Dac, soundcard or amp?

welcome to headfi.  Unfortunately you won't find an easy answer or tips all in one place.  Without a lot more specifics it is hard to help.

Since there is no easy to find sticky or tutorial about computer audio on headfi that I am aware of, you may have to learn elsewhere.

Try heading over to computer audiophile and read some of their tutorials in the ca academy section.  That should make your head hurt and then you can ask some more questions back here.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/category/Computer-Audiophile-Academy/Computer-Audiophile-Academy

good luck

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pardon 

Hi! I am new to this forum, so i am very sorry if I started a completely unecessary thread. I have just been starting to get in to the Hi-fi world and I am eager to upgrade my audio equipment. Right now I am sitting with Siberia V2, a headset, and they are really lame for listening to music. Thats why I am going the order the MS1i.

 

The problem is, I dont know what kind of equipment I should buy. I am currently sitting on an intergrated soundcard, so buying a new would probably be good.

 

But whatabout a dac or an amp? Maybe I should save up some money and buy a real dac instead of buying a soundcard?

 

/Pardon

Welcome Pardon,

The MS1s are not really hard to drive, so my bet would be with an all-in-one (DAC & headamp) to start.  Many to choose from and you bypass the onboard sound and will have a nice setup.

Your budget is very important, so we can help in recommending gear.

Cheers

Here is my thought on the subject...whether my thought process is right or not I'm not sure. I like the idea of a separate DAC rather than a sound card. Main reason being, if you get a DAC that has multiple input options and you decide to use something else other than a computer as your source, you will be able to easily use the DAC with the new setup. 

Spend (most of) your money on (quality) headphones. You'll be happier at the end of the day.

Your onboard sound may be just average, or it may be fine. Once you reach a certain point, which can be reached pretty quickly/cheaply, differences will be minuscule. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pardon

Well, maybe I can spend around 300-350 $ for a couple of nice headphones and an/a amp/dac. I am currently thinking about the MS1i + uDac 2, would that be a decent setup to start with? I listen to a lot of rock and country, both in MP3 and FLAC.

 

I am also wondering if the MS1i + uDac 2 setup would be easy to upgrade? Like if I want to buy a new set of headphones which are harder to drive I could just buy a seperate dac and then use uDac 2 as an amp?

 

@ArmAndHammer and xnor

Thanks.

The uDac2 and MS1i would be a nice starter setup, imo.

In reference to your 2nd paragraph about upgrading headphones, it would be the other way around (use the uDac2 as a DAC and upgrade your amp).  Amps drive the headphones.

I use my uDac in this fashion a lot.  Love moving it around.  Here's a pic taken a while back with uDac and fullsize amp when I first received the uDac and was experimenting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pardon 

Really nice, thanks. I think I will go with the uDac 2 + MS1i then. uDac 2 goes for around 150 $ here in Sweden, pretty reasonable price. But is it okay to plug in the uDac 2 with an USB, or will there be a great loss of quality?

Thanks..My pleasure....

The uDac2 only has usb input so must be connected via usb (and no it does not degrade quality).  A feature the uDac has is coax out and can be used as a usb to spdif converter.  It can be used to connect to another DAC that has coax input in that fashion.  Example- You have a DAC that only has optical or coaxial input but you want to connect to your PC that does not have optical or coaxial output, only usb.  A usb to spdif converter will accomplish that task.

Here is another pic (taken the same day I believe) that I used the uDac as a converter.  The pictured DAC does not have usb input, so I used the uDac as a converter to connect it to my laptop.  ...USB in from uDac to laptop, coax out from uDac to coax in from DAC, amp connected to DAC......Voila...Hope this helps you a little bit...

I'm also having hard choosing! Long story short I can spend like 300$ on whatever I want. Instead for expensive portable audio, I've decided to invest my money in my computer. I can add, let's say, 150$ or something like that, so a budget of about 450$, preferably lower if possible.

I currently have a pair of Goldring DR150's and though I'm satisfied with them, I'm tempted to upgrade now that I'm rich (evil grin & laugh here). But, it feels unnecessary to upgrade having integrated sound. And getting an external DAC + amp + soundcard is too expensive. That's the main reason I've been looking for more versatile cards like Asus Essence ST. I've checked out more music-purposed cards like EMU or ESI also, but didn't really get which models do have amplifiers, are they good, etc. The ST has, from what I've gathered, a fairly powerful amplifier (not enough to drive high-ends like HD650, I've heard, but should be enough for what I may get). I haven't really grasped what DACs are about, so I don't know about that.

Regarding headphones I've been looking a lot at the AKG K242 HD's. They're about 160$ in Europe (126EUR/1150SEK, german shop incl shipping) which is a very good price. The ST  is something like $250+ here in Sweden which is really expensive, but I'm going to check out every european store with a lower price and if it's still gainful after shipping it'll be a definitive buy but right now I'm really unsure.

So, would the AKG K242 HD's and Asus Essence ST go well togheter? Or does anyone have any suggestions, inputs? Perhaps smarter to spend more on the headphone than the soundcard, even if it includes an amplifier? And the amplifier should be more than enough for the 242's right?

Thank you(in advance)!

I am in a similar situation as Pardon. I like the suggestions so far and will continue to follow this thread.

Heatfan,

I just obtained a uDac-2.    I have a Theta DAC that has a coaxial input.  Can I use my uDAC-2 as a go between from my iMac to the Theta?  

 iMac>USB>uDAC-2>Coaxial>Theta DAC?

(Knicks Fan)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pardon 

Awesome, Heatfan! Thanks for all the help. :)

My pleasure..Cheers


 

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarriorAnt 

Heatfan,

 

I just obtained a uDac-2.    I have a Theta DAC that has a coaxial input.  Can I use my uDAC-2 as a go between from my iMac to the Theta?  

 

 iMac>USB>uDAC-2>Coaxial>Theta DAC?

 

(Knicks Fan)

Hello WarriorAnt,

Indeed you can.  Connect uDac to PC via usb, coax out from uDac to coax in from DAC.  Been a little while but iirc, when the uDac is off (vol. 0) the coax out is activated and when using the RCA outs on the uDac (when connecting an amp to uDac), you can control the volume on uDac and amp.  If your amp is connected to your Theta then the RCAs on uDac will not be needed.

Man, you guys had the Celtics last night...Great game...Amare is on fire......

Will definitely be a great game tomorrow when we hit the Garden....

Thanks for the info.  I'm an old school guy.  Theta DS Pre DAC, Krell KSA 150, Whatever speakers I have around at the time.  I do not use headphones, not for the lack of trying them or owning them, I just like my music to arrive at my ears from the open air.  Got the uDac-2 yesterday and almost sent it back. The RCA outs are marginal on the small high end system I use with my iMac to compose with and since I do not use headphones...

My iMac has a headphone out/optical digital audio port (this port is also a S/PDIF stereo 3.5 mini-phono jack).  The Theta DS Pre Gen III  has an AT&T  optical input and a coax input.   I don't believe there is a cable that can link an AT&T Optical to-Optical Mini plug, if there is one I'd love to have it.  So I'm going to try the uDac-2 Coax  hookup.

(I'm also an old time Knicks fan.  I heard Marv Alberts first broadcast in 1967)