Is a soundcard still needed these days??

[Al Capwn]

Originally Posted by CWMV

Now I understand that without a good set of speakers/headphones you won't really hear a difference, but what level of quality equipment are we talking for the headphones? What quantifies a "good" set?

I personally have a set of JVC HA-RX700's, bought them based on their reviews.
Would this level of quality (good or bad, Im not really an audiophile) lend itslef to a separate sound card?

Is there something that can be used as a standard?

That's a very difficulty thing to quantify, but I would say that you would tell the difference between onboard and dedicated with those headphones. Headphones are much easier to make 'sound good' since the drivers are located right outside your ear and so they don't suffer from audio cancellation/reflections/etc.

http://www.hometracked.com/2008/01/2...monitor-tests/

This website has some useful audio tests you can use and you may be surprised by what frequencies seem to disappear when going through the sweep.

I would say anything $40 or over is probably going to be a decent enough set of headphones (or possibly speakers). However, on what can be used as a 'standard' I think you'll get as many different (and probably equally valid) responses since there are just a staggering number of brands/types, many overlooked, and some over hyped. Personally, I say you can't go wrong with a pair of Grado SR 60i, they go for about $80, or Sennheiser HD 280's (newegg has em on sale for $99) or pretty much anything Denon or Sennheiser (that's $40 or more).

[CWMV]

I considered all of those actually, the Grado and Sennheiser's especially.

[Al Capwn]

Originally Posted by CWMV

I considered all of those actually, the Grado and Sennheiser's especially.

Grado makes some incredible headphones, I've always wanted the RS1i model, maybe someday