I made a thread over at in the amp section, but figured it might be appropriate to ask here as well. Below is a shorter summary of what's going on.
My music library consists of a lot of VBR MP3s. 192kbps is the lowest I have, with the majority being between that and 300kbps. I will be re-ripping a good chunk of my library to at least 320kbps, but am saving FLAC for only my favourite pieces.
Summary for those new to the thread --
I bought a Schiit Asgard from a user on these forums. I hooked it up to my Zune just to test things out -- I could hear sound, but things did not sound normal and I could hardly hear the vocals no matter how loud I cranked it. My main listening station will be from my computer, which has an HT Omega Striker soundcard in it. I will be using my speakers, Logitech Z-5500s about half of the time and my headphones the other half. I want to avoid switching out cables to do so, so I think an external DAC is the way to go (needs clarification). My soundcard has two digital outs: a coax out and optical out. Assuming this works the way I think it works, I could run the optical out to the DAC and from there to the speakers? Similarly, run a cable from the coax out on my soundcard to the DAC, then something from the DAC to the my amp for the headphones? (Obviously, the optical and coax can be switched for each device, I'm not sure if one is more advantageous over the other.) Again, clarification for all this would be much appreciated (will it work, is there any benefit from running my speakers through the DAC if it does, what cables will I need, etc...) and any extra help would not be discouraged.
Equipment --
- HT Omega Striker (soundcard, click to zoom in to see connections)
- Schiit Asgard (amp)
- Sennheiser HD280 Pro (eventually HD598s)
- Logitech Z-5500s
- Zune HD
It isn't mentioned in the short summary above, but I tried to run the amp from my PC after the Zune to see if that helped anything. Long story short, it didn't (probably because I ran it though the line in?). As mentioned, I would like an easy solution so that I can use my speakers and headphones so I don't have to go to the back of my PC case and fiddle with the the wiring every time. Is a DAC what I'm looking for? If so, how would the connections go (speakers, amp, and headphones)? What types of cables will I need? Probably most importantly -- will a DAC fix the sound issue I was having with my amp and Zune HD?
If a DAC is the solution -- recommend away. I would like it pair well with what I have/intend to have now. I haven't quite decided on a price range, but $300 is probably my absolute limit with $150 or so being much preferred (although the DacMagic looks amazing..., seems a little weird spending more on the amp and DAC than the headphones).
If you have any other questions or don't understand what I am going for, feel free to ask. Thank you for your time and any assistance you can provide.
Edited by fusedpro - 7/13/11 at 2:08pm
