[SOLVED] Sound project brainstorming ?

[ToxicMushroom]

so..- a few things first .. " excuse the text wall .. and no grammar : ) ..but i do my best to spell correct ..
i have an ancient relic sound card , the creative sound blaster zxr - though at a point " make sense " , they stopped supporting it ..-
..
is there a major need to upgrade / change ..
no not yet .-
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is it broken or some ..
no , has being going strong , still is ..
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what you willing to spend ? ..
300-600 dollars " living in Denmark " ... that said.. dosen have to be high price for good .. - and if it is a little high ,i might split up the bill over 3-4 months..so pricing isent much of a issue " i am not made of money.. but if i can buy something that last me 10 years or longer and only need to pay off over 3-4 months / a year.. then okay .
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but mobo , have perfect fine sound chip now days and so on ..- yeah ..but i the person , that if i go hunting ,i dont take a fine tuned rifle with me , i take a cannon - point being , i like to do extra .. bigger if i can .. plus giving my project i feel it make sense .-
the mother board i have is a z490 aorus master , with an i9 cpu -
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anyways .. my project , goal is a 9,1 -9,4 surround sound system at a point .. slowly build up to it .-
not sure with Atmos fully but at that point , most would proberly do it ..-
despite i could be fine and just stay at a 7,2 system " 2 subs " .. alright..

but hey , giving i use my system 24,7 movies and gaming - lasting a life time, i might as well come out swinging big .. slowly build up for a 9 system..
so , -my sound card only goes up to a 5,1 .. can it still work beyond that , i doubt ?
can the mother board , with windows and a soft ware , support past 7,1 or full on 9 .. maybe ?

so.. what i gather is that , i use a hdmi 2,1 " the newer cables " .. for sound .. might be a little better then tos link ..
copper plated "premium " cable , to my pc ..
But .. the cannon , the extra power .. -
i like to buy a dac and amp .. , and i dont really find what i looking for properly , trough google searched , -
plus , it keept coming up at how good it was to use with headset and such ..-

so i asking here .. not to be a dumb dumb..
-but for a more fine tuned looking .. asking for help -. recommendation ..

i properly dont need both "dac and amp " ..but would be nice .. a combo box of the 2 .. maybe ?
.. while i also have a yeti pro mic plugged in to the pc , if that can be attach to , great , say XRL cable thing ..

my head set , a pro x 2 light speed Logitech .-. works fine on its on - i use my speakers 95% more / most of the time anyways ..
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so, all that said .. what would foks recommend for this project .. ?
something special i should look in to - for . brand ? -
regard dac and amp ..
advise ? .-

i have being eye balling something like scarlett for years ,-
scarlett 16i16
and lately .. Creative SoundBlaster G8 maybe ?`

regards ..
meanwhile i keep looking, comparing and such ..

 

[Aeacus]

First off, i'm not an audiophile but at least i can share my 2 cents.

can the mother board , with windows and a soft ware , support past 7,1 or full on 9 .. maybe ?

Well, you MoBo natively supports true 7.1 already. But that is tops.
MoBo specs: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z490-AORUS-MASTER-rev-1x/sp#sp

So, you can either use the round ports to get the 7.1 channel out or use the S/PDIF port to get the 7.1 out of your PC. Whereby there is no need to buy dedicated sound card.

I looked around and could not find any PCI-E sound card that outputs true 9.1 channels. (I'm not even sure if the software/Win is even able to generate 9.1 or higher.) Most what i found, are 7.1, but your MoBo natively supports that already.

To get 9.1 or 9.4, well, things get difficult.
You can achieve 9.1 or 9.4, but it won't be true, direct channels. Instead, devices that claim to support 9.1 or 10.1 channel audio, often refers to their ability to process or downmix these higher channel counts to a format that S/PDIF can output, like 5.1 or 7.1, rather than directly outputting 9.1 channels through S/PDIF.
S/PDIF is not capable of carrying 9.1. It maxes out at 7.1. So, channel mixing must be made to achieve 9.1 or higher.

So, all what you need, is a DAC. Maybe AMP too if you plan to use high resistance speakers which DAC otherwise can't power. But dedicated sound card isn't needed.

 

[ToxicMushroom]

First off, i'm not an audiophile but at least i can share my 2 cents.


Well, you MoBo natively supports true 7.1 already. But that is tops.
MoBo specs: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z490-AORUS-MASTER-rev-1x/sp#sp

So, you can either use the round ports to get the 7.1 channel out or use the S/PDIF port to get the 7.1 out of your PC. Whereby there is no need to buy dedicated sound card.

I looked around and could not find any PCI-E sound card that outputs true 9.1 channels. (I'm not even sure if the software/Win is even able to generate 9.1 or higher.) Most what i found, are 7.1, but your MoBo natively supports that already.

To get 9.1 or 9.4, well, things get difficult.
You can achieve 9.1 or 9.4, but it won't be true, direct channels. Instead, devices that claim to support 9.1 or 10.1 channel audio, often refers to their ability to process or downmix these higher channel counts to a format that S/PDIF can output, like 5.1 or 7.1, rather than directly outputting 9.1 channels through S/PDIF.
S/PDIF is not capable of carrying 9.1. It maxes out at 7.1. So, channel mixing must be made to achieve 9.1 or higher.

So, all what you need, is a DAC. Maybe AMP too if you plan to use high resistance speakers which DAC otherwise can't power. But dedicated sound card isn't needed.

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thats fair enough,- i not hard core wiz to this either, so thanks : ) -

yeah i know, most newer ones does i would think - , great, its a standard really , if not just 5,1 -

true , i know that, i just like to have an extra box on the side , plus if it gives abit more power and control to things, even better-

yeah exactly , my issue over the last 3-4 years, i being puzzling with this , -
sad to see sound card dying out , i somewhat get it ..still -

-wow, that was a bit more then i found, appricated - and i figured it was rather tricky to get to work really.- and over all from what i read around and such ,it does seam easier to just stick with 7,1 - 7,2 -

true , i know and i agree.. what i came to understand as well -
- now just to find the right DAC and AMP ,- preferable not comb ,but 2 unites , maybe same brand and connect with proper cable -.

i know my way around a pc enough and brands / what decent , good enough .. what i like ..

.but for sound, more so -
those 2 . i rather clueless " ish " .. and barely know any brand on it -

i saw a Fosi Audio ZD3 Desktop DAC , to 235 dollars ," maybe less, if discount somewhere-
that sounded decent and powerful ? maybe heh ... i need to call the shop tomorrow , see what they have to say.. just to hear advise from there - .

 

[Aeacus]

sad to see sound card dying out , i somewhat get it ..still -

Some 25 years ago or so, where MoBos didn't include on-board audio, dedicated sound cards were a must if you wanted to hear audio from the PC. But nowadays, every MoBo has on-board audio and for the past 10 or so years, it has gotten pretty good. So, for the most of people, what comes with the MoBo, is good enough. Whereby there's no need for dedicated sound card. Hence the decline.

What i'm most sad about, is the disappearance of 5.25" external bays from PC cases. Used to be where every PC case had several. Now, modern PC cases have none. And while the ODD is obsolete, 5.25" external bay can actually hold plethora of different hardware and not just ODD. 5.25" external bay is the most versatile PC feature out there. You can put all sorts of hardware there: card readers, 3.5" hot-swap dock, 2.5" hot-swap dock, fan controller, LCD display etc etc. Essentially anything that fits in the dimensions of internal ODD.
In my PCs, i have external fan controller, ODD and card reader housed in my 5.25" external bays (pics of my builds in my sig if interested).

those 2 . i rather clueless " ish " .. and barely know any brand on it -

I don't know any either, since i don't use dedicated DAC and AMP.

What i have in use, are Corsair Void Pro RGB USB headset (with Dolby 7.1 surround) and AverMedia Ballista Trinity GS315 2.1 speakers. Now, my speakers do have dedicated AMP but that came with the speaker setup.
But i digress.

To know better about DACs, there are helpful articles out there, like this one, with nice Q&A at the bottom,
link: https://www.themasterswitch.com/best-dacs

 

[ToxicMushroom]

Some 25 years ago or so, where MoBos didn't include on-board audio, dedicated sound cards were a must if you wanted to hear audio from the PC. But nowadays, every MoBo has on-board audio and for the past 10 or so years, it has gotten pretty good. So, for the most of people, what comes with the MoBo, is good enough. Whereby there's no need for dedicated sound card. Hence the decline.

What i'm most sad about, is the disappearance of 5.25" external bays from PC cases. Used to be where every PC case had several. Now, modern PC cases have none. And while the ODD is obsolete, 5.25" external bay can actually hold plethora of different hardware and not just ODD. 5.25" external bay is the most versatile PC feature out there. You can put all sorts of hardware there: card readers, 3.5" hot-swap dock, 2.5" hot-swap dock, fan controller, LCD display etc etc. Essentially anything that fits in the dimensions of internal ODD.
In my PCs, i have external fan controller, ODD and card reader housed in my 5.25" external bays (pics of my builds in my sig if interested).


I don't know any either, since i don't use dedicated DAC and AMP.

What i have in use, are Corsair Void Pro RGB USB headset (with Dolby 7.1 surround) and AverMedia Ballista Trinity GS315 2.1 speakers. Now, my speakers do have dedicated AMP but that came with the speaker setup.
But i digress.

To know better about DACs, there are helpful articles out there, like this one, with nice Q&A at the bottom,
link: https://www.themasterswitch.com/best-dacs

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i know, and its a neat thing as well - ,

yes, exactly and i agree ..- i still wouldent mind a sound card / box, internal or external -

alright , i vaguely remeber of that .,-but sounds great yes -
-okay, i might take a look, though sounds awesome ,-.
i havent needed for much extra added to my pc , except more ssd or nvm2 - , meanwhile i running a corsair command hub for my 4 newer fans -

yeah , i figured - dosent make it easier-
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mm alright, fair _
not sure if mine has or not .. maybe ? -

yeah i have being reading around here and there, - but thanks, i check that to -

 

[ToxicMushroom]

okay, so i just got off the phone , from a store in Denmark , regarding buying new speakers and receiver -
, "not that they the only ones, or hard core pro " .--but they did sounded knowledgeable -

so.. somehow i was totally wrong it seams "for years ? , embarrassing " , somehow understood / miss understood something related to dac - amp .. i totally dont need it -
i just need to plug in a HDMI 2,1 cable from mother board , to receiverand done ..-

7,1-7,2 .. system no problem .- maybe Atmos ?

9,1-9,2 ..system, sounded more tricky . alright -

but yeah when i look back on it .. it never really made sense to why i would need or use a dac- amp to get more power, unless headset user only ..
where i use my speakers 98% of the time , with sound from desktop only , not tv ..
hmm..

Well I'm gonna call this thread solved then , but keeping the thread open if others can learn from it .. or simply have other inputs, i be glad to hear : )
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so plan now then looks like , getting
https://www.av-connection.dk/?PGr=15984

Onkyo TX-NR7100 surround receiver (9.2)​

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connect it with HDMI 2,1 to my mother board .. -
slowly add more speakers , " of the brand

Klipsch "​

--until i get 7 or 9 system , depending on money and space / speaker placement ..

 

[willamstock2]

Sure! How about a nature soundscape a lo fi beat mix or a story told through sound effects

 

[ToxicMushroom]

Sure! How about a nature soundscape a lo fi beat mix or a story told through sound effects

um..okay ?