The problem that I have ran into the past week right after I have just dusted out my PC is that my audio does not work anymore. I’ve tried to plug my Siberia V2 into my front audio header no sound and when I plug my headset into the back of my computer the audio I get is muffled, distorted, not as clear as it used to, and the mic jack on both ends do not work be prior to the dusting job. After some research I can only assume it’s something that has to do with interference but I have not seen any sort of solution on my search of how to restore my audio if it is interference. I think what would be the best solution is getting a new sound solution to replace my on-board audio on my Asrock Z87 Killer. The Audio solution I would like to have would have to have same or better audio quality as the on-board audio solution. The on-board audio supports headphones to 600ohm, have a SNR of 115 and has 7.1 surround sound. I’ve been looking at several solutions myself and decided on maybe getting the Asus 7.1 DX, Creative Sound blaster Z, or Asus U7. If you could recommend a sound card/ Dac solution to that supports both a headset and microphone what would you choose and why?
First of all, you might have accidentally unplugged the front panel audio jacks. Check to see for any loose wires. It's fairly common for only the front OR the back to be amped well, so definitely try that first; your onboard audio might still be fine. Also check to make sure that it's not just loose, either.
If it isn't an issue with a cable coming unplugged, I'd look into an external amp/DAC combo. Just look for one that has the inputs/outputs that you want. FiiO has a lot of great offerings that aren't all that expensive, so you might wanna start there.
I just checked and the front audio header is not loose and the wire that leads to the front does not look damaged and the soldering to the port do not looked damaged either. I think I may get the Creative Sound Blaster Z as it's a sound card and I want to be able to my front header again. Also having a sound card doesn't use desk space. Sure it doesn't have 7.1 surround sound but I mainly use headphones and it has a built in amp so when I decide to get a better set of headphones I'll be ready!
The down side I see of using a sound card is the possibility of audio interference but I see that as a possible price to pay for less cable clutter. If it doesn't work out with the sound card I'll just go for the Asus U7 as it's both a amp/DAC combo with good sound quality with a trusted brand name.