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I like listening to music, but the one thing I can't get with the mobile devices (players, smartphones, notebooks) is the volume and clarity I get from my desktop pc audio card. It's nothing special, the cheapest PCI-E x1 Sound Blaster card, but somehow it sounds a lot better. I have tried listening to external audio cards and their sound is comparable, but they are a lot more expensive, to the point that I can't really think of it as a great value. So I'd like to try and find a way to make internal PCI-E audio cards mobile.

Does there exist a common method to mobilize internal PCI-E devices? Perhaps some controller with only the required interfaces and power cables? If not, what does it take to turn a PCI-E audio card into USB-powered mobile version? Again, I'm looking for reasonably prices solutions, but if there are only the expensive ways, I'd still like to know about them.

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    That isn't what you really want at all. What you should do is look at external amplifiers. What you are proposing would involve an extra conversion and would be more expensive with only minimal increase in quality.
    – krowe
    Jan 25, 2015 at 20:07
  • @krowe so are you saying if we simulate the interface and power input via usb, the result is going to be far away from just sticking it into a motherboard? Why?
    – user1306322
    Jan 25, 2015 at 20:35
  • That just isn't possible in any way. For one, the PCI bus is a parallel bus and USB is a serial bus. This means that in order to replicate it you'd need a serial bus at least several times FASTER than PCI (or as broad as it, count the pins and you'll quickly see that this is going to be a problem).
    – krowe
    Jan 25, 2015 at 20:46

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Quick answer: No, nothing like this is available.

Long answer: Any solution that is capable of mobilizing a PCI-e device, in the way you're asking for, is going to be far more expensive than buying an external USB audio device. You would need to engage an electronics engineer to design and create the solution for you.

Looks like you have an ear for good quality sound and, unfortunately, there's no two ways about it – good sound quality costs $. Save up for a modest but decent external USB device and enjoy ;-)

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Can I turn an internal PCI-E audio card into external

Yes, you can.

cheaply?

No.

You can use expresscard or thunderbolt to get PCI-e slots outside a laptop or a desktop. This basically works because expresscards consist of an USB port (which we will not use) and a PCI-e lane. We can connect the latter to an external device with one of these (see below).

enter image description here

You might need to add a PSU for power. And a case would also be a good idea.


The other option (thunberbolt) has the same issues, though it is more common on desktops.




So: possibly: Yes. Cheap: No.

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