Hey guys so I recently got some new speakers, these one's: Behringer MS-40. I was curious if buying a sound card makes sense. My onboard sound in nothing special, I've got an Asrock H61 micro atx board. I also would like to know if optical audio sounds better then the standard 3.5mm stuff since the MS-40's do have optical in. I don't want to spend to much so i was looking at this card: Asus Sonar DGX (maybe like idk). I would like some advise.
Short answer is: not an internal card, but an external USB DAC would help a lot. If they're not powered speakers then try and pick up an Amp, like the O2 with RCA (if you need RCA for that model) and if they are passive speakers that require an Amp then a DAC is less necessary but nice to have.
Long Answer would be provided by someone who knows audio technicalities really well.
If by optical you mean TOSLINK, then no. It is a digital format. 0 and 1 are always 1 and 0s. The digital to analog converter is where it really matters. If you have a decent surround or stereo receiver your DAC will be good enough. Some higher end cd/dvd/bluray players have amazing DACs.
The only thing a sound card will give you is simulated surround sound but if you have a receiver it already has that ability.
I recommend bypassing your sound card all together and just run sound through HDMI.
Sound cards are only really useful for direct connections with a Headphones but you could buy a Head phone dace for the same price and run optical to the DAC and headphones out. In most cases this will be cheaper and you will get better sound.
The Behringer MS-40's are active speakers so I run a 3.5mm to analog cable (the 3.5mm to the red and white one) The 3.5mm comes directly from my computer so I was just curious if the is a cheap way to improve the sound.
If your mobo has an optical out, I would buy a optical cable. as in theory it would be the cheapest upgrade, as the signal would be being converted to analogue externally and one would assume the speakers would have better audio processing built in compared to your motherboard.
You should be using the digital optical in, not the analog cable.
digital vs analog will make no difference in your case with short runs (cable length less than 25 ft) first, Im sorry, but Behringer is a budget brand and they act like it. Id sell them and put the difference into some KRK's, Mackies, EV or JBL's. and those should have XLR jacks on the back. Buy a 3.5 to XLR cable and you are good to go. aside from that, use a software or hardware EQ. an EQ makes all the difference. I would run with a hardware EQ. But software is okay.
PS you need an XLR to XLR to daisy chain to the other speaker if they are active speakers
XLR may be a bit much if all he is doing is gaming.
First let me say I don't know much about this topic, BUT my experience might be helpful. A few months ago i got a new headset and a G510s keyboard. When i plugged my headset into my computer (I have an ASRock N68) It just wasn't the sound i expected. It was flat an i was left unimpressed. Well after unboxing and setting up my keyboard it hit me that my keyboard has a built in sound card. so i plugged my headset into my keyboard and BAM! it sounded amazing! so i think these guys are right on the money. just get an external card.