Who makes high-end 2-channel PC sound cards?

[bluesman]

21 hours ago, Vern J said:

I need help.  As a former Audio Research stereo owner (SP3A1 preamp, and D51 amp) I really enjoy good quality audio.

 

Your analog experience may be a bit ahead of your digital fund of knowledge.  The "best" DAC chips on mobos and PCI/e cards are pretty much all on gaming hardware.  But gamers are not concerned about the kinds of noise and distortion that plague audiophiles, and all the fiddly bits and "extra features" on gaming boards make electrical noise.  Some even have fans, so they also make mechanical noise.  And the internal power supplies in most standard computers are electrically and mechanically noisy by themselves.

 

Gaming sound cards and boards seem to be limited to 24/192 - I don't know of any PCI/e card or any mobo with an onboard DAC that will play higher resolution files.  Especially if you want to be able to listen to even basic DSD files at their native resolution, you'll have to go to an external DAC.

 

If you really want an internal sound card, the best ones I've heard are the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and the Asus Essence STX II. I think they both have TI (formerly BB) DAC chips, but I don't remember the details. I looked for one a few months ago to put in the PC I use for my DAW.  But I got a "digital interface" instead (M-Audio 2x2 in this case) because the specs are as good as or better than the cards, there's more flexibility, they're less expensive, and they're easy to upgrade / repair / replace without taking your computer apart.

 

If you want to bring your excellent 20th century analog taste with you into the 21st, I'd go with an external USB DAC with a good power supply for sound quality, flexibility and value.  Your Genelecs are nice speakers that may benefit from balanced inteconnects.  There are some great DACs now with balanced outputs and seriously fine SQ for $400 or less from SMSL, Topping, and others.