Best audio card to take full advantage of these? I am currently looking at Sound Blaster Z SBX or Xonar Essence, price is not a big issue.
1834796
The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You will be VERY happy. The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You... » Read More The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You will be VERY happy. « Show Less
1834797
I have heard, from LinusTechTips on YouTube, that the ASUS Xonar sound cards are great. I have the DGX, one of the cheaper ones, and it sounds really good.
1834798
I'm using the older ASUS Xonar Essence STX with my SP2500 and have been happy with it. There is a newer STX, the STX II, which comes in a 2.1 version and another version that has a daughter board that will also work with 5.1 and 7.1. The STX II without the daughter board is supposed have slightly better audio quality than the STX.
1834799
These are both highly rated but I went with the Sound blaster USB 24 bit DAC after having driver issues with the sound blaster internal card. This may have been related to my computer but you can't go wrong with any of the 3. The speakers are awesome in 24 bit.
1654290
Sorry.Shouldn't need a sound card. Depending on your system config. What OS are you running?
1280395
You can use any sound card you'd like. There are a wealth of inputs and some accept more than one type of connector. I think that for optimal sound, you should use a source with balanced output over XLR. This would be ideal, and any professional level SoundCard, or mixer for that matter, should offer a balanced output via 1/4" or XLR cable connection.
665817
The Sound Blaster Z drives them pretty well. If you are gaming I suggest also getting the AntLion Modmic for these guys.
1587291
I advise Scarlett 2i4 if you need 2 separate outputs for DJing, NI does the same but I had glitches on this soundcard. Roland is decent choice for sure, had good experience with M-Audio too.
441586
I feel that it is better than on-board sound cards.(Actually, I'm a Laptop user.)Clearer and more abundant sound is available.Of course, it can not be better than an expensive built-in sound card, I think.But with an inexpensive price, I could enjoy better sound.
1779112
Good internal and external sound cards for under $50 some $25 and you will have your sound back with the proper hole
125217
The speakers themselve should be enough. I have a crappy sound card and these speakers sound wonderful! Good luck. They're awesome!
1607865
What Brent said. Or get a audio interface. And connect them via 1/4" trs and USB. If your using these to make music I recommend the interface option as you'll want that for the sound card inside and it takes a load off your computer
133370
The manufacturer drivers are indeed bad on basically all of Asus' sound cards as far as I know, but this can be avoided by installing the Uni-Xonar drivers. These have worked great for me on my Xonar STX and they are quite simple to install. Honestly, if it weren't for the Uni-Xonar drivers, I don't know if I would recommend this card, but thankfully this option exists. My recommendation: Get the STX, install the Uni-Xonar drivers, then enjoy some amazing sound!
707172
They are awesome for gaming, been using mine for about 6 months now and loving them. As far as an amp, I've never used an external one, but I use a soundblaster ZXR and they sound phenominal.
233212
i would suggest getting a third party driver (UNi Xonar Drivers 1.72) from http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/ as asus no longer supports this soundcard
1663141
I use Senn PC360 and have noticed a difference when gaming and recording with Audacity, escpecially in the analog mic input. Using lossless audio is where this card will really shine, so make sure your music library is encoded with ALAC or FLAC, and maybe try HD Tracks for some higher-than-CD quality music!
1915566
Yes. I would recommend looking at one of the Asus Essence series cards for strictly music. http://www.asus.com/us/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Audio_Cards_Essence_Series_Products/
1460302
I have had this sound card installed for a while now. I am still amazed at the sound quality and have yet to really find a problem with it. This is a high quality all purpose card. It can support any headset currently on the market I can imagine.
1353201
Have a listen to the Arcam amps. They are a good match. The Nad line is also a good fit. I am using two nuforce mono blocks and have no complaints. It's worth getting a quality DAC.
2131441
If you are using Linux, you should install Rockbox. It's far better than the stock firmware. It supports a lot more audio formats and SDXC cards (above 32GB) as long as you format it as FAT32. This supports the latest stable Rockbox and it has been great for me.