WEBVTT

00:00:00.199 --> 00:00:08.000
now there are plenty of topics that elicit strong reactions from PC and

00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:09.920
audio enthusiasts but few come close to

00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:14.799
is it worth it to Shell out the cash on a sound card or external audio interface

00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:19.800
so why does this debate stir up such passion and emotion on both sides who

00:00:17.560 --> 00:00:24.199
are sound cards for and what advantages do they really provide let's start this

00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:28.800
with an analogy think of the electrical signals traveling through the inside of

00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:32.759
your PC like cars on a highway if you're out there driving around all by yourself

00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:35.640
it's going to be pretty peaceful and quiet unless you've souped up your

00:00:34.480 --> 00:00:40.399
engine to make some sort of statement about the size of your junk but as more

00:00:38.120 --> 00:00:45.320
and more cars get on that Highway the ambient noise level is going to go up

00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:50.120
well the situation inside your computer is much more similar to The Busy Highway

00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:54.320
than the lonely one your CPU is processing millions of instructions per

00:00:52.239 --> 00:00:59.039
second and all that data flowing around on the motherboard makes it a very noisy

00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:03.960
place and if you turn on your speakers you might actually even be able to hear

00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:08.759
it all that extra electrical noise from inside the computer can manifest itself

00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.759
as hissing cracking and other distortions over your speakers or

00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:15.960
headphones when you're trying to listen to music watch Netflix or blow away that

00:01:14.479 --> 00:01:21.680
freaking annoying kid that keeps headshotting you through the wall somehow motherboard manufacturers have a

00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:26.360
few different ways of addressing this problem the most elegant of which is to

00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:31.360
place the audio circuitry on a dedicated area of the PCB away from the other

00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:35.560
components how however this solution is quite expensive to implement so it's

00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:40.439
mostly only straight Ballin boards that have this feature discrete sound cards

00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:44.960
are basically a more robust version of this and can be added to any motherboard

00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:51.079
they put all the audio signaling on a completely separate PCB that attaches

00:01:47.240 --> 00:01:53.159
via PCI or PCI Express and it comes with

00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:57.240
some additional advantages as well such as the capability for more inputs and

00:01:55.159 --> 00:02:00.960
outputs more powerful application to drive those fancy pant headphones of

00:01:59.119 --> 00:02:04.520
yours clean cleaner digital to analog conversion for more detailed sound and

00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:08.720
of course the ability to carry it forward to your next system when you

00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:12.720
upgrade the rest of your Hardware but sound cards are hardly a perfect

00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:17.000
solution they're still near the Emi noise inside your PC Tower their

00:02:14.760 --> 00:02:22.519
software drivers can be problematic and due to their nature as all-in-one

00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:26.160
Solutions their DAC or amp or both are

00:02:22.519 --> 00:02:28.560
not always the best enter external dacks

00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:33.080
these usually require no drivers and take the audio processing out of the

00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:36.599
noisy environment of your PC case all together allowing a cleaner analog

00:02:34.640 --> 00:02:41.040
signal to be sent to an amplifier that is either built into your speakers or

00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:45.239
bought separately even though Dax built into even onboard integrated sound cards

00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:50.080
are better than ever having a dedicated one that sits outside the case safe from

00:02:47.720 --> 00:02:55.159
Emi is something that many folks who are passionate about audio absolutely swear

00:02:52.280 --> 00:03:00.400
by but limus you still haven't actually answered the $644,000 question who are

00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:04.200
these products actually for well for one sound producers if you make music

00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:07.920
instead of just listening to it you might need more inputs and outputs than

00:03:06.200 --> 00:03:12.080
your onboard sound solution can give you which is usually just a complement of 3

00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:16.159
and 12 mm Jacks and an optical tossing port for two if you're super serial

00:03:14.519 --> 00:03:19.760
about getting the absolute most out of your fancy speakers or headphones

00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:23.799
especially High impedance or low sensitivity ones that are difficult to

00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:27.720
drive an onboard audio upgrade with particular attention to the amplifier

00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:31.519
might be necessary for hearing the finest details of whatever you're

00:03:29.239 --> 00:03:35.959
listening to too and finally and perhaps most obviously if you keep hearing

00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:39.760
noticeable hissing Distortion or just plain muddy audio quality then you'll

00:03:37.959 --> 00:03:43.799
definitely want to look into moving away from your onboard sound unless of course

00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:46.840
you enjoy listening to everything as if it was recorded on a cassette tape

00:03:45.239 --> 00:03:51.080
that's been traveling around the cosmos for the last 20-some years speaking of

00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:54.799
carrying around audio recordings with you and audible.com membership is the

00:03:53.079 --> 00:03:59.000
perfect thing for you if you want to have access to literally hundreds of

00:03:56.720 --> 00:04:03.040
thousands of highquality Audi books like Gone Girl by Jillian Flynn which I

00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:06.159
absolutely kicks butt by the way I love this book and I'm planning to go see the

00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:09.640
movie as soon as I possibly can but I have a baby but I'll I'll I'll get to it

00:04:08.079 --> 00:04:13.840
at some point because I can't get enough of it an audible membership gets you one

00:04:11.760 --> 00:04:17.400
Audi book of your choice to listen to in the car or at work or wherever it is you

00:04:15.799 --> 00:04:21.519
do that every month and gets you discounts on additional audiobooks if

00:04:19.359 --> 00:04:24.639
you crave more and the best part is that the first one is absolutely free so head

00:04:23.880 --> 00:04:28.840
over to audible.com to sign up and get started

00:04:27.520 --> 00:04:33.400
thanks for watching guys like this video if you liked it dislike if you thought it sucked leave a comment if you have

00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:37.479
suggestions for future fastest Poss also leave a comment if you have any feedback

00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:41.320
on this particular script our new guy actually wrote it so if you think that

00:04:39.840 --> 00:04:46.800
he sucks then make sure you let him know in the comments and as always guys don't forget to subscribe for more videos like

00:04:44.440 --> 00:04:50.080
this from Techquickie I never say that that's an outro for a different Channel

00:04:48.039 --> 00:04:53.240
that I do forget it subscribe if you haven't already