Best sound cards 2022

Long gone are the days when the computer was “deaf” – to play sounds, you had to buy a separate board. Now even the simplest motherboards have an integrated sound chip, but its quality, as a rule, leaves much to be desired. For office work, it will do, but for an advanced home audio system, the sound quality will not be enough. We figure out how to improve the sound quality of the sound in your computer and choose the best sound cards in 2022.

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1. Internal sound card Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Fx 3 228 rubles

Our selection of the best sound cards of 2022 begins with an affordable model from a well-known manufacturer. Actually, the story with computer sound began with the “iron” “Creative”. Many years have passed, but connoisseurs still associate the Sound Blaster brand with good quality sound cards. This model has a powerful 24-bit processor and advanced software. This sound card is ideal for both multimedia and computer games.

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2. External sound card BEHRINGER U-PHORIA UMC22 3 979 rubles

Inexpensive external sound card, which is more suitable for simple home studio equipment. Directly on the body of the device there are connectors for connecting a professional microphone and musical instruments. The device control interface is as simple and clear as possible – analog toggle switches and switches are responsible for all parameters. The main disadvantage of this card is the difficulty with installing drivers.

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3. External sound card Creative Omni Surround 5.1 5 748 rubles

As the name already implies, this external sound card can work with 5.1 sound format. After buying such a device, the owner will have much more emotions from movies or games. It is curious that this sound card model has a simple built-in microphone – this feature is suitable for gamers. The design and modest dimensions of the Omni Surround will suit any environment. Despite the “gaming” appearance, this model does not support EAX gaming technology.

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What other sound cards are worth paying attention to?

4. External sound card Creative SB Play! 3 1 990 rubles

Easy to install and configure external audio card. This is the most affordable option in our selection of the best sound cards. Most often, such a device is bought in order to improve the quality of sounds in computer games – for example, to better hear the steps of the enemy in action games. Some may not like the “tailed” design of this card, but if you connect it to the back of the system unit, then there will be no problems.

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5. Internal sound card ASUS Strix Soar 6 574 rubles

High-performance audio card model for installation in a computer case. Equally well suited for both headphones and audio systems. Manufacturers position the device specifically for use in games, but its functionality, of course, is not limited to this. The Strix Soar software allows you to use different settings for music, movies or games. The main difference from competitors in this model will be the presence of a headphone amplifier – with it the sound will be clearer and louder. Please note that a separate 6-pin wire from the power supply must be connected to this sound card – it will not work without it.

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6. Internal sound card Creative Sound Blaster Z 7 590 rubles

Another advanced internal model on our list of the best sound cards of 2022. It has support for all popular sound drivers, a powerful processor and a large number of inputs and outputs for connecting peripherals.

Unlike the previous model in our review, there is no need to connect additional power to the Creative Sound Blaster Z. Also included with this sound card is a small stylish microphone.

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7. External sound card BEHRINGER U-CONTROL UCA222 2 265 rubles

A small and affordable external sound card in a bright red casing. Suitable for those who care about the size of the device to which the musical equipment is connected. The tiny case has two full-fledged analog input / output kits, an optical output and a headphone output and volume control. U-CONTROL UCA222 works via USB – here you don’t need to conjure for a long time on the card setup process, all programs are installed in a couple of clicks. Of the minuses – not the most productive processor, but for its price it has no competitors on the market.

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8. External sound card Steinberg UR22 13 rubles

A fairly expensive device for those who need excellent sound playback / recording quality and a large number of connectors for connecting peripherals. The device consists of two blocks interconnected. 

The cases themselves, input/output connectors, buttons and switches are made of high-quality materials and do not play. You can also connect musical midi-controllers to this device – keyboards, consoles and samplers. There is ASIO support to work without delay.

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9. External sound card ST Lab M-330 USB 1 rubles

A good external audio card with a strict case. The main feature of this affordable device is support for two main EAX and ASIO drivers at once. This means that the “ST Lab M-330” can be used equally well for both recording music and playing it back. However, you should not expect something supernatural from a processor with a frequency of 48 kHz. The volume reserve is enough for any headphones.

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10. Internal sound card Creative AE-7 19 rubles

Small and affordable external Closes our selection of the best card sounds of 2022 with a frankly expensive but powerful model from Creative. In fact, this is a combination of internal and external video card modules. The board itself is inserted into the PCI-E slot, on which there is a minimum set of interfaces. An unusual “pyramid” is attached to the USB port of the PC with a volume control and additional ports for input and output of the audio signal. All users note the convenient software of this audio card. First of all, this device is intended for game lovers.

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How to choose a sound card

There are a huge number of audio cards on the market – from simple ones that can replace a broken 3.5 jack output in a laptop to advanced models for recording professional sound. Together with computer hardware store salesman Ruslan Arduganov We figure out how to make a purchase adequate to your requirements.

Form Factor

Fundamentally, all sound cards differ in form factor – built-in or external. The first ones are suitable only for “large” desktop PCs, external ones can also be connected to laptops. As a rule, the latter work through the USB port and their installation does not cause any problems at all. With built-in cards, everything is a little more complicated – they are installed inside the computer case, so you need to make sure that there is a free PCI or PCI-E slot on the motherboard and work a little with a screwdriver. The advantage of such cards is to save space – there is no “coffin” on the table, from which wires will stick out.

Classification

It will also be rational to choose what you need a sound card for. It will be correct to divide all models into multimedia (for music, games and movies) and professional (for recording music, etc.).

Audio output format

The simplest option is 2.0 – outputs sound in stereo format (right and left speaker). More advanced systems will allow you to connect multi-channel systems (up to seven speakers plus a subwoofer).

Audio processor

This is a key element of any sound card. Actually, it is due to its work that you will hear the difference in the sound quality of a separate card and a module built into the motherboard. There are models with 16, 24 and 32-bit bit depth – the numbers show how accurately the board will translate sound from a digital signal into an analog one. For non-trivial tasks (games, movies) a 16-bit system will suffice. For more complex cases, you need to invest in 24 and 32-bit versions.

It is also worth paying attention to the frequencies with which the processor records an analog or converts a digital signal. Typically, the best sound cards have this parameter at least 96 kHz.

Signal input and output ports

Each sound card has an analog output for regular headphones. But if you are going to record music or connect an advanced audio system, be sure to make sure that the input / output ports are compatible.

Software interfaces

Advanced models of audio cards support working with different standards, or as they are also called software interfaces. To put it simply, these drivers process the audio signal in your PC with minimal latency or work with game surround sound formats. The most common drivers today are ASIO (working with sound in music and films) and EAX (in games).