Do I NEEEEEED a new soundcard?

[V___]

I do all my production on a Dell laptop with a default soundcard (onboard), and I'd say my production skills are decent. However my sound quality never seems to step up to the next level. I have cheap speakers, and my headphones arnt amazing. I use Reason 3.0 and do all my production in said program (ie no recording, no rewire).

Now I'm not looking to blame my tools here; I know I could get better (hey, anyone can always get better), I just want to understand what my limitations are. I'm also not looking to buy, and I'v checked the other threads.

The question is: what does the soundcard contribute? What differences can I expect listening/rendering a project file on this laptop, compared to the exact same file on a 'better' computer?

[Kanthos]

The soundcard won't make much of a difference unless you're using a MIDI keyboard or recording live, in which case a proper audio interface or higher-quality soundcard that supports ASIO will have a lower latency. Beyond that, it's the quality of your speakers/headphones more than the quality of your soundcard that make a difference.

[Hy Bound]

Like he said. The only way you would see an improvement in your sound is from your monitoring equipment.

However, it could also be Reason. Don't get me wrong; I'm a giant Reason fanboy, but I noticed a huge step up in sound quality once i started using Ableton and Reaktor's plug-ins (along with EWQL:SO). Reason is an amazing program, but the samples used in the samplers are heavily compressed to save disk-space and therefore are a little easier on the RAM. The synth technology is also pretty old, not that its bad by any means, but its hard to get a shiny, new sound from older technology. I don't know what all you're using in your songs, but odds are, if you want a HUGE upgrade in sound quality, you're gonna have to add some high quality equipment.

However, thats just what i've noticed; I've heard some pretty amazingly high quality stuff from just Reason (apparently those Scion commercials, the non-vocal one especially, is done in reason pretty much exclusively. I think it was exported to pro tools for a final mastering, which could explain a wee bit of an improvement in sound quality.)

I know you're not looking to buy a new setup or anything, but I figured i'd let you know what all contributes to it not sounding like the next BT track.

[Fray]

As Hy and Kanthos said -- the only way you'll change the final product is by getting better plugins or doing a better job of using the ones you have.

The soundcard will have NO direct effect on the sound quality of your mix. Basically your soundcard is only being used to convert digital audio into analog so it can be heard on your speakers or headphones. Everything else is done on the CPU -- if you had a given reason project and exported it to .wav with one soundcard, it will be the exact same .wav you'd get on another soundcard.

However, the crappy soundcard can effect the quality of your monitoring. Laptop audio outputs tend to pick up noise from all the other electronics crammed in there. This noise ONLY goes to your headphones and speakers, it does not get end up in your mix -- but it could cause you to miss details that would allow you to make better mixing/mastering decisions.

You might need a good pair of headphones before you can tell any difference though, so you should probably upgrade those first.

Unfortunately the importance of good quality monitoring is very subjective And theoretically the only thing good monitoring buys you is the ability to make your mix transport well -- i.e. 8it sounds good on other people's computers, or in their cars, not just on your setup.

[statas]

two things- no, you don't NEED a soundcard, but i highly recommend one. what you do need is a good environment to precisely hear everything. proper quality headphones are good, but the best monitors you can get will help much more. as said before, the soundcard facilitates getting the audio out to the speakers, but a pro sound card usually has better conversions (in the driver), grounding, connections etc. also most soundcards have better latency then then the onboard ones.

just a warning, trying to mix on headphones is usually a bad idea. even with awesome 'phones, the frequency responses are different and coloured by the placement over the ears. panned sounds also leap out more from the mix because each ear is isolated soundwise from the other ear.

monitors will improve your mix immensely. you need something that will impart as little frequency curve as possible. most home stereos are not optimised for being flat frequency-wise...

as far as reason goes, many people say that it sounds better rewired, or to just use another program. one of the primary reasons (no pun) is that reason attenuates stereo inputs by 6db. a simple work around is to flip the rack and unplug one cable on a stereo track in the mixer and put it in another channel. pan both of these(one hard left, the other hard right) and it will come out louder.