Will a new sound card sound better?

[Artyboy]

I have a pretty simple sound system on my second computer right now. It's a 16 bit Soundblaster PCI with a set of Kinyo 2.1 SA-680 speakers. I usually use the secondary system for playing dvds and music while I'm gaming on my main. I was just wondering if getting a new sound card will improve the sound quality enough to warrant the purchase. They just sound hollow right now. Here are the specs on them:

Total Power Output: 550w (11w RMS)
Satellite: 100+100 Watts
Subwoofer: 350 Watts

Driver:
Satellite: 3" Full Range Shielded
Subwoofer: 4" Ported

Frequency Response: 70hz - 18khz

What do you guys think? I was thinking about getting a Turtle Beach or something along those lines. I'm not super picky when it comes to sound quality. I just want to know how much the sound quality will improve just by changing out the sound card. Or are the speakers what make all of the differance?

[germanjulian]

sound card makes a big difference. just read some reviews to see which ones suits you most from all these soundcards to choose from.

16 bit sound blaster pci is pretty dam awful by the way :)

[dalilman52]

oh yeah, the sound card definitely matters, a good card thats out right now that isnt too expensive is the soundblaster auidgy 2 zs, its a really nice card

[TR_B]

Originally posted by Artyboy
Total Power Output: 550w (11w RMS)
Satellite: 100+100 Watts
Subwoofer: 350 Watts


11 Watt RMS in total? Is that correct? So I reckon the 550w are PMPO (or of such kind).

From my experience: speakers make or break soundquality more than the soundcard itself.

My homemade speakerset (height: ~1m, 2x 100w RMS amp.) can even make my 486 computer (acts as mp3 player; with a crappy ISA soundblaster emu card) sound pretty good.

Bare in mind I do not have any experience with the 'Kinyo 2.1 SA-680 speakers' but I think you have more chance of getting rid of the 'hollowness' in the sound by fiddling around with, for example, the equalizer within WinAmp.

I had a SB PCI card before, and after I upgraded to a Terratec card I didn't notice a lot of difference with my normal pc speaker set; I only did with my headphones on or if it was connected to my stereo.

The two people who replied above me are right though, but I just wanted to mention my own experience. If you have the money for a new card anyway, just go for it. :)

Just my humble $0.02

[JimmyG]

I think the biggest difference you will see is how you connect to your power amplifier. If you buy a card that has digital output that you can connect to a surround sound amplifier, you may hear a "barely" noticeable difference. I all depends on the acoustics of your room and your acquity of hearing. My old ears don't detect much of a difference between my previous SB 16 and current Audigy.

[sLk]

Speakers will make a bigger differece in quality than a soundcard would.
There's a reason why quality speakers cost more.

[Artyboy]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll hold off on getting a new soundcard for a little while. Right now it's about the same as a stock tv with more bass so I can't complain too much. I'm definately not an audiophile.

[Wicked Klown]

After reading te post I have a fast question for you. BY chance are you sure about the 11watts RMS? In all my years with car, home and now computer audio, I've learned that the peak power is the RMS times 2. So if your RMS is 11 your peak power would be 22watts. Like with the Logitech Z-680s the RMS is 500 and the peak is 1000watts.


PS I just did a little searching and found this about your speakers.
SA-680

¡@

Satellite Speaker
4 Watts (RMS)
3" Full Range Speaker
Frequency Response: 120Hz~18KHz
Dimension: W90 x H200 x D73 mm

Subwoofer
7 Watts (RMS)
4" Woofer
Frequency Response: 70Hz~300Hz
Dimension: W148 x H198 x D240 mm


That measn the max for the satellites are 8 watts and the sub is 14watts.

[Artyboy]

I'm just going by what the box says. I have absolutely no idea what any of it means. I take it 11 watts is pretty crappy, then?

[Wicked Klown]

I know one of the mods here has these speakers (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2,CONTENTID=5047) He loves them they sound great. 11watts is nothing to brag about but as long as it sounds good to you then thats all the counts.

[Artyboy]

I've almost picked those up on several occasions. I just haven't gotten around to it yet :)

[TR_B]

Originally posted by Klownin79
After reading te post I have a fast question for you. BY chance are you sure about the 11watts RMS? In all my years with car, home and now computer audio, I've learned that the peak power is the RMS times 2. So if your RMS is 11 your peak power would be 22watts. Like with the Logitech Z-680s the RMS is 500 and the peak is 1000watts.

I tend to be a little sceptical about specifications with RMS ratings that high, and especially about the socalled "peak power output"; no one is ever gonna (be able to) play his music at that level. And would it be RMS output for the amplifier or the max input a speaker can handle or what each speaker actually can produce? (I believe it ought to be the latter).

Ohwell, doesn't really matter though. I was never able to convince an old friend there was a way his speaker set could produce 100w RMS. ( the build-in amp was fed with a small 6 volt adapter :D )

BTW 11 RMS can be enough to wake up your neighbours in the middle of the night :)