Well I was just wondering how good your headphones have to be to make a soundcard worth it?
It seems only logical that if I have a $20 mic/headset and lets say a xonar phoebus it wouldn't do anything and that if I have a shit soundcard and $400 tritions nothing would happen. I want to strike a balance and I've come up with a couple "solutions" that apeal to me.
1. Get the RoG R4F that has "onboard" sound and a RoG Vulcan Pro.
2. Get the RoG R4F, RoG Vulcan Pro, and a Xonar Phoebus. (Just not use the "onboard" audio)
3 Get the RoG R4E, RoG Vulcan Pro, and a Xonar Phoebus.
I realize that these components are very specific but they're what I want and in the rough price range.
They increase in price as they go down. Would there be a large difference in quality between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3? Would the Vulcan's even see an increase witht the Phoebus?
Take a look at reviews and other hardware from different companies. Im hoping to buy a soundcard soon but i wont be spending LOADS on one, about £40 methinks.
The onboard audio on the ROG just has a creative sticker on it, its not special other than they improved the isolation of the DAC a bit better and maybe a few driver tweaks.
Also the RoG Vulcan Pro's have their own USB dac anyway, they are fairly pointless to purchase if you are buying a soundcard as well.
You are much better off getting a webcam with a decent mic and a decent pair of headphone's rather than using a pair of gameheadphones. The sound quality on them is fairly average even on the $300+ price range, they tend to just add more toys to them.
Also you imediately notice the difference of a dedicated sound card over onboard, even against ASUS's rebadged Realtek...
I don't get how the motherboard matters. That Asus Headset isn't very good and has its own DAC. What is your budget? You're better off with a proper pair of headphones and a mic.
The essense is more rounded sound card. I own a phoebus. The software is fantastic for gaming, it offers the same things as the essense does in terms of headphone amp, but has a slightly worse audio range (6db or something).
I also have Vulcans (not pros). I bought them to try the active noise cancelling (play at lans very often), and because they were cheap for what they offered.
In short, my thoughts on both are... Phoebus is a great sound card (amazing really), but if you dont intend on using them for games only the essense is a much more rounded soundcard. Vulcans have active noise cancelling (that does actually work pretty well), and sound is great for shooters (not immersive, but percise). There is better "audio" quality setups for similar money, but for gaming I wouldnt trade it for anything.
It comes down to how much of an audiophile you are or want to be really. I know ASUS make some great sound cards, but at the moment I am using the Auzentech Bravura. Auzentech is a company which is really commited to making high end soundcards and you can change the OPAMPS on them as well. I am really really loving this card ever since I got it and I use it for gaming, music and movies as well. I think the ASUS cards are more geared towards gaming though, so if that is your primary focus it seems to be a good choice.
Getting a soundcard will improve your sound, but again it depends on how it matters to you and how fussed you are about sound, so go for the Xonar Phoebus if that is the case. I don't know about the motherboards or why you are bringing them into the discussion of sound, but they don't matter when using a soundcard really :)