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Need Some Advice Fast (How does this setup look)

post #1 of 25
1/9/12 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 

I have been spending hours doing research here and elsewhere and have not found conclusive answers to several questions.

 

Im ordering a new computer in the next few days running Windows x64 running foobar and need to decide if im going the PCIe soundcard route or USB dac/amp.

 

If you can give answers to any of these questions I would be extremely grateful!

 

Equipment:

Ultransone Pro 900's

 

1. PCIe (Xonar STX) vs USB 2.0/3.0?  have found no definitive answer. 

 

2. If USB what option is best? Nuforce icon HDP, Audio-gd nfb-12 or musiland 03 us?  All of them would be used as a standalone DAC/ Amp...The HDP can handle this or requires an extra amp to run the 900's?

 

3. My Mother board has S/PDIF out my understanding is that with Optical I cannot actually use the DAC of whatever I may be attaching.  How do I utilize this?

 

Thanks for your time and my apologies if any of these questions seem stupid, im new to this and looking through forums and old articles endlessly has left me a bit confused.

 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
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Ultrasone PRO 900 Headphones, Black
post #2 of 25
1/9/12 at 6:29pm

1. No answer because it's completely dependent upon the implementation of the USB. Some DACs could be really bad compared to the STX.

 

2. I've only heard the HDP, it's good. Not amazing but good. It's sharp though. If you're not into treble (why get the Ultrasone Pro 900 if you are?), stay away. It can handle the HD800, so it can certainly handle the Ultrasone Pro 900s.

 

3. No way to do go S/PDIF straight to a USB DAC without a Halide bridge or a USB -> S/PDIF converter or an audio interface from M-Audio or Emu.

 

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post #3 of 25
1/9/12 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 

Very helpful post!

 

So as far as the DAC of the STX vs the HDP, is there an obvious choice?  Im thinking that either way i will run it with a littledot MKII or other external headphone amp.

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post #4 of 25
1/9/12 at 7:54pm

whats your price range total?

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post #5 of 25
1/9/12 at 7:59pm
Thread Starter 

About 400$  but I will likely buy everything used except for the Xonar.

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post #6 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:11pm

any reason you want a sound card over just a dac?

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post #7 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:18pm
Thread Starter 

I am willing to put the money into whatever  equipment/ connectivity gets me the best sq when listening to foobar2000 on my new pc.

I can get the HDP, musi 03 us, or audio gd for the same price as the STX.  Open to any suggestions,  I have been trying hard to educate myself but realistically i know nothing.

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post #8 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:26pm

well, the schiit bifrost can take an optical in, and I use mine straight out of the built in optical on my motherboard soundcard and I think it sounds great.  It costs $350 new w/out usb, so maybe you could find one cheaper.

otherwise if you really want to save some money, behringer makes a $29 usb dac that has been proven to measure and sound WAY above its pricepoint and really can deliver excellent sound.

 

either of those and a $145 Jds labs O2 amp and you would have an excellent sounding setup.

 

regardless of the other gear, I cant recommend the O2 amp enough.  IMHO its a world beater and if you can get past how cheap and small it is you will not be dissapointed.

You really dont need to shell out big bucks to get excellent sound these days contrary to popular belief.

 

 


Edited by Br777 - 1/9/12 at 8:28pm
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post #9 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 

The mother board im using has S/PDIF x1 out  and the schitt and nuforce have optical in, but without usb how do you utilize the DAC of either?

 

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post #10 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:43pm

spdif is digital, which means it cant be transmitted to your headphones without a dac. 

 

by S/PDIF do you mean optical or the one that looks like an RCA jack?  sorry i get easily confused with all these output abbreviations. 

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post #11 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 

I get confused with it aswell, this my mobo's Ports

 

http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Asus-ROG-Rampage-IV-Extreme-Motherboard-Gets-Pictured-7.jpg

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post #12 of 25
1/9/12 at 8:55pm

the two digital output choices you have there are usb and optical.  Either one can good, but this can vary greatly depending on which dac you get.

 

Honestly, i know its hard to believe, but the $29 behringer and the $145 O2 would be an excellent choice. 

 

I'm afraid i'm not an expert in recommending dacs other than a few that I know are good so i cant comment on lots of other choices.

 

 

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post #13 of 25
1/9/12 at 9:02pm
Thread Starter 

So price aside ....

 

Option 1: behringer and the O2

 

Option 2: Xonar and 02

 

Option 3: Nuforce and 02

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post #14 of 25
1/9/12 at 9:08pm

i couldnt say.. i know nothing about the nuforce or soundcard.

 

To me, and i could be wrong, sound cards dont make as much sense as an external dac, for one it is limited to your computer, and secondly it is still in the computer which probably makes it a lot more suceptible to the computers noise and interferance.

 

nuforce cought some scrutiny from a professional tester on one of their products performances recently, so I'm a little skewed against them, but thats about all i can bring to the table with that argument

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post #15 of 25
1/9/12 at 9:13pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks alot for your help BR! I have much to think about now.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
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Ultrasone PRO 900 Headphones, Black
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