Audio Card With A CD Burner?

[craiger]

I have been using onboard audio. Its a Creative Labs Sound Card, the ES1373 I think. Is this good to use with a CD burner and a DVD-Rom? Do you really only need a good sound card for output to speakers for great sound? Does a sound card matter for music recordings? Thanks, My onboard sound seems ok hooked up to my little Harmon Kardon speakers. I don't have a subwoofer. Thanks, Craig.

[coolestnitish]

You do need a good sound card if you want to hear good audio. Newer sound cards support Dolby Digital, 5.1 output etc. But you also need good speakers to take full advantage of the card.
As per the burning part goes, I don't think a better sound card burns better sounding audio CDs. In DVD playback, a better soundcard will give you better output as I mentioned before.

[cfitz]

Does a sound card matter for music recordings?

That depends on what you are recording. If you are burning backup copies or compilations of your CDs (where the music has already been digitized) it doesn't matter a whit what sound card, if any, you have installed. The sound card is not used at all for recording source material that is already in a digital format, so its quality never even enters the picture.

On the other hand, if you are recording a copy of a favorite old LP or any other analog source, then the sound card is of utmost importance. You have to use the sound card to digitize the analog music signal in this situation, and the quality of that sound card's analog to digital conversion will be the most important factor in determining the final quality of your recording (assuming the original analog source is in reasonable shape to begin with).

Depending on how finicky your ears are, you may be satisfied with the 18-bit Turtle Beach Santa Cruz model, the newest 24-bit Sound Blaster Audigy 2 models, or you may want to move up to semi-professional models.

cfitz

[craiger]

Thanks for the info. I think I got it now.

Upgrade onboard soundcard - Better audio output to speakers

Upgrade onboard soundcard - Transfering analog audio to CD

Don't upgrade onboard soundcard - Digital to Digital

[coolestnitish]

Yup, you got it