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[dirthead]

$250 for a stereo only sound card without HDMI or any Dolby Digital Live / DTS Connect support.

Bring your next-gen system, to the next generation of premium audio.

For nearly 20 years, EVGA has built the most powerful graphics cards to play your games at the highest settings, powerful motherboards to run your system at optimal settings, and reliably efficient power supplies to power your system. Now, EVGA extends its enthusiast tradition by partnering with Audio Note (UK), Ltd. to provide the most immersive audio and lifelike gaming experienced on a PC with EVGA NU Audio Card.

https://www.evga.com/articles/01281/evga-nu-audio/

 

[BrokenBones902]

I can't imagine anyone buying this thing.... Unless they're so irresponsible with money that they'll throw it at the cheapest shit possible.

 

[brap]

The human ear can only hear 2 channels anyway

 

[RemedyCRD]

Eh. I was expecting something far worse, like an RGB coffee mug with USB-C charging or something.
The problem is it's marketed to audiophiles and audiophiles won't buy it because 'electrical interference' inside the case or whatever.
If you want to see truly stupid computer audio products, spend some time on audiophile websites shilling $500 USB cables.

 

[ReBurn]

Don't PC gamers mostly use headphones anyway?

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Man I’d rather dust off my old Soundblaster 64.

 

[Vlaphor]

It does have 5.1 via the S/PDIF

So do most onboard soundchips (or via the regular audio ports) though, so this thing is still pointless.

 

[Endless Fluff]

It's pointless because it isn't aimed at you. You can keep playing with onboard sound which is good enough for most people.

I've also yet to see an internal sound card with an HDMI output, not even professional grade sound cards come with it, because it is unnecessary since your graphics card will do the trick just fine.

Looking at the components (op-amps), this is mostly for audiophiles who own a very nice set of cans. It's going to be interesting to see how it fares against the Asus Essence STX II.

 

[Speedwagon]

I'll buy it when it's $5

 

[michaelius]

Why would I need HDMI in a sound card? The only thing I care about is quality of audio in my headphones.

Price is slightly outside my range but I seriously considered Xoner STX for around 150 euro few years.

 

[Ovek]

Nothing wrong with that sound card, it does many thing right for target buyers like replaceable OP-AMPS and Audio Note components and apparently a audio path designed by Audio Note themselves.

Considering it has any association with Audio Note I'm surprised it only costs $250.

 

[TeamGhobad]

its got nothing on an old turtle beach card

 

[mcz117chief]

Don't PC gamers mostly use headphones anyway?

I never did and probably never will.

 

[Spukc]

If its targeted to headphone users. And it’s a great dac i guess it’s cheap?
I paid 450 for my stereo dac.

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

errr if it's any good it has a market. I use a dedicated Asus stereo sound card (for capture) in my work PC.

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

Why would I need HDMI in a sound card? The only thing I care about is quality of audio in my headphones.

Price is slightly outside my range but I seriously considered Xoner STX for around 150 euro few years.

A dedicated sound card (or external DAC) kills the on-board audio any day. Night and day difference.

https://audioengineusa.com/shop/components/d1-24-bit-dacheadphone-amp/

 

[ethomaz]

I don’t see anything wrong with the product.

The opposite it looks to do the job pretty well and it is not that expensive compared with others similar products.

Why do you want HDMI in a stereo sound card? It useless and it will only make the product more expensive.

 

[Ovek]

A dedicated sound card (or external DAC) kills the on-board audio any day. Night and day difference.

https://audioengineusa.com/shop/components/d1-24-bit-dacheadphone-amp/

Fantastic bit of kit the D1.

 

[ethomaz]

The reviews are pretty positive.

https://hothardware.com/reviews/evga-nu-audio-sound-card-review
https://www.legitreviews.com/evga-nu-audio-card-review_210175

I like it.

BTW take note your gaming equipment can limit the potential of this card like one review said:

“The EVGA NU Audio add-in sound card is clearly aimed at audiophiles that are looking for something better than on-board sound that have high-end audio equipment to be able to get the most from a solution like this. Our mainstream gaming audio equipment was likely limiting our audio immersion with the Nu Audio.”

The components are decent too.

 

[Nydus]

The specs are nice but the software it's what's making me hesitate. I have a Soundblaster Z paired with a set of Fidelios. The mix between good (enough) sound and nice gaming features is really helpful. Pure stereo is nice, but a competent surround simulation regardless of the game is a very good thing to have :/

 

[ethomaz]

The specs are nice but the software it's what's making me hesitate. I have a Soundblaster Z paired with a set of Fidelios. The mix between good (enough) sound and nice gaming features is really helpful. Pure stereo is nice, but a competent surround simulation regardless of the game is a very good thing to have :/

It is the first time EVGA launch similar product so I'm not sure... maybe wait more time to have more tests.

Well at least I never read about an EVGA sound card.

PS. Maybe the thread need a change title from mods.

 

[petran79]

I thought it was a USB mousepad with extra gfx

 

[TriSuit666]

Sounds a lot like the ASUS Xonar range...

https://www.asus.com/uk/Sound-Cards/Essence_STX_II_71/

 

[thelawof4]

This thread is kind of pointless imo. The soundcard looks legit.

 

[KaiserBecks]

My Asus Xonar Essence STX is one of the best hardware purchases I've ever made and this product seems to be similar. It's far from stupid or pointless, you just have no clue what you're talking about here.

 

[Paracelsus]

It's not bad, it's just a waste of money unless you're rich. WIth that kind of money you can buy a Pioneer amp that will feed all your headphones nicely anywhere you want.

 

[ethomaz]

It's not bad, it's just a waste of money unless you're rich. WIth that kind of money you can buy a Pioneer amp that will feed all your headphones nicely anywhere you want.

Complete different product purpose.

And sound cards are not waste of money... the improve in audio quality is fantastic.

Like exists people that like better graphics... there are people that like better audio.

 

[Paracelsus]

Complete different product purpose.

And sound cards are not waste of money... the improve in audio quality is fantastic.

Like exists people that like better graphics... there are people that like better audio.

Assuming you have the headphones to put the sound through.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

This products usefullness is certainly limited, saying it is the stupidest computer product of 2019 is a HUGE stretch.

But EVGA likely knows this, hence the large price tag.

 

[Cybrwzrd]

Damn it, no HDMI? My AudioQuest Diamond HDMI cable will be useless!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CT2A2M/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Diamond HDMI incorporates AudioQuest's highest-performance, lowest-distortion Perfect-Surface Silver conductors. Silver is known for its high conductivity and its "colorless" sonic presentation.SOLID 100% PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER (PSS) CONDUCTORS: Perfect-Surface Technology applied to extreme-purity silver provides unprecedented clarity and dynamic contrast. Solid conductors prevent strand interaction, a major source of cable distortion. Extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Silver minimizes distortion caused by the grain boundaries that exist within any metal conductor, nearly eliminating harshness and greatly increasing clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other coppers.FOAMED-POLYETHYLENE INSULATION: Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. Diamond HDMI uses air-filled Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation because air absorbs next to no energy and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile. Thanks to all the air in Foamed-PE, it causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.CARBON-BASED 3-LAYER NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS): 100% shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference from modulating the equipment's ground reference requires AQ's Noise-Dissipation System. Metal and Carbon-Loaded synthetics prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment's ground

 

[gspat]

Now I miss my old PCI Soundblaster card...

 

[dirthead]

I don’t see anything wrong with the product.

The opposite it looks to do the job pretty well and it is not that expensive compared with others similar products.

Why do you want HDMI in a stereo sound card? It useless and it will only make the product more expensive.

Why would I want stereo when a lot of the highest quality music available is SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A with 5.1 mixes?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009A21R6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

This sound card is going to give you a worse end result than HDMI out of your Nvidia card to a receiver with a good speaker setup. It's a farce.

 

[Deuterion]

The human ear can only hear 2 channels anyway

 

[ethomaz]

Why would I want stereo when a lot of the highest quality music available is SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A with 5.1 mixes?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009A21R6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

This sound card is going to give you a worse end result than HDMI out of your Nvidia card to a receiver with a good speaker setup. It's a farce.

This give way better results than HMDI over your VGA... c'mon.

It is not even comparable.

 

[dirthead]

This give way better results than HMDI over your VGA... c'mon.

It is not even comparable.

Actually, no, because I get 5.1 SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A over HDMI to my home theater receiver.

 

[Endless Fluff]

Actually, no, because I get 5.1 SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A over HDMI to my home theater receiver.

S/PDIF.

You have to be trolling at this point.

 

[dirthead]

S/PDIF.

You have to be trolling at this point.

The actual troll here is eVGA. This card doesn't support Dolby Digital Live, DTS Connect, etc. so you'll still get 2.1 for a lot of content. It's trash. It's $250 and they couldn't even pay the fucking Dolby license. Great deal!

 

[lukilladog]

384 khz lol, if only we weren´t using primitive jaw bones to do our hearing. Waste.

 

[ethomaz]

Actually, no, because I get 5.1 SACD, DVD-A, and Bluray-A over HDMI to my home theater receiver.

You get 5.1 with that sound cars with way better quality lol

The product seems to be excellent (I need more reviews) but you keep complaining about something that it is not aimed for.

Tell me something... how many real amplifiers for audio only have HDMI input? Go ahead and research... this card is used with these amplifiers... not these AVR.

You are better stay out HDMI when you are working with Audio only.

 

[V2Tommy]

Just wait until people find out that any GPU with HDMI output also outputs audio...

 

[ethomaz]

Just wait until people find out that any GPU with HDMI output also outputs audio...

It is fine... these that are fine with audio via GPU will continue to use it that way.

Audiophiles don't use audio from GPU... so this produt is good for them.
An audio board only doesn't need HDMI because it won't transmit video signal... it needs exclusive audio output signals.

Creative Labs released a new product similar to that one but a bit more expensive (and probably better).
Don't go thinking about that mini-HDMI port... it is only to connect the external DAC... not to output audio.

Sound BlasterX AE-9 $299.

 

[nowhat]

Audiophiles don't use audio from GPU...

Not that I doubt you (with audiophiles, there's very little logic involved), but... why? It's a pure digital signal, not altered in any way. You get to choose where and when the D/A conversion happens, so shouldn't that be a good thing?

 

[ethomaz]

Not that I doubt you (with audiophiles, there's very little logic involved), but... why? It's a pure digital signal, not altered in any way. You get to choose where and when the D/A conversion happens, so shouldn't that be a good thing?

Not my words but that is the the actual explanation.

"For HDMI, Dolby Digital Live or DTS Interactive is a pointless feature. DDL or DTSI is necessary to send surround sound over S/PDIF which supports only stereo PCM, DD and DTS. HDMI supports multichannel LPCM, so surround sound does not need to be compressed to DD or DTS.

HDMI sound card is an obsolete product, that came when there was no graphics card supporting HD audio bitstreaming/PAP. Now every latest GPU supports HD audio bitstreaming..."

The last HDMI Sound Card I can remember was ASUS Xonar HDAV in 2012... after there is no more use for HDMI in a Sound Card.

 

[nowhat]

Not my words but that is the the actual explanation.

"For HDMI, Dolby Digital Live or DTS Interactive is a pointless feature. DDL or DTSI is necessary to send surround sound over S/PDIF which supports only stereo PCM, DD and DTS. HDMI supports multichannel LPCM, so surround sound does not need to be compressed to DD or DTS.

HDMI sound card is an obsolete product, that came when there was no graphics card supporting HD audio bitstreaming/PAP. Now every latest GPU supports HD audio bitstreaming..."

One of the last HDMI Sound Card was ASUS Xonar HDAV in 2012... after there is no more use for HDMI in a Sound Card.

HDMI sound cards are obsolete, sure. But what's wrong with using the GPU output, that was my question - because you said audiophiles wouldn't use audio from the GPU.

 

[V2Tommy]

HDMI sound cards are obsolete, sure. But what's wrong with using the GPU output, that was my question - because you said audiophiles wouldn't use audio from the GPU.

Audiophiles don't use anything HDMI because there's dirty video bits mixed in with their prog rock FLAC downloads going through their oxygen-free directional coax cable.

 

[ethomaz]

HDMI sound cards are obsolete, sure. But what's wrong with using the GPU output, that was my question - because you said audiophiles wouldn't use audio from the GPU.

GPU Audio Output is just the audio signal... it is not related with audio quality at all.
A sound card or an external DAC/amp will offer audio processing for the best audio quality.

So in simple terms with the GPU audio output you still needs a Sound Card or DAC/amp to process the signal for audio quality.

The GPU audio drivers are limited in a lot of ways too... nVidia drivers didn't support 2x (88.2k) or 4x (176.4k) upsampling for example (I don't know about AMD).

 

[Spukc]

Audiophiles don't use anything HDMI because there's dirty video bits mixed in with their prog rock FLAC downloads going through their oxygen-free directional coax cable.

that is a bit much but i yeah audioholics van be a little cray
nothing wrong with good sound.

what's hifi is a pretty ok site to not get ripped off and have decent sound setup at home.

dolby atmos is pretty dope with the right set up

 

[V2Tommy]

that is a bit much but i yeah audioholics van be a little cray
nothing wrong with good sound.

what's hifi is a pretty ok site to not get ripped off and have decent sound setup at home.

dolby atmos is pretty dope with the right set up

I'm being facecious but I have an audiophile in the family and have worked with others. Great equipment can give you great sound, but people ain't gotta be crazy about it. Most people have never heard a great system in their lives, but those who own them can't stop changing out every damn component on a monthly basis because reasons.

 

[ethomaz]

Most people will be fine with fine with GPU Audio output or even onboard audio output.

But if you have the right speakers having a Sound Card with amplifier will be a ear-opening.

You will start to hate that MP3 even existis lol

 

[A.Romero]

Even if it had HDMI output, how many AVR's can mix audio from one HDMI source with video from another? This was thought for a different kind of use.

Regarding why use something analog over HDMI: If I want to connect my $500 USD cans (Not that I have ones, the most expensive I've ever had were $250), you don't want to connect them to an AVR (have the audio go to the AVR through HDMI and then output to headphones through a 3.5mm plug output or whatever). If you do it that way you would lose some of the quality of the signal because you would be relying on the AVR DAC. There are really good AVR DACs out there but they are more expensive than $250 USD.

So basically, this would be one of the cheapest ways to get really high quality audio to output to headphones or a set of monitors.

I'd argue that gaming has little benefit from this and mostly people interested in music would be the target for this product. So it's not a gaming product.

Before any of you think of saying that the difference cannot be perceived: that could be true. Audiophiles, on the other hand, believe that it's worth spending hundreds of dollars to get 2% better performance or whatever. It's a product for them and it could be argued that it is as smart purchase as getting a "gaming" ethernet card.