External Sound Card. The main aspects of the choice

Unfortunately, at the moment external soundThe card is a luxury device for avid professionals, geeks and connoisseurs, while ordinary users have to use integrated options, which is a big loss. The indisputable fact that you can find a high-quality embedded codec, while it will only be improved over time, but the hardware-solutions also do not stop. You also need to add that the audio data is processed in the device itself at the hardware level. This is only a plus: when listening to lossless audio files or watching video files, the processor is unloaded, and if there is no external sound card, it is he who does all the work. Therefore, to buy a separate card is the best option.

In order to make the right choice, you can not do withouta painstaking analysis of a number of necessary characteristics that an external sound card has. Some of them may be insignificant, while others are important. So let's start with the basic parameters.

Form factor

The words of an ordinary person - this is the type of soundcard that you will have. Since the meaning of this article is to clarify the situation with external devices (and they are irreplaceable), we will talk about this form factor, although there are internal sound cards. Imagine a situation that you have a fairly tolerable working laptop that meets all your requirements, except for one thing: it has an ancient sound card built in that gives out poor-quality sound. In this case, you can use an external sound card that works through the USB interface. If you have a desktop computer, then still pay attention to the built-in options, the price will be less, and free USB ports - more.

Acoustics

Pay attention to the external sound cardIt is worth only if your speaker system, that is, speakers, are more expensive than $ 180 and belong at least to the middle class. Otherwise, the difference will not be noticeable, and the money will go down the drain, because low-budget acoustics produce a bad sound, regardless of the card.

Support various sound standards

Marketers of all manufacturers print onThe boxes of their creations are proudly painted inscriptions, such as EAX, EAX ADVANCED HD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES Surround, DTS Digital Surround, but do you really need these standards? First you need to clarify what they mean and what to do in case of their absence. The last four options are undoubtedly obligatory, because for multichannel tracks in films this is the standard. All modern films have a DTS soundtrack, which is a head taller than the AC3 standard even on cheap speakers and a sound card. In addition, there is their hardware support, which, of course, can not but rejoice. If the reader of the article is an avid gamer, who prefers the latest toys that have support for multi-channel sound, then he cannot do without EAX. If you are not fond of computer games, then you shouldn't spend money on EAX.

Specific Models

Like any other device, an external sound card for recording can be of three classes: budget, optimal and luxury. So, the best budget sound card is the Miotex MT97SB. with the price of 13 cuThe best choice would be Creative E-MU 0204, and the best external sound card is ASUS Xonar Essence ONE Muses Edition with a slightly daunting price tag of 790 cu, but believe me, the game is worth the candle.

Now you know how to buy a sound card that will serve for many years.