Windows 10: Sound card recommendations for Desktop and Laptop Windows 10

Hello,

Sorry if I'm posting my question in the wrong sub-forum.

I recently upgraded both my old Dell Desktop and Laptop from Windows XP to Windows 10.

I do a fair amount of audio editing where I need to capture/record audio from the internet for further processing later.
I primarily did this on my old desktop and occasionally on my laptop.

On my old desktop I had a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card and on the old laptop I simply used the integrated audio chip.

In both instances, I had "stereo mix" available. I am disappointed to learn that "stereo mix" is no longer available under Windows 10. I read in other forums that "stereo mix" may simply be disabled by default (in the integrated audio chip) but in my case it is not available at all therefore I will need a new sound card(s).

I know that Audacity can capture audio from the internet even if the integrated chip does not support "stereo mix" however, I use other software in addition to Audacity that does not have that capability.

I'm looking for recommendations for a new audio card for my new desktop that is similar to the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (Turtle Beach no longer manufactures sound cards) and a sound card for the new laptop. Both must have "stereo mix" ability as well as "line-in" inputs.

I am not into gaming at all. I'm simply looking for a quality sound card that is better than the integrated chips. I do not need an "audiophile" sound card that costs hundreds of dollars.

Can anyone help me out?

Thanks! Ed

:)

 

Why do I hear static when I hear sounds?

What sound card you are having? Has Windows 10 installed the correct sound card drivers? Or did you face any problem? Is it a laptop, desktop with external speakers plugged in?

 

Why do I hear static when I hear sounds?

 

Do you require PCI, or can you use a PCI-E X1 card?

 

I have both available on my tower.

 

The Turtle Beach sound card is no longer supported in Windows 10. https://support.turtlebeach.com/hc/en-us/articles/226493368-Audio-Advantage-SRM-Windows-7-Vista-XP-Drivers You can try downloading the Windows 7 driver, Extract the file to your Download location, open the extracted file and find Setup.exe, right click it and choose Properties/Compatibility and make it compatible with Windows 7.
What is the make and model of your Dell Laptop? Go to the Dell Support page Support | Dell US and type in your Service Tag# or find your model, choose what version of Windows you are running (ie) 32bit or 64bit, and download the Audio driver for your model. Follow the above instructions if there isn't a Windows 10 driver available.

 

Hi Spunk,

I appreciate your reply but I've already done my homework and everything you suggested before I posted here.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for a sound card that's similar to the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz for Windows 10. I don't need 5.1 or 7.1 surround although it is not out of the question if there is something decent available without going into 'audiophile' or 'studio' quality. i.e. more than $200. However I do need it to support "Stereo Mix" (also known as "what you hear").

 

I'm not really knowledgeable about this, but the Creative Labs Audigy RX seems to offer what you need:

Creative Sound Blaster AUDIGY RX 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card - Newegg.com

It includes the "what u hear" feature (stereo mix), which I think is not present in the less expensive Audigy FX. I'm a little leery of Creative's driver support, but they do list Win 10 drivers for this card. (There may be hacked drivers that work better than the official ones. There's a long history of that for Creative sound cards.) The card isn't cheap ($55-$60US), but it's no $200+ audiophile model. I know that you don't need 7.1 channels, but you want Windows 10 drivers and stereo mix.

Low-end soundcards may be getting scarce due to many newer motherboards including respectable onboard audio.

 

Thanks. I've read discussions online regarding Creative's drivers support. That's why I posted a query here to see if anyone had any other ideas.

I don't have too much of a problem with integrated audio for the most part except I'm not real excited about using the mic input as a line input.
But my main concern is the Stereo Miix feature.