Soundcards

>>57433045
Will you hear a difference? Depends on your earphones. What you'll hear is most likely some sort of equalizer bullshit that makes you think it was a good buy.

Soundcards are massive memes. You could use one to pass through to a VM or something, but that's not necessary, even if you do use passthrough VMs. Just don't bother with external soundcards.

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>>57433045
it's good for amp >80 ohm headphone, the rest is pure placebo

soundcards are absolutely a meme

>>57433045
I want that sound card IMO

I have that sound card and use a pair of beyer-dynamic cans. They sound great.

OP here
Most people recommend sound cards in order to avoid noise and electrical interference. However I don't have this problem. Will I still notice any difference in quality?
I listen to placebo FLACs because btw.

>tfw EAX will never be a thing again

>>57433927
Probably not, no.

I have an Essence STX, and I love it primarily because no static.

>>57433927
People recommend EXTERNAL soundcard for noise isolation and good signal/noise ratio. Soundcards in your PC is basically just an amp, but it's right in the middle of electromagnetic warfare, so it might pick up some hums.
Basically if you need a soundcard (maybe you have high ohm headphones and your motherboard jack just can't power it), you might as well get an external one and eliminate more problems while youre at it

Are there any cheaper external cards that can record 2 inputs simultaneously - line and mic and present it to windows as single audio input?

>>57434048
Yes, most audio interfaces have at least stereo input (many have just one input for mics so make sure first)
But why would you want it presented as single audio input?
I think win10 supports multiple simultaneous inputs or just use fucking mixing software to mix the inputs

>>57434075
In some programs you can only select one input for it to listen to and I need it to listen to two devices at once. I need some card that mixes inputs automatically in hardware or has bundled sort to do so. I need something like a mixer/interface hybrid but very basic. I don't need more inputs

>>57433045
only if your motherboard only has 3 jacks and/or can only power 32ohm drivers. Mine has 7 ports and has a built in amp rated for 600ohms and can play high bitrate fine. For me a soundcard/DAC is a fancy desk memebox

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>>57434154
Get a little USB mixer, you can mix and EQ a couple of different inputs individually and then patch the whole mix back into the computer as a single input over USB
I'd recommend getting one with compression, I had a 8-input Yamaha USB mixer and a decent compressor was always useful

>>57434154
And "USB" mixers do have built in DACs and amps, they're really a do everything box

>>57434154
Just remember "4 input mixers" usually just means two stereo inputs or a stereo input and two XLR inputs. The USB source audio isn't included as an "input". But there's nothing wrong with getting extra inputs, I had 8 and still filled it up from time to time (console, mic, 2 instruments, aux cord)