Best Soundcard For Music Production

As a music producer with a home studio, you're looking for two major things from the sound card that you're using. One would be quality. The other is price. Luckily, 2015 is your year. A number of soundcards were put on the market this year. So which one was the best sound card for music production 2015?

The Top Three

1. Sound Blaster Z PCIe Gaming Sound Card


Manufactured by Creative, this card certainly boasts a number of creative features, like a high quality external microphone array and a Sound Core3D Audio Processor for getting the most out of sound and vocal technologies. The card's SBX Pro Studio guarantees the latest in the "Surround Sound" experience, and it will be equally vivid over your headset. And while not exactly hands free, this card's Sound Blaster Control Panel allows you to move smoothly between speakers and headset just by flipping a single switch.

2. Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card

So why is another Creative product on the list for best sound card for music production 2015? The RX 7.1 makes the grade for its EAX reverb engine chip technology. This chip allows audiences to have an enhanced audio experience. And not just on the dance floor. This soundcard also sounds wonderful when used for playing games or viewing movies. The card features multi-channel audio and 106dB SNR audio quality and studio grade monitoring.

3. Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Fatal1ty Champion Sound Card SB1354

Another Creative winner, this card is powered by Sound Core 3D, one of the market's best vocal and audio processors. Users will produce sound of the same quality as movie studios with their THX TruStudio Pro Sound Technology that makes you think that you're in the same room with the singer or musician. And that effect is only heightened with this card's CrystalVoice technology which enhances voice reception and clarity. And you're not going to make the "best sound card for music production 2015" list without a user friendly wiring system. This card's Dolby Digital Live confines it to a single cable.

The Best Of The Rest

4. The Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Audiophile Grade Gaming Sound Card

This certainly can be used for creating music, but it's better known as a card for gaming, video chatting, and video conferencing. However, music producers and especially DJs will enjoy this card's studio quality amplifier and its one touch headphones-to-speakers switch.

5. ASUS Xonar Essence STX

Our best sound card for music production 2015 list ends with this offering from ASUS. This card boasts a SNR of 124 dB, meaning that audio background noise is almost non-existent. The STX also features very low harmonic distortion, meaning that movies and music sound equally great.

And just because these models make the list for best sound card for music production 2015 doesn't mean that they're this year's most expensive. New models are generally within the $500-$180 range, and the sound quality holds up even when the price falls with used cards. So with this range of choices, producers will have a number of options for home studios.