A message on the topic of sound card and microphone. The best sound card for a computer. The best internal sound cards

Home computer It has long been transformed from a workstation into a full-fledged multimedia device. In addition to surfing the Internet and communicating on social media. networks, a modern PC allows its owner to watch videos, listen to music, process audio files, play, etc. To output an audio signal to speakers or headphones, a sound card (SC) is required. Next, we will consider the existing varieties, purpose and design features these devices.

How to choose a sound card

The main task of a sound card is to convert a digital signal into an analog signal and output it to headphones, speakers, etc. Today, all modern motherboards are equipped with an integrated sound card, which is capable of providing quite acceptable sound quality. Cons this decision are:

• decreased computer performance due to consumption of central processor resources;
• lack of a high-quality signal converter, which is processed using a hardware codec.

These are the main factors that force users to abandon integrated solutions and purchase discrete models for their computers. In order to choose correctly this device, you need to familiarize yourself with the types of sound cards, their purpose, technical characteristics, and scope of application.

Types of sound cards

Today, all sound cards are usually classified according to the following criteria:

1. Type of location. There are integrated, internal, external.
2. Connection method. Integrated cards are not removable, soldered directly into motherboard. Internal models connect to system board via PCI or PCI-Express slots. External, connect to PC via USB port or via high speed interface

Tip: when choosing an inexpensive external model, the best connection option is to use a high-speed USB 3.0 port. If your PC does not have one, you can purchase an expansion card that connects to the PCI slot.

1. Technical specifications. The most significant positions in the technical characteristics of a sound module are signal-to-noise ratio and harmonic distortion. For good cards the first indicator is in the range of 90 – 100 dB; the second – less than 0.00 1%.

Important! Pay attention to the bit depth of the digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converter. The norm is 24 Bits. The higher this indicator, the better the quality (QC).

1. Purpose. Sound modules can be divided into multimedia, gaming, and professional.

External Sound Card

External audio cards are small device, which connects to a laptop or PC via a high-speed FireWire interface. This design solved two main problems: increased the noise immunity of the card, which had a positive effect on sound quality, freed up a PCI slot, the number of which is limited in a PC.

Today, there are two FireWire standards: IEEE 1394, throughput which is 400 Mbit/s; IEEE 1394b, which supports data rates up to 800 Mbps. Audio cards with IEEE 1394 interface support up to 52 channels thanks to the ability to daisy-chain devices onto one bus. External sound cards with a FireWire interface are classified as semi-professional and professional equipment.

Important! To connect an external audio card to a laptop, you will need a PCMCI - FireWire adapter.

Sound card with usb

These devices appeared on the domestic market about 6 years ago. The device is connected to a PC via a USB port. These models are equipped with output for speakers or headphones and inputs for one or more microphones.

The main advantages of this technology:

• Versatility. All modern computers are equipped with this interface.
• Improved quality of playback and sound recording compared to integrated models.
• Mobility, ease of connection, map settings. As a rule, most budget models do not require installation of additional drivers. For more expensive models, drivers are supplied with the device.

The disadvantage of these audio converters is the relatively low speed data transmission. For the USB 2.0 interface, the data transfer speed does not exceed 480 Mbit/s.

Studio sound cards

A recording studio has its own specifics. Studio audio converters are equipped with a lot of different input and output connectors for connecting instruments, microphones and other studio equipment. Input connectors:

• XLR – connector for connecting a condenser microphone.
• Jasc3. Non-ballast jack for connecting instruments such as guitars and other acoustic instruments with pickups.
• Jasc3. Ballast connector for connecting keyboards, etc.
• S/PDIF – designed for recording a digital stereo signal.

Weekend:

• Jasc3. Ballasted. To transmit a signal to other devices.
• Jasc 5/6.3 For connecting headphones.
• S/PDIF – designed for transmitting a digital stereo signal.

To operate audio converters, manufacturers usually supply drivers. The most modern models do not even have them: studio sound cards use the ASIO protocol, which allows the device to communicate directly with the connected instrument.

Sound cards for microphones and guitars

Almost any external audio card with the required number of input connectors is suitable for recording sound from a microphone or guitar pickup. The only thing you need to know when choosing is the quality of the device, which is usually expressed in its cost. The main problem with capturing sound from a microphone or acoustic guitar pickup is sound distortion. Choose a premium audio converter that will preserve the sound of your voice and instrument in its original state.

Professional sound cards

A feature of professional sound converters is the lack of drivers included in the package. In addition, as standard, this type of device does not have tools for adjusting the sound level. All operations are performed programmatically; all information is displayed on a special control panel. Sound quality is ensured by built-in expensive converters. No interference and distortion - high-quality power filters.

Professional audio cards use ballast signal inputs and outputs. Output connectors are adapted for connecting musical instruments: RCA; Jasc 6.3; XLR connectors. A special feature of professional cards is the ability to support almost all standards, and even such rarely used ones as GSIF and ASIO2.

Features of Lexicon sound cards

Lexicon audio converters are external devices that provide a complete recording studio.

• Built-in USB mixer.
• Specially developed software with reverb plugin.

Equipment: TRS line inputs and TRS and RCA line outputs. Depending on the model, Lexicon sound cards allow you to process multiple input signals simultaneously and record two independent tracks. Connection to PC via USB interface.

As a conclusion

As noted above, an external sound card can have a USB or FireWire interface. They all have both positive and negative sides. The correct choice of interface depends solely on the task at hand.

FireWire should be chosen if you are a musician and need real-time audio signal processing. A card with a high-speed interface will be required for those who record audio simultaneously from 18 or more channels. For all other cases, experts recommend using USB audio cards, which are easy to use and do not require additional investments to upgrade your PC.

Many musicians and other people who often work with sound on a computer in one way or another or just listen to music are dissatisfied with the standard sound on a computer. This is where a sound card comes to the rescue. Let's talk about how to choose sound card , what are its types.

When purchasing a computer or laptop, you will in any case have a standard sound card installed on the motherboard. Often it is enough for ordinary ordinary users who do not care about sound quality and who just need sound.

Interesting fact: About 15 years ago, standard sound cards were not inserted into the motherboard, and you had to buy one separately. Because there was simply nowhere to connect speakers (headphones).

The built-in sound card is not suitable for musicians and audiophiles, so sooner or later they are faced with the question of buying an additional sound card. Any, even the most budget external sound card will make the sound much richer and brighter.

Of course, first of all, you must decide why you need a sound card. And based on this, you can choose a specific device.

What you might typically need a sound card for:

• You just need more connectors (inputs and outputs).
• Do you want high-quality sound in games?
• To listen to music.
• For sound recording and sound processing (for musicians).
• To watch movies.
• Etc.

Types of sound cards

To know, how to choose a sound card, you need to understand that they are all conditional can be divided into 2 categories:

1. Musical. Such devices are intended mainly for musicians, sound engineers - for people who have to work with sound recording and processing. Such sound cards are more expensive than other cards.
2. Multimedia. These models are suitable for ordinary users: for watching movies, for playing games, for recording videos, for general listening to music. Such devices are more common and cheaper than musical ones.

In addition, sound cards are also divided into the following types:

It is worth noting that if you are choosing a sound card for a laptop (or tablet), then you should choose an external device. Internal map You simply won't be able to connect anywhere.

Audio outputs

The more sound outputs, the more devices you can connect to the sound card. Of course, each user needs their own number of connectors. Therefore, first decide why you need a sound card in order to estimate how many sound outputs you need.

Ideally, at a minimum, the sound card should have the following connectors:

1. Microphone input.
2. Headphone output.
3. S/PDIF connector. S/PDIF - you can connect various devices. It is believed that when connected through this connector, you can get better sound.
4. Line output.
5. MIDI inputs and outputs (if you plan to connect MIDI devices, such as synthesizers.

Which connector is needed for what:

Availability of headphone and microphone preamplifiers

Before, how to choose a sound card, please note that there are devices that are equipped with built-in preamplifiers for headphones and microphone, and there are also those without preamplifiers.

What is a preamplifier? The fact is that, for example, the microphone itself is weak, and in order to record it, a preamplifier is needed.

If sound quality is really important to you (both when recording and when listening), it is better to take an audio speaker without preamplifiers, and buy them separately, because the built-in preamplifiers are not of very good quality. But keep in mind that separate preamplifiers will take up additional space. At this point, decide for yourself what is most important to you.

Availability of built-in ASIO driver

When choosing a sound card, be sure to check or ask the seller whether the device has a built-in ASIO driver. What it is?

This is a special protocol that is needed to minimize the delay of sound when it is transmitted from the sound card to the computer.

For example, when you play a guitar (through a sound hook into a computer), you first hit the strings, and you hear the sound in the speakers after a while (even a split second - and you can already hear how the sound lags behind). Or when you play, the same thing can happen: first you press a key, and you hear the sound in the speakers after a while.

So, the ASIO driver minimizes this delay to such an extent that you will not hear it. That is, it will, of course, be there, but it will be so minimal that the human ear will not hear it.

So if this is important for you, make sure that such a driver is available when choosing a sound card. Otherwise, you will have to additionally install an ASIO driver for the program in which you will work, which is not always convenient.

Compatibility with your software

There are problems when you bought a sound card, connected it - but it does not want to work with your operating system, or with the program in which you work as a musician.

Therefore, inquire in advance and make sure that the sound card will not conflict with your software. As a last resort, do not hesitate to ask the seller about it.

How to choose a sound card: price

Of course, it is difficult to talk about prices for a particular model, since the price depends on many factors: the type of device, the manufacturer, the number of inputs and outputs, and the quality of the sound card.

We can only say that music sound cards are more expensive than multimedia ones, because the former are more demanding on sound quality.

The cheapest and most primitive sound card can cost you literally 100 rubles. For example, this one from China ():

Of course, don't expect a significant improvement in sound quality from this interface. Unless you get a couple of additional connectors, and that’s it. Moreover, for that kind of money, especially from China :) But for those who want to indulge, this option may be suitable.

Sound card of average quality, normal, may cost about 10-15K ruble y.

Professional sound cards, especially for professional musicians and sound engineers, can be very expensive, up to 300K rubles, and even higher.

Conclusion

So we figured out a little about this issue - how to choose a sound card. We can conclude that before you buy this device, you need to clearly understand why you need it. Based on these goals, you should choose a sound card.

Pay enough attention to choosing a sound card, don’t be lazy. You shouldn’t immediately run to the store and buy the first model you come across. Also don't forget to explore specifications device you like.

Do you know what other criteria you need to pay attention to when choosing a sound card? Write in the comments!

Sound card(or board) – a device responsible for sound reproduction. This is an essential component of any modern computer, because without it even the simplest actions such as listening to music, watching a movie or video, or playing the sound of any computer game are impossible.

When starting to choose a sound card for your computer, you should know that they come in three forms:

• internal integrated;
• internal discrete;
• external.

Integrated sound cards are the most budget option. This is a separate chip soldered into the motherboard. Typically, more reputable motherboards have higher-quality sound chips soldered on them, while simpler motherboards contain an inexpensive chip (for example, Realtek).

However, saving on the purchase of a sound card is justified only if no high demands are placed on the quality of the reproduced sound. It should be noted that the sound chips themselves can produce fairly high-quality sound, however, after soldering, external factors begin to influence the result of their work. First of all, this is electrical noise, which inevitably arises on the system board and affects the characteristics of the analog part of the audio signal.

In addition, the built-in sound adapter does not have its own processor. Accordingly, the load on the central processor increases, which in some cases can lead to a delay in the sound signal or “stuttering” of the sound. Don't forget that integrated cards are not designed to connect powerful high-end external devices. They can only work with inexpensive headphones and microphones, as well as multimedia acoustic systems.

Discrete sound cards

Discrete sound card is an independent board that is installed in a free PCI slot. This is the most ancient type of board - it was their use that at one time turned silent computers into multimedia computers. Discrete cards have a sound processor that performs the functions of audio processing, mixing audio streams, and so on. This makes it possible to reduce the load on the central processor, which certainly increases computer performance and improves the quality of audio signal playback.

Such boards provide more decent sound compared to integrated ones. As a rule, when using them, there is no interference or sound delay. You can use more powerful external devices - high-quality speakers or headphones, it is possible to connect a home theater system. Typically, a disk with software is supplied with a discrete sound card, which, among other things, allows you to process sound in automatic mode. Manual setting, as a rule, is performed through an audio player installed on the computer.

External sound cards

Installation required for high quality professional sound external sound card. Of course, it must be a good expensive device. Cheap USB cards do not provide high-quality sound. External sound cards have appeared quite recently. They look like small plastic or metal boxes equipped with a certain number of inputs and outputs for connecting external devices. Some boards are additionally equipped with various tuning controls. Such sound cards are connected to a computer when USB help or WiFi interfaces.

External boards are much more functional than internal ones. They allow you to use the entire wide range of capabilities of high-quality audio equipment. In addition to the sound output function, they also implement the function of recording sound signals - the case has inputs for connecting various types microphones.

Every external sound card comes bundled with software. As a rule, this is a package of applications that allow you to configure output devices for the most comfortable sound. In addition, they provide automatic update drivers, which is quite convenient.

Results

To summarize, it should be noted that when choosing the type of sound card, first of all you need to focus on the required sound quality and the level of acoustic equipment that you plan to use.

Every person needs a tool to work. It just so happened that a person began to be called intelligent precisely from the moment he used a tool for any type of activity (the wording is lame, but in general it is true). Actually, any musician, being a reasonable person, should be able to at least to some extent master a musical instrument. However, within the framework of this article we will not talk about a musical instrument in the usual sense (guitar, piano, triangle...), but about an instrument that is subsequently necessary for processing the sound signal. We will talk about the sound interface.

Theoretical basis

Let’s make a reservation right away: sound interface, audio interface, sound card – within the framework of the presentation, they are contextual synonyms. In general, a sound card is a kind of subset of a sound interface. From the point of view of system analysis, an interface is something, designed for interaction between two or more systems. In our case, the systems could be something like this:

1. sound recording device (microphone) – processing system (computer);
2. processing system (computer) – sound reproducing device (speakers, headphones);
3. hybrids 1 and 2.

Formally, all an ordinary person needs from an audio interface is to take data from the recording device and give it to the computer, or vice versa, take the data from the computer and send it to the playback device. As the signal passes through the audio interface, a special signal conversion is performed so that the receiving side can further process this signal. The playback device (final) somehow reproduces an analog or sine wave signal, which is expressed as an audio or elastic wave. Modern computer work with digital information, that is, information that is encoded as a sequence of zeros and ones (in more precise terms, in the form of signals of discrete strips of analog levels). Thus, the audio interface is subject to the obligation to convert an analog signal into a digital one and/or vice versa, which is actually the core of the audio interface: a digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converter (DAC and ADC or DAC and ADC, respectively), as well as wiring in in the form of a hardware codec, various filters, etc.
Modern PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc., as a rule, already have a built-in sound card, which allows you to record and play back sounds if you have recording and playback devices.

This is where one of the most frequently asked questions arises:

Is it possible to use the built-in sound card for sound recording and/or sound processing?

The answer to this question is very ambiguous.

How does a sound card work?

Let's figure out what happens to the signal that passes through the sound card. First, let's try to understand how digital signal converted to analog. As mentioned earlier, a DAC is used for this kind of conversion. We will not go into the jungle of hardware filling, considering various technologies and elemental base, we will simply outline “on the fingers” what is happening in the hardware.

So, we have a certain digital sequence, which represents an audio signal for output to the device.

111111000011001 001100101010100 1111110011001010 00000110100001 011101100110110001

0000000100011 00010101111100101 00010010110011101 1111111101110011 11001110010010

Here the colors are marked with encoded little pieces of sound. One second of sound can be encoded with a different number of such pieces, the number of these pieces is determined by the sampling frequency, that is, if the sampling frequency is 44.1 kHz, then one second of sound will be divided into 44,100 such pieces. The number of zeros and ones in one piece is determined by the sampling depth or quantization, or, simply, the bit depth.

Now, to imagine how a DAC works, let’s remember a school geometry course. Let’s imagine that time is the X axis, level is Y. On the X axis we mark the number of segments that will correspond to the sampling frequency, on the Y axis – 2 n segments which will indicate the number of sampling levels, after which we gradually mark the points that will match specific sound levels.

It is worth noting that in reality, coding according to the above principle will look like a broken line (orange graph), but during the conversion the so-called approximation to a sinusoid, or simply bringing the signal closer to the form of a sinusoid, which will lead to smoothing of the levels (blue graph).

This is approximately what an analog signal that is obtained as a result of decoding a digital signal will look like. It is worth noting that analog-to-digital conversion is done exactly the opposite: every 1/sampling_frequency seconds, the signal level is taken and encoded based on their sampling depth.

So, we have figured out how the DAC and ADC work (more or less), now it’s worth considering what parameters affect the final signal.

Basic sound card parameters

In the course of considering the operation of converters, we became acquainted with two main parameters: frequency and sampling depth; let’s consider them in more detail.
Sampling frequency– this is, roughly, the number of time periods into which 1 second of sound is divided. Why is it so important for audiophiles to have a sound card that can operate at frequencies higher than 40 kHz? This is due to the so-called Kotelnikov’s theorem (yes, mathematics again). If it’s trivial, then, according to this theorem, under ideal conditions, an analog signal can be restored from a discrete (digital) signal as accurately as desired, if the sampling frequency is greater than 2 frequency ranges of this same analog signal . That is, if we work with sound that a person hears (~ 20 Hz - 20 kHz), then the sampling frequency will be (20,000 - 20)x2 ~ 40,000 Hz, hence the de facto standard 44.1 kHz, this is the sampling frequency to most accurately encode the signal plus a little more (this, of course, is exaggerated, since this standard was set by Sony and the reasons are much more prosaic). However, as stated earlier, this is under ideal conditions. Ideal conditions mean the following: the signal should be infinitely extended in time and not have singularities in the form of zero spectral power or peak bursts of large amplitude. It goes without saying that a typical analog audio signal does not fit ideal conditions, due to the fact that this signal is finite in time and has bursts and dips to “zero” (roughly speaking, it has time gaps).

Sampling depth or bit depth– this is the number of powers of 2 that determines how many intervals the signal amplitude will be divided into. A person, due to the imperfection of his sound apparatus, as a rule, feels comfortable in perception when the signal depth is at least 10 bits, that is, 1024 levels; a person is unlikely to somehow feel a further increase in the bit depth, which cannot be said about technology.

As can be seen from the above, when converting a signal, the sound card makes certain “concessions”.

All this leads to the fact that the resulting signal will not exactly repeat the original one.

Problems when choosing a sound card

So, a sound engineer or musician (choose yours) bought a computer with a brand new OS, a cool processor, a large random access memory with a sound card built into the motherboard, which is promoted by the manufacturer, has outputs for providing a 5.1 sound system, the DAC-ADC has a sampling frequency of 48 kHz (this is no longer 44.1 kHz!), 24-bit bit depth, and so on and so forth... To celebrate, the engineer installs software for sound recording and discovers that this sound card cannot simultaneously “record” sound, apply effects and then instantly play it back. The sound may be of very high quality, but between the moment when the instrument plays a note, the computer processes the signal and plays it back, a certain amount of time will pass or, to put it simply, a lag will occur. It’s strange, because the consultant from Eldorado praised this computer so much, talked about the sound card and in general... and then... eh. Out of grief, the engineer goes back to the store, gives back the purchased computer, pays another fabulous sum in order to replace the returned one with a computer with even more powerful processor, more RAM, a 96 (!!!) kHz and 24-bit sound card and... in the end the same thing.

In fact, typical computers with standard built-in sound cards and stock drivers for them are not initially designed to process sound in near real-time mode and reproduce it, that is, they are not intended for VST-RTAS processing. The point here is not at all in the “basic” filling in the form of a processor-RAM memory-hard drive, each of these components is capable of this mode of operation, the problem is that a given sound card, sometimes, simply does not “know how” to work in real time.
When operating any computer device, due to the difference in operating speeds, so-called problems arise. delays. This is expressed by the processor waiting for a set of data that is necessary for processing. In addition, when developing as operating system, and drivers, as well as application software, programmers resort to the so-called. creation of the so-called software abstractions is when each higher layer of program code “hides” all the complexity of the lower level, providing only the simplest interfaces at its level. Sometimes there are tens of thousands of such abstraction levels. This approach simplifies the development process, but increases the time it takes for data to travel from source to recipient and vice versa.

In fact, lags can occur not only with built-in sound cards, but also with those connected via USB, WireFire (rest in peace), PCI, etc.

To avoid this kind of lag, developers use workarounds that eliminate unnecessary abstractions and programming transformations. One of these solutions is everyone’s favorite ASIO for Windows OS, JACK (not to be confused with a connector) for Linux, CoreAudio and AudioUnit for OSX. It is worth noting that everything is fine with OSX and Linux and without the “crutches” like Windows. However, not every device is capable of operating at the required speed and required accuracy.
Let's say that our engineer/musician belongs to the Kulibin category and was able to configure JACK/CoreAudio or get his sound card to work with the ASIO driver from the Folk Craft company.

At best, this way our master reduced the lag from half a second to an almost acceptable 100 ms. The problem of the last milliseconds lies, among other things, in the internal signal transmission. When a signal passes from a source through a USB or PCI interface to the central processor, the signal is supervised by the south bridge, which actually works with most of the peripherals and is directly subordinate to the central processor. However, the central processor is an important and busy character, so it does not always have time to process sound right now, so our master will either have to accept the fact that these 100 ms can “jump” by ± 50 ms if not more. The solution to this problem may be to purchase a sound card with its own data processing chip or DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

As a rule, most of all “external” sound cards (the so-called gaming sound cards) have this kind of coprocessor, but it is very inflexible in operation and is essentially intended to “improve” the reproduced sound. Sound cards that are originally designed for audio processing have a more adequate coprocessor, or, in the extreme case, such a coprocessor is sold separately. The advantage of using a coprocessor is the fact that if it is used, a special software will process the signal practically without using the central processor. The disadvantage of this approach may be the price, as well as the “sharpening” of the equipment to work with special software.

Separately, I would like to note the interface between the sound card and computer. The requirements here are quite acceptable: for a sufficiently high processing speed, interfaces such as USB 2.0, PCI will be sufficient. Sound signal is not actually any large amount of data, such as a video signal, so the requirements are minimal. However, I’ll add a fly in the ointment: USB protocol does not guarantee 100% delivery of information from the sender to the recipient.
We decided on the first problem - large delays when using standard drivers or a high price for using a sound card with adequate latency.
Previously, we decided that achieving ideal analog signal transmission is not such an easy task. In addition to this, it is worth mentioning the noise and errors that arise in the process of capturing/converting/transmitting a signal as data, since, if we recall physics, any measuring device has its own error, and any algorithm has its own accuracy.

This joke is very significant due to the fact that the operation of the sound card is also affected by the radiation of nearby equipment, even the ultrasound emitted central processor while working. On top of everything else, it is worth adding distortions to the characteristics of the recorded/played signal, which depend on the final device (microphone, pickup, speakers, headphones, etc.). Often, for marketing purposes, manufacturers of various sound devices deliberately increase the possible frequency of the recorded/reproduced signal, which makes a person who studied biology and physics at school quite consciously ask the question “why, if a person cannot hear outside the range of 20-20 kHz?” As they say, in every truth there is some truth. Indeed, many manufacturers only indicate on paper the higher quality characteristics of their equipment. Nevertheless, if, nevertheless, the manufacturer has really made a device that is capable of capturing/reproducing a signal in a slightly larger frequency range, it is worth thinking about purchasing this equipment, at least for a short time.
Here's the thing. Everyone remembers perfectly well what the frequency response is, beautiful graphs with irregularities and so on. When recording sound (we will consider only this option), the microphone distorts it accordingly, which is characterized by unevenness in its frequency response within the range that it “hears”.

Thus, having a microphone that is capable of picking up a signal within standard limits (20-20k), we will only get distortion in this range. As a rule, distortions obey a normal distribution (remember probability theory), with small inclusions of random errors. What will happen if, all other things being equal, we expand the range of the signal being captured? If you follow the logic, then the “cap” (probability density graph) will stretch towards an increase in the range, thereby shifting the distortion beyond the audible range of interest to us.

In practice, everything depends on the hardware developer and should be checked very carefully. However, the fact remains.

If we return to our hardware, then, unfortunately, not everything is so rosy. Similar to the statements of microphone and speaker developers, sound card manufacturers also often lie about the operating modes of their devices. Sometimes for a particular sound card you can see that it operates in 96k/24bit mode, although in reality it is still the same 48k/16bit. Here the situation may be that within the driver, the sound can actually be encoded with the specified parameters, although in reality the sound card (DAC-ADC) cannot produce the necessary characteristics and simply discards the most significant bits of the sampling depth and skips some frequencies at the sampling frequency. This was a common problem with the simplest built-in sound cards at one time. And although, as we have found out, parameters such as 40k/10bit are quite sufficient for human hearing, for audio processing this will not be enough due to the distortions introduced during audio processing. That is, if an engineer or musician recorded sound using an average microphone or sound card, then in the future using even best programs and it will be very difficult for the hardware to clean out all the noise and errors that were introduced during the recording stage. Fortunately, manufacturers of semi-professional or professional audio equipment they don’t sin like that.

The last problem is that built-in sound cards simply do not have enough necessary connectors to connect necessary devices. In fact, even a gentleman’s set in the form of headphones and a pair of monitors will simply have nowhere to connect, and you’ll have to forget about such delights as outputs with phantom power and separate controls for each channel.

Total: the first thing you need to determine to further select the type of sound card is what the wizard will do. It is likely that for rough processing, when there is no need to record in high quality or to simulate the “ears” of the final listener, a built-in or external, but relatively cheap sound card may be sufficient. This can also be useful for beginning musicians if they are not too lazy to deal with reducing delays in real-time processing. For craftsmen who deal exclusively with offline processing, they should not bother with reducing delays and focus on devices that will actually produce the hertz and bits they are supposed to. To do this, it is not necessary to buy an extremely expensive sound card; in the cheapest option, a more or less adequate “gaming” sound card may be suitable. BUT, I would like to point out that the drivers for such sound cards try to improve the sound in a certain way, which is unacceptable, since for processing it is necessary to obtain the sound as pure and balanced as possible with minimal inclusion of driver “improvement”.

However, if you, as a master, need a device that will meet the requirements for the quality of the recorded and reproduced signal, as well as the speed of processing this signal, then you will either have to pay extra to get a device of appropriate quality or choose 2 things you can sacrifice: high quality, low price, high speed.

Note Ed.: If you are a musician and don’t want to understand all the complexities of modern processing, order mixing and mastering in our studio, and we will do everything necessary to ensure that you receive high-quality material! ->

Installed external sound card for laptop usb makes it possible to significantly improve sound quality - especially since manufacturers of laptop computers usually do not supply them with high-quality audio systems.

An integrated card is usually not enough to obtain impeccable sound, and in simple computer models there is sometimes nothing to even count on for the normal sound of an audio recording or an intelligible movie soundtrack.

Why do you need an external sound card?

You should decide to purchase an external sound card in the following cases:

• if necessary, get good sound on a laptop computer. The problem can be solved by connecting audio speakers, but this will only increase the sound volume, but not the quality;
• when the main, built-in card fails.

Features of external models

As a rule, an external card for audio playback is a small device the size of a flash drive or card reader. The similarity is also enhanced by the way it is connected to a laptop – via a USB input.

More expensive models reach the size of the outer hard drive, and the most productive ones have dimensions comparable to the laptop itself.

Features of any external card include:

• amplification of sound compared to the built-in system of a laptop;
• connecting one or more microphones, headphones or audio speakers.

The functionality of more expensive models includes volume buttons and indicators. Top models are characterized by the presence of various connectors and interfaces, for example, analog output channels and coaxial output, although their sizes are much larger than those of compact sound cards.

The advantages of external sound cards are as follows:

• a dramatic improvement in playback quality and, when selecting suitable model, audio recordings;
• mobility, allowing you to connect an external card to any other computer - both stationary and portable. The device is also often connected to a tablet or phone;
• a sufficiently large range of models to choose both a functional and affordable device;
• Easy sound adjustment, including volume, timbre and bass using the buttons on the card body. On a laptop without an external sound device, this can only be done programmatically.

For low-power and older laptops, the card allows you to relieve the load on the processor. After all, due to the fact that sound processing occurs using external device The computing power of the computer itself is freed up. As a result, the equipment heats up less and its performance increases.

Selecting a card

When choosing a sound card, it is worth considering several characteristics depending on the tasks that the device must perform:

• For home use, one audio input and one audio output are sufficient. For a compact home theater - at least two. And when used as a professional device for recording sound, you should choose a model with 3–4 pairs of connectors, although it will cost more;
• The sound card capacity must be at least 24 bits;
• the ratio of signal and noise parameters is at the level of 100–114 dB;
• To work with musical instruments, an interface is required that allows the connection of these devices.

It is desirable that the external card supports the Digital Theater System or Dolby Digital sound standard, which allows you to read multi-channel audio and video tracks - this can be important when watching movies.

Support for the ASIO audio protocol is optional, but allows you to increase the convenience of professional audio work.

EAX technology can provide ambient sound effects, which is a great benefit for gamers using multi-channel audio in gaming applications.

The most profitable option

A sound card like Dynamode C-Media 108 (7.1) can be an excellent choice for obtaining high-quality sound.

The advantages of the model are compactness, ease of use, durable body and minimal cost (about 300 rubles), and among the disadvantages is relatively little functionality. This sound card is worth buying for a laptop whose built-in sound card is broken. With its help, it is quite possible to connect a 7.1 audio system - the sound will be better than when plugged into a regular connector, but not as high quality as when using more functional models.

Portable Home Theater Card

The advantages of the ASUS Xonar U7 external sound adapter include the following characteristics:

• the presence, in addition to the usual mini-jack connectors for headphones and a microphone, also of an eight-channel analog output that improves the sound for home theater audio systems;
• full compliance with all parameters for a good sound card - 24-bit/192 kHz sound and a signal-to-noise ratio of 114 dB, impedance range up to 150 Ohms;
• ease of connection and setup.

The cost of this card, which can be called a good option for fans of watching movies with good quality, does not exceed 3000 rubles.

Game card

Those who like to play games where sound quality is as important as video parameters will appreciate the capabilities of the Bahamut model.

This external card from Thermaltake works with both Windows and MacOS and features an attractive appearance and the presence on the body of buttons for turning on and off connected devices (headphones, microphone, speakers).

When connecting the card, be sure to install the drivers (included in the kit), and during use, update them promptly. The cost of the model is in the middle range - from 2500 to 3000 rubles.

Universal option

A good option for an external sound card with an average cost is the model Creative Sound Blaster Play 2.

Despite its small size, this device provides surround sound and allows you to record audio with virtually no interference. SBX Pro Studio technology provides a noticeable increase in volume compared to the built-in card and creates a 3D sound effect when using any type of audio system - from headphones to 7.1.

Other advantages of the card include convenient management through the corresponding application. At the same time, there are no buttons on the body of the device itself to control sound. True, the lack of external controls ensures compactness, making it easy to move the Sound Blaster Play 2 from place to place. The cost of the gadget in online stores does not exceed 2,500 rubles, but you can find options for 1,600 rubles.

Card for a musician

The FOCUSRITE SCARLETT SOLO STUDIO 2ND GEN model can be an excellent choice for people involved in music and recording. Moreover, its small size provides a high degree of mobility, allowing you to move the device along with the laptop or transport it in transport.

The device is different:

• high quality playback and recording;
• compact and durable metal case;
• stylish appearance;
• compatibility with laptops running different operating systems;
• the ability to simultaneously record from a guitar and a microphone;
• general volume control for all outputs (headphones and speakers);
• complete with all the necessary devices for recording - a condenser microphone, studio headphones and connecting cables.

In addition to this model, there are many other interesting options for recording and playing sound. However, in terms of the ratio of cost and capabilities, this can be called one of the best and affordable. You can buy it online for about 20–22 thousand rubles.

Launching and disabling the map

It won't take much time to connect an external card. Simply connect the device to your laptop (using a cable or simply plug it into the USB input). Next, you need to wait for the laptop to detect the external card and automatic installation drivers, and only then connect headphones, microphone or speakers to it. If the system does not find the required software in its database or the device requires the use of only its own programs, they are installed from a disk or from the manufacturer’s official website.

Advice: To reproduce high-quality sound, it is desirable that the connector supports USB 3.0 technology. And, if your device has two USB input options (2.0 and 3.0), you should choose the second one to connect the card.

Possible problems

When installing an external sound card on a laptop, the following problems may occur:

1. The laptop “does not see” the device;
2. The card is installed, but there is no sound.

The first problem can be solved by reinstalling it in the next USB connector (if the card works, then the cause of the problem is a non-working input) or connecting to another computer. If this does not help return the card to functionality, you should reinstall its drivers (by downloading from the network or the disk included with the equipment). The last method allows you to cope with the second problem. The inability to start an external sound card may indicate a malfunction or a manufacturing defect.