7 Best Sound Card Deals For Music Lovers

It's time for you to boost your audio experience without spending a fortune

Buying Guides » Tech

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by Madalina Dinita 

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Key notes

  • Deals on sound cards for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are everywhere.
  • The legendary Sound Blaster-Audigy Fx card is a well-known performer and a safe bet if you want to get better sound quality than your motherboard's built-in sound.

To enjoy high audio quality, you can use a sound card to enhance your sound and take it to a whole new level.

This drastically transforms your listening experience when enjoying multimedia, especially if you got a set of quality speakers as well.

However, the question remains which sound card should you use? In today’s guide, we’re going to help you with that.

Now, it’s shoppers a day and Black Friday & Cyber Monday sound card deals are flying left, right, and center. Here are a few sound card discounts that are currently available. So, if you are looking for some presents, check the following list.

Note icon NOTE
Deals are subject to change. Sometimes, some of the deals listed in our guides may no longer be available by the time you hit the buy button. So, hurry up and grab them while they’re hot.

What are the best sound cards to buy?

PHOINIKAS External Sound Card

  • Easy plug and play
  • Resistant to electromagnetic interference
  • Support 7.1 surround sound
  • Compatible with all versions of Windows
  • The headset jack will not work for the mic on the mic/headphone 3.5mm plug
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Another entry in our list is the PHOINIKAS External Sound Card, and while not everyone may trust these types of sound cards, they have actually proven themselves quite reliable, especially given how easy they are to connect and disconnect.

The sound card has a variety of sound effects, comes with a built-in equalizer, also has a mini LED indicator, surround sound, unique volume control keys, and more.

It is also protected, thanks to the 360-degree stereo sound surround to prevent electromagnetic interference.

Creative Sound Blaster-Audigy FX Sound Card

  • Compelling 5.1 surround sound
  • Advanced audio processing
  • PC sound control software: Audigy Fx sound blaster control panel
  • 600 ohms headphone amp: studio-grade monitoring
  • Platform:PC – PCIe x1
  • Channels may switch in and out
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The legendary Sound Blaster -Audigy Fx card is a renowned performer and a sure bet when upgrading from the built-in motherboard audio to the sound quality you deserve.

It’s powered by the powerful SBX Pro Studio sound technology enabling it to deliver an absolutely top-notch 5.1 cinematic sound to your office/home.

The easy control panel allows you to customize SBX Pro studio suite settings for a true surround sound for your games, movies, and music.

Sound Blaster Z Gaming PCIe Sound Card

  • Includes an externally connected dual-microphone array standard.
  • Accelerated advanced audio/voice technologies
  • SBX Pro Studio technologies.
  • Sound Blaster Control Panel: Easily toggle between a headphone & speakers.
  • Delivers up to 116dB
  • Some reported that it emits pops and other distortion periodically
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The highlights in this extremely popular gaming sound card are first, the excellent headphone Amp and then the peerless Core3D audio processor.

Now, the headphone amplifies everything to unprecedented levels such that the entertainment from the games feels tenfold even when you’re losing.

On its part, the audio processor establishes an audio realism that includes gamers’ favorite 3D surround effects making your speakers truly immersive.

Amazingly, it supports almost all games.

ASUS XONAR SE Sound Card

  • 5.1 Surround sound
  • Headphone compatible
  • ASUS hardware Interface
  • 192kHz/24-bit Hi-Res audio
  • Set to default for headphones, some report it’s a bit difficult to set it up for speakers
Amazon Product Check price

This ASUS audio card ensures immersive sound with minimal audio distortion, using the ASUS Hyper Grounding Technology.

You can easily set it up on your device using the ASUS hardware interface. It supports Windows 10 operating systems.

The interface is user-friendly and offers you the possibility to make in-depth adjustments.

StarTech.com 5.1 Channel Surround Sound Card

  • 48kHz/16-bit sampling rate.
  • Supports Microsoft direct sound (direct sound 3D), A3D, and HRTF 3D audio.
  • Full-Duplex operation: Recording and playback
  • 3 internal auxiliary inputs
  • Built-in 32 OHMs Earphone buffer
  • Does not support 5.1 or 7.1 audio.
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You may not need to look beyond this sound card if you looking for a cost-effective multimedia sound solution!

It’s quite affordable and still delivers high-quality 5.1 surround sound making your computer a master home/office entertainer.

Furthermore, it’s quite versatile and even allows playbacks without sabotaging your computer’s performance.

Installation is a breeze and will even come with its own low-profile installation bracket (half-height) in case yours is a small form factor (SFF) computer.

ASUS Xonar DGX Audio Engine Sound Card

  • Built-In Headphone Amp: Powers up every gaming sound detail.
  • Dolby Headphone immersive 5.1 surround
  • High-Definition Audio Processor: Realistic 3D audio effect.
  • Processor (Max. 96KHz/24bit)
  • Jack-sensing front-panel output: Sound auto-switched when a headphone is plugged in!
  • Does not support 5.1 or 7.1 audio
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This comes Optimized for immersive gaming action thanks to the incorporated precision audio technologies.

It also delivers accurate and deep audios for movies, YouTube, and music will bring brilliant sound across fully.

In addition, the Dolby headphone 5.1 HD surround technology levels stereo headphones again deliver a memorable surround sound brilliance.

In short, this is not only a gamer’s dream but an awesome sound card for every application.

Summary Of Key Features:

  • Built-In Headphone Amp: Powers up every gaming sound detail.
  • Dolby Headphone immersive 5.1 surround
  • High-Definition Audio Processor: Realistic 3D audio effect.
  • Processor (Max. 96KHz/24bit)
  • Jack-sensing front-panel output: Sound auto-switched when a headphone is plugged in!

Sabrent USB Stereo External Sound Adapter

  • 3D stereo
  • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (USB 1.1 Backward compatible)
  • Connectors: USB type A, microphone input jack, and stereo output jack.
  • External power not required.
  • Isn't returnable
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If you are looking to take your laptop’s sound a notch higher, then this Sabrent Audio Sound could be all you need.

It’s a simple plug-and-play sound card and produces superb stereo audio via your headphones.

It’s loud, pretty clear, and quite good, especially when matched with a quality speaker/headphone.

Its housing looks durable so it’s not the type that breaks at the slightest provocation.

Madalina Dinita

Madalina Dinita Shield

Networking & Security Specialist

Madalina has been a Windows fan ever since she got her hands on her first Windows XP computer. She is interested in all things technology, especially emerging technologies -- AI and DNA computing in particular. Prior to joining the WindowsReport team, she worked in the corporate world for a number of years.