Basically, I'm looking to upgrade a bit in terms of power for my computer. I currently have a Auzentech X-Fi Prelude, which has swappable opamps. However, I'm looking at getting something with a little more oomph and hook it up to my computer, specifically the Schiit Asgard (Their FAQ pretty much made me laugh my way into wanting to buy it, on top of rave reviews here). However, I would obviously need a DAC to run this on my computer. This is where the problem lies, as I would be on a heavy budget just to get the Asgard.
 
This is my train of thought (keep in mind I'm certainly a novice to something like this, and it may not even be plausible):
 
Based on what I know, using something like an RCA to mini cable would work to connect the Asgard to the Prelude's headphone out. However, this would also double amp the signal, and cause issues such as distortion - which I obviously would be looking to avoid. There might well be a cable that would serve my purpose to connect via SPDIF, as the Prelude can do optical or coaxial in that regard and allow me to use the built in DAC. But, barring that, what would happen if I simply removed the opamp and connected via a RCA to mini adapter? 
 
My thinking is that the sound card would send an un-amplified signal to the amp, which would then send to my headphones. Probably not the greatest solution, but it should be passable. The other thing I was thinking is a method such as this might allow me to use certain effects such as CMSS when I game, which would actually be awesome. I'm just not sure it would work out that way.
 
Obviously I have a couple of other options: I could just go with a Essence STX, or for just a bit more I could get the Fiio E7/E9 combo, which would work fine. However, I really want that Asgard. Would this be a passable solution?

I would suggest seeing if you can sell your Prelude and invest some of that money into a DAC. I know I am really loving my HRT MS2, much better than my old Xonar D2X!

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abxg said:

I would suggest seeing if you can sell your Prelude and invest some of that money into a DAC. I know I am really loving my HRT MS2, much better than my old Xonar D2X!

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The issue there is that I would likely still use the sound card for a variety of applications. I go to a lot of BYOC lan events, where I would not bring a desktop amp and source with me, and the onboard on my particular motherboard is dreadful. I also do a lot of gaming (which is why I go to these events ), and the X-Fi is perfect for this, especially with things like CMSS which really helps my headphones of choice work ok for positioning and imaging. So simply getting rid of the sound card is not an option for me.
 
 
 

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themanbeast said:

The issue there is that I would likely still use the sound card for a variety of applications. I go to a lot of BYOC lan events, where I would not bring a desktop amp and source with me, and the onboard on my particular motherboard is dreadful. I also do a lot of gaming (which is why I go to these events ), and the X-Fi is perfect for this, especially with things like CMSS which really helps my headphones of choice work ok for positioning and imaging. So simply getting rid of the sound card is not an option for me.
 
 
 

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Fair enough, the LANs I go to don't usually involve games that involve positional audio (I play mostly RTS games) so I really had to problems ditching my D2X for the DAC (especially considering I can use it on my laptop as well).
 
I personally can't think of any reason why you couldn't hotwire the Prelude to bypass the op-amp circuits. You would probably need to do a little bit of research to determine how to actually wire the op-amp bypass. You would also probably need to look into getting a soldering kit to perform the job (properly) yourself, or at the very least you would need to find someone willing to do the soldering for you.

Yeah, I play a lot of counterstrike so that positioning is important for me. I don't know much about soldering or doing things like this, so maybe the e7/e9 would be a better combo for me. I'll see if I can't find some good comparison threads in the meantime.
 
Is there a decent, simple USB DAC or the like I could use for cheap in the meantime? I've found a couple of converters that will go from RCA to toslink optical, which would allow me to use the SPDIF on my sound card, but I don't know if the SPDIF would bypass the DAC in my card, or if paying $50 for it would be worth it versus saving a bit longer and buying the e7, which I am assuming has a great USB DAC in it from all the positive reviews here.
 
And, actually, does anyone have any experience with just using the E7 on its own for computer audio with lower impedance headphones? (I just bought a pair of Samson SR850, and those will likely be the most used with the setup for the time being - but I'm planning to get a 600-ohm DT-990 once I get a good SS amp capable of running them) I could get that for the meantime, and wait and see what I would like to do.
 
Heh... Kind of wishing I never sold my Meier Cantate right now.

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themanbeast said:

Yeah, I play a lot of counterstrike so that positioning is important for me. I don't know much about soldering or doing things like this, so maybe the e7/e9 would be a better combo for me. I'll see if I can't find some good comparison threads in the meantime.
 
Is there a decent, simple USB DAC or the like I could use for cheap in the meantime? I've found a couple of converters that will go from RCA to toslink optical, which would allow me to use the SPDIF on my sound card, but I don't know if the SPDIF would bypass the DAC in my card, or if paying $50 for it would be worth it versus saving a bit longer and buying the e7, which I am assuming has a great USB DAC in it from all the positive reviews here.
 
And, actually, does anyone have any experience with just using the E7 on its own for computer audio with lower impedance headphones? (I just bought a pair of Samson SR850, and those will likely be the most used with the setup for the time being - but I'm planning to get a 600-ohm DT-990 once I get a good SS amp capable of running them) I could get that for the meantime, and wait and see what I would like to do.
 
Heh... Kind of wishing I never sold my Meier Cantate right now.

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S/PDIF would bypass the DAC inside your computer.
You could take a look at the DAC/amp setup in my signature, I was able to find the MSII for about the same price as the E7 (MusicDirect demo unit). Every review I could find stated the MSII was a fair bit better than the E7. The MSII is a great DAC (a LOT better than my Xonar D2X). The E9 is also a very good DAC for the money, and it should be able to drive 600 ohm headphones no problem.
 
I got a chance to play some Crysis 2 on my rig earlier today and I was really surprised with how good the positional audio was on my system. I had no problems at all finding finding the source of a gunshot or nearby footsteps based on sound alone. I am not sure how older games, or games that really on out-dated technologies like EAX would fair though.

That's what I had thought. I knew SPDIF would bypass the opamp, but I had thought it bypassed all the audio circuitry and just sent an unchanged signal direct to the source. Good to know, I would have been unhappy.
 
I'm going to do some checks on the MSII, and do some searching on this forum, but figured I would ask you a couple of questions since you've been so quick to respond and have likely saved me a few bills and frustration: Can I use the MSII alone (does it have an amp)? The real big pull for the E7 is that it should be able to handle my SR850 very well by itself, plugged into my computer - which would allow me to even think about saving for something a bit better than an E9/Asgard. I wasn't able to find this information in your link, though the wording makes me think it does not.
 
The second question is one I probably wouldn't be able to find on another thread: Would it be possible to test your setup using a source engine game? If it worked fine in Crysis 2 I'm sure it would be the same in CS:S, but I would just want to make sure. If it worked well, I would probably put my Prelude up for sale and use the money towards obtaining these items.

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themanbeast said:

That's what I had thought. I knew SPDIF would bypass the opamp, but I had thought it bypassed all the audio circuitry and just sent an unchanged signal direct to the source. Good to know, I would have been unhappy.
 
I'm going to do some checks on the MSII, and do some searching on this forum, but figured I would ask you a couple of questions since you've been so quick to respond and have likely saved me a few bills and frustration: Can I use the MSII alone (does it have an amp)? The real big pull for the E7 is that it should be able to handle my SR850 very well by itself, plugged into my computer - which would allow me to even think about saving for something a bit better than an E9/Asgard. I wasn't able to find this information in your link, though the wording makes me think it does not.
 
The second question is one I probably wouldn't be able to find on another thread: Would it be possible to test your setup using a source engine game? If it worked fine in Crysis 2 I'm sure it would be the same in CS:S, but I would just want to make sure. If it worked well, I would probably put my Prelude up for sale and use the money towards obtaining these items.

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S/PDIF will bypass all the audio circuitry in your computer. S/PDIF is a digital output. You can use software (like DSP plugins or positional audio) to modify the signal before it leaves the computer. S/PDIF is getting a bit out-dated as well, you should get much better audio performance with asynchronous USB. If Asynchronous USB reduces an effect called "jitter". The MSII is Asynchronous USB, I believe the E7 is NOT Asynchronous (don't quote me on that).
 
The MSII does NOT have any kind of amplification circuits (ie it is only a DAC). When I was using my D2X I could barely turn my amp before it was too loud to listen to. With the MSII I actually have to crank the volume on my amp to get the same volume level. I am not sure if any of the source games I have positional audio, although I can check with TF2 (gogo Orange Box!).

I played a few rounds of TF2. I did notice that there was some positional audio, but it wasn't as defined as the positional audio in Crysis 2. In TF2 I could get a general sense of the direction of the sound, in Crysis 2 I could point my camera directly at the sound.

Thanks for the update, sincerely appreciate it. Basically, for me this means that I need to keep the sound card for gaming purposes. I don't play at a super high level, but I do play competitively on a team, so that audio is more important than to just have a bit of fun for me - I need those finer details. It's what made me sell my Cantate as well, as the positioning was just off, and unusable for gaming. However, this go around, I could use the amp/dac for everything else, and switch inputs for source if it turns out to be a huge deal. I've played long enough that a "general sense" may do the trick, once you've played dust2 8 million times you know where a guy is if you get shot from a certain direction
 
If you are using your 595s as the basis point for that I may have a decent general idea of it - I used 595s for a long time, and plugged into the onboard I had good directional recognition, but horrible depth... but when plugged into the Prelude I literally knew how many steps away people were in some cases, even without any enhancements such as CMSS on. I'm assuming that, even though the headphone is properly amped by the E9, it's somewhat of the same thing. Crysis very likely has much better audio standards than source engine games, so it would make sense on the difference there.
 
So now I have to make a decision. I'd never actually use the E7 as a portable amp other then *maybe* if I took a trip to Europe or something, I would never use it for every day use. That takes away one of its big perks. Basically I'd be buying it only for the amp inside to use at my computer, and I'm not sold it would outperform my Prelude with my incoming Samsons until I get the amp to go with it - and since I wouldn't use the amp in the E7 after that, it's kind of a waste if I can get better equipment for the same price. Also, I just read Judes' impression of the Lyr and might spring for that instead of the Asgard or E9. Off to more head-fi threads about sources, I suppose. 
 
Thanks for all of your help!