Anything which outputs PCM stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1.

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Thanks!



There is a wide range of options. From $30 to US$200



I am seeing in the high end Asus STX II and Sound Blaster ZXR. Is it worth spending more?

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Get what you want in terms of sound-processing facilities. All things being equal the audio quality should be same.

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Still undecided between ASUS essential STX II and Creative sound blaster ZXR. Both are similar price



According to reviews:

ASUS pros:

1. Seems best sound quality overall

2. More versatile, better quality for movies

3. Allows to upgrade to 7.1

ASUS cons

1. Worse driver / software interface

2. Last update 2015. Product may be discontinued

3. Optical output though adapter with coax (not big deal)



Creative ZXR pros

1. Seems superior for gaming, more specific features

2. Nice driver interface and support

3. Optical output

4. 124 vs 120 dB ASUS (other specs are the same, and I assume this 4dB I would never use)

Creative ZXR Cons

1. Focused on gaming

2. Does not support 7.1

3. Apparently inferior sound quality when compared to ASUS

4. Reported problems with windows 10, seem fixed but it is not 100% clear



Summing it up, ASUS essential is better overall although may be worse for gaming and they might discontinue supporting the product in the near future (this is what concerns me the most).

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There's also a workaround available which enables Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support on 'any' endpoint (such as NVIDIA HDMI or motherboard optical out). Info can be found here: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/1023992/geforce-drivers/-petition-add-5-1-7-1-dolby-digital-live-dts-connect-encoders-to-nvidia-hdmi-sound-drivers-/post/5921475/#5921475

I've tested it myself and works pretty good. Good luck! 🙂

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