Reddit mentions of Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp

I have 4 shakers set up on the 4 corners of my racing rig.

This is my DIY bass shaker setup:

Amp: http://www.parts-express.com/4x100w-at-4-ohm-tk2050-class-t-digital-audio-amplifier-board--320-335

Power Supply: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERNIGHT-24V-DC-14-6A-350W-Regulated-Switching-Power-Supply-Transformer-/331060676334?hash=item4d14c106ee:g:hV0AAMXQjWtRKt4z

Bass Shakers: http://www.amazon.com/Reckhorn-Bs-200-Tactile-Transducer-Theater/dp/B00AMH17GC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1425568544&sr=8-5&keywords=bass+shaker

Second Sound card to drive amp: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Audigy-SB1550/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1402934998&sr=8-8&keywords=sound+card

Bass Shakers: 4 x $40

Power Supply: 1 x $24

Amp: 1 x $50

Sound card: 1 x $30

DIY Total: $264

Examples:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/724042-My-DIY-SimVibe-racing-rig
http://www.overclock.net/t/1354257/project-log-my-diy-simvibe-racing-rig

If it's for PC -> receiver audio, you can also grab an internal or external sound card that has optical.

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-cards

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Computer-Internal-Sound-Cards/zgbs/electronics/284823

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-External-Sound-Cards/zgbs/electronics/3015427011

You'll get higher quality audio in a lot of them too. Good luck! :)

EDIT: I grabbed this one in particular and the sound quality rocks, supports 7.1, depending on your budget there's a ton out there:

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG

http://smile.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG?sa-no-redirect=1

The Audigy RX 7.1 is what I'm using for my ModMic currently, and it's absolutely solid for the price. Amazon Warehouse Deals has them for ~$45, and you can always return it if the 'cosmetic scratches' affect the usability of the product at all.

I currently have it on +20db boost and level set at 40/100 and I've gotten quite a few comments on how I sound better than I did before from the people I hang out with on Skype, etc. Best $50 for mic input I've spent, and I've tried a bunch of stuff to try to get the best audio experience.

Also, it has dual microphone inputs, which is useful if you stream games played with friends or if you want to keep your ModMic and your G4ME One plugged in at the same time but switch between the two.

Thanks man, the only other option would be to get a soundcard, something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Audigy-Performance/dp/B00EO6X7PG for example which is similar price. Although tbh I have no idea how to tell which one would produce higher quality recorded audio / sound.

i have the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card. It will power them. Fairly good price imo.

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG

I'm not sure, this is what I have.

> The advantage is basically in volume. On average adding an extra woofer adds 3 decibels to the sensitivity per watt and increases power handling.

OK, if that's all it adds then I have no need for 2 woofers lol, I listen at pretty low volumes (I have Asperger's and get ear fatigue easily)

> If you want to produce music in 5.1

no, I just want a stereo setup for production and a surround setup for gaming/movies, hopefully both using the JBL LSR305's. As far as I know, surround sound mixing is really only for film work. There's no practical reason to make music in 3.1, 4.1, etc since almost no listening environment is designed for surround sound music. I don't want to mess with my perception of L/R when producing

what do you think about something like this? It seems like the most cost-effective way to connect a bunch of powered monitors to a PC. For professional use it would be lackluster but for hobbyist use like mine I think it seems ideal. I have a hard time justifying $500 on what is essentially an audio cable adapter when I could spend that $500 on a center + sub (I have a small bedroom / dorm room when on campus and don't need a big sub)

I wonder if there is a clever way to use a Sys to effectively switch between stereo for music production (Focusrite > stereo speakers) and entertainment (soundcard > surround setup).

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526348534&sr=8-1&keywords=7.1+sound+card

There are cards that use PCI-e 1x if you have some spare room for one.

Those options seem gimmicky to me. I'm all for trying a different solution, but id honestly recommend just buying a sound card for $20 that works with PCIE and KNOW its going to work.

(EDIT:) After revisiting your post, i noticed the steelseries is a 7.1 surround headset. you'll need something a little more beefy then. This , I believe will do the trick. But i can't be for sure its exactly what you will want.

Maybe go to your local microstation and ask them what card they'd recommend?

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZPQsybQ4RVGMZ)

This will drive it just fine

not sure I fully follow all y'all but it sounds like I can try using the digital audio from TV to Receiver and enable bitstream.

Can I get around this problem by using a separate internal sound card like this one :

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=pd_ybh_a_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GW53JDZJBVM9Y9V4V410

I recently came across this sound card:

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493998169&sr=8-3&keywords=7.1%2Bsound%2Bcard&th=1

And it seems to have every feature that I am looking for (including low-latency mic playback into headphones). I know that it has a headphone amp, but I can't find any information about a microphone amp. Does anyone know if it does or not? My mic is struggling on my motherboard audio :/

I tried a large number of different versions of drivers to no avail.

The BIOS settings are correct

I did a complete version of Windows from the disk

I did add a new monitor just before this all happened. It was working perfectly for a few hours before it crashed. If i remember correctly i was casting twitch to my TV when my computer froze. I hit the reset switch and from then on out didn't have audio. Not sure how that would help but i have sense tried the same thing and it seemed to work fine. Also, If im going to buy a Sound Card would this be ok? (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1549339333&sr=1-4&keywords=sound%2Bcard&th=1) Never had a sound card so I dont know anything about them

Try this for your creative sound card, it will help with Bass and treble
I have 5.1 version of Creative

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG

What if i buy this? And connect it with optical cable from soundcard to receiver?

I'm completely new to this (basically have zero experience in the audio world) but I'm looking at getting a dedicated sound card. My use case is pretty much purely gaming, but I also listen to music a lot, just not hardcore like a lot of you folks do. I'm also a VR enthusiast and would be using this heavily for VR games. My setup would consist of 2.0 speakers, IEM's, and whatever sound card I get. What's important to me, in no particular order, is audio quality, immersiveness, surround sound, positional audio, ease of use/lack of hassle, build quality, and proper EMI shielding/lack of signal noise. The quality of audio through IEM's is more important than the quality of audio through the 2.0 speakers, since I wear IEM's while in VR. I'm not considering a DAC/amp at all, so please don't suggest that. My budget is $100 or less.

Here's what I've found so far, again in no particular order:

ASUS Xonar DSX

Creative Sound Blaster Z

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy RX 7.1

ASUS Strix SOAR

ASUS Xonar DGX

Out of these options, which do you think is best for my use case? Are there any better options in this price range I haven't considered yet? Will this even be a noticeable improvement over onboard audio? (Z270 motherboard)

Also, kinda unrelated but also kinda related: If I'm not horribly confused (which I am), the 2.0 speakers would require a left audio input and a right input, like this. However, I've noticed that none of these sound cards have left audio out/right audio out ports. Just front, rear, center, and woofer. (Plus a few more, like line in/mic in, but never left/right audio out.) So, uh... Where would I plug my speakers in? >.>

Also also, a lot of these sound cards advertise support for surround sound. Do I HAVE to have a 5.1/7.1 system in order to use surround sound, or would I be able to get surround sound with 2.0 speakers? Ditto for headphones - if I was using IEMs, would I be able to get surround sound? Or would it be the same as using onboard audio in that regard/make no difference because it's still only two speakers (one in each ear)?

You know what, I'm a moron. What's the advantage of having an external soundcard over the internal? My original plan was to get the sound card in the OP as well as this Behringer external for audio recording, but I have no idea what I'm doing.