Is My Older Soundcard Still Better Than Onboard?

[ExcaliburMM]

Going to be doing a rebuild soon and I've been using my old SB Audigy 2 ZS for years. Its a bit annoying because its PCI and limits my motherboard choices at times, but because I'm usually doing a full ATX board it hasn't been too much of a problem. However I'm going to be moving to an Asrock Z87 Extreme 4 which has the Realtek ALC1150 chipset on it. Being that my soundcard is so old, has the onboard out-classed it yet, or would it be better to continue to use the card?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2366072

 

[ExcaliburMM]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2366072

I'm using the Swan M10 2.1 speakers. I'm also worried that since I've been using the A2ZS for years when I hear the onboard I may perceive it as being dull, as I'm quite used to how my card sounds.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

For what it's worth, I have an X-Fi Platinum, and it's one of the things that still gives me the jitters when I think about reinstalling Win7-64....

Creative = GREAT products (when they work!), LOUSY driver support....

As shown in the thread I linked to, opinions are divided, but there's a definite trend towards eliminating discrete cards from the picture.

 

[fralexandr]

I'm using my swan m10 on my asrock p55pro onboard (alc890), and it sounds fine.
Was using an x-fi xtrememusic before, but after a few years, the drivers started messing up and the card stopped working.

Things sounded "better" on the x-fi, but I'm pretty sure that's equalizer/"software trickery" type stuff, and onboard does sound a bit "dull" compared to it.
sort of like how my maximo im-490s sound "richer" than my klipsch s4 earbuds. The klipsch are cleaner when there's a lot going on though.

Apparently there's an x-fi mod for older realteks,
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/xfi-mod-is-back.183809/

So from a technical standpoint, the onboard is probably superior to the audigy 2 ZS. From a subjective standpoint the ZS is probably superior, based on "taste".