Looking to purchase a "real" sound card.

[Darknecron]

As the title states, I am looking to purchase a sound card that is substantially better than the my onboard card (Realtek ALC 887).

Sound system (from signature):
My Cambridge S30s are powered @ 50 WPC by an Audiosource AMP 100, and are on top of 3" anti-vibrational stands (yoga blocks, to be specific).
The L/R channels run from a 3.5mm analog plug on my onboard Realtek to the amp and pass through my Outlaw M8 subwoofer before going to the S30s.


System usage:
Gaming: 40%
Music: 60%


Notes:
I do not use headphones or anything other then a 2.1 setup on my PC (nor do I plan to in the foreseeable future); I have no need for a headphone amp or a 7.1 capable sound card. I have looked at cards like the HT Omega Claro and the ASUS Xonar STX, but I would rather avoid paying for features I would never use.

My budget is ~$200 max.

I will use shielded RCA cables to go from my sound card to the amp.

I am currently considering the AUDIOTRAK Prodigy HD2.


Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Knufire]

Have you considered SPDIF out to an external DAC?

 

[Darknecron]

From what I understand, nice DACs are quite spendy. However, if that setup produces equal or better SQ than similarly priced sound cards, I would likely jump at the opportunity. I am also looking for 24/192 if possible.

 

[NiHaoMike]

Best option is to upgrade to a digital amp, although you might not want to replace something that works. Asus has a sound card that does a very impressive 124dB SNR.

BTW, some 5.1 and 7.1 sound cards support reconfiguration to allow them to be used as 3 or 4 stereo outputs. Keep that in mind in case you might want to expand to a multi zone system.

 

[Darknecron]

Anyone have suggestions for a good DAC? I would prefer to keep the price under $100, but I can go up to $200. This budget includes a good SPDiF cable as well as a shielded RCA cable.

 

[WoodenKiwi]

Honestly, I have a $20 ASUS Xonar DG and if you aren't looking for anything crazy, the sound quality increase from onboard sound, for me at least, was phenomenal.

 

[idkfa]

Anyone have suggestions for a good DAC? I would prefer to keep the price under $100, but I can go up to $200.

You could use optical, too. I think my cable cost me like 5 bucks or so. Check out what FiiO offers, I use their E17 Alpen as an AMP/DAC for my Headphones at my desktop (although the E17 is designed mobile). Or head over to head-fi and see if they got any good reviews on cheap DACs.

 

[7keys]

I also use the Fiio E17 on my desktop, for my speakers and headphones.

I'm happy with it.

 

[freeagent]

I have an old Auzentech Prelude feeding my NAD T748, It works great for analogue and digital

 

[Darknecron]

I ended up getting the Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advanced DE (Special Edition). I did quite a bit of research before making this decision. I also have some sample op-amps coming in, which I will use to upgrade the default configuration.

The special edition of the card has upgraded capacitors, but only comes with the "Lite" edition's op amps...no matter since I am swapping them on day one.

 

[Darknecron]

The card arrived today, before the sample op-amps. Even with the stock LT-version's op-amps, I immediately noticed a vast improvement in clarity, definition, and soundstage over my onboard Realtek ALC 887.

I can hardly wait for my OP-amps to arrive!