Poor sound quality from chipset

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 3, 2007

I have an old sound chipset on my current motherboard (AC97-ICH5), which I've noticed seems to kill vocal/some-instrument volume on some of my music tracks (other are fine though). When I play music from my mp3 player through the same speakers the volume is fine. I'm not quite sure what does this, but it is really annoying. Does anyone know about what could be causing this? Can someone confirm that a pci sound card will fix this?

I'm using some cheap "Trust" 2.1 speakers (only one input though)

Trap05 · Apr 3, 2007

Onboard sound has improved but still mostly blows. Basically any PCI soundcard within reason would be a solid upgrade.

Bios24 · Apr 3, 2007

What motherboard is this? Are you overclocking? Most onboard soundcards use the southbridge for audio processing. If the southbridge gets too hot, it may cause a problem with the sound. Adding a heatsink to the southbridge or increasing case airflow can fix this problem.

If nothing else a cheap PCI sound card should fix this problem. Most onboard sound cards aren't that good anyway, especially for gaming.

Bios24 · Apr 3, 2007

Trap05 said:
Onboard sound has improved but still mostly blows. Basically any PCI soundcard within reason would be a solid upgrade.

QFT. That pretty much sums it up. You can get an SB Audigy for around $30 shipped now a days. Even less if it's on the classifieds.

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 3, 2007

soltek sl-86spe-l
Northbridge Intel i865P/PE/G/i848P rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801EB (ICH5) rev. 02
FSB overclocked by 1Mhz
Any recommendations on which SB Audigy I should be aiming for? (Vista compat. preferred)

Trap05 · Apr 3, 2007

Here is a list from the Creative site

http://ask.americas.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=ww_english_add,U={B8F60310-DA4F-11D3-94F4-00500463020E},Company={CEAE216D-8719-4C00-AC9F-03BC258F7B70},d=1130251443648,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com,case=14186

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 3, 2007

I just bought an SB Audigy 2 ZS through ebay, I'll report back when I get it

d4rr3n · Apr 3, 2007

Sheepeeshaun said:
I just bought an SB Audigy 2 ZS through ebay, I'll report back when I get it

You shouldn't be disappointed, that's a great card.....lots of satisfied owners. Just a suggestion, only if you can afford it and this is just my opinion, but you need some speakers or headphones that can really make use of that card. Headphones would be your best bet dollar wise for getting the most from it and IMHO that card deserves it. Maybe I was looking at the wrong speakers but does that 2.1 set run around $20-30? http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/ Check out there for some good ideas, I think a $40-60 set of headphones (again only a suggestion if you can swing that) would do a world of good.

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 4, 2007

d4rr3n said:
You shouldn't be disappointed, that's a great card.....lots of satisfied owners. Just a suggestion, only if you can afford it and this is just my opinion, but you need some speakers or headphones that can really make use of that card. Headphones would be your best bet dollar wise for getting the most from it and IMHO that card deserves it. Maybe I was looking at the wrong speakers but does that 2.1 set run around $20-30? http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/ Check out there for some good ideas, I think a $40-60 set of headphones (again only a suggestion if you can swing that) would do a world of good.

I admit that the speakers I have just now cost me £20 ($35-$40?)

The headphones I have just now cost me about $30 though (sennheiser in ear thingies). TBH I'm in the market for some good quality speakers - but my money is kinda divided just now between that and other things

(new mp3/guitars/etc)

Any recomendations on what speakers I should look at?

d4rr3n · Apr 4, 2007

Sheepeeshaun said:
I admit that the speakers I have just now cost me £20 ($35-$40?) The headphones I have just now cost me about $30 though (sennheiser in ear thingies). TBH I'm in the market for some good quality speakers - but my money is kinda divided just now between that and other things (new mp3/guitars/etc)

Any recomendations on what speakers I should look at?

What would your budget be? I'll do my best and see what I can find but IMHO I am certainly not the one to ask about pc speakers. My ears have been spoiled over the years heh.

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 5, 2007

I think I could spend about £60 (~$120) on some speakers that'll give good sound - good bass and no distortion at high volumes

Sheepeeshaun · Apr 6, 2007

Bump! I need recommendations!

grumperfish · Apr 10, 2007

If you can get a somewhat-decent receiver (maybe a refurbed 5.1 Onkyo) for you can find decent Polk Audio bookshelf speakers for right at around $60-70 USD.

Poor sound quality from chipset

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