleasure Andrew.

Take a look over here. As Linkin93 and I have stated, USB audio devices do not use the soundcard. Either one of those headphones would function just fine even if you had no soundcard or audio subsystem in your computer. :)

On the motherboard: That Intel board uses the Realtek ALC889 codec. This is a very common audio chipset. Realtek makes a decent product and will serve you well. Overall, the DX58SO is a good board. Take at page 22 of this for more info on that board's audio specs.
 
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