Hi Everyone
 
I've been reading around a lot, but there's just simply too much information and I have too little experience it's confusing, that's why I'm asking here for help.
 
I have an AKG K81DJ for portable use and getting a Takstar Pro 80 soon for home use. Listen mostly to electronic music, but also classical, rock, everything from time to time.
 
I would like to improve sound quality and thinking about getting a cheaper DAC or DAC/amp combo to use instead of my crappy integrated sound card.
 
I'm probably never going to get a headphone above $300-400, and would like to get equipment that I won't need to upgrade if I get better headphones, so something that I can use for a long time.
 
As I understand, a PC could easily drive the Pro 80, so is there any point in getting a headphone amp at all? Or am I better off with just DAC?
 
Also, there are portable and desktop ones, but what exactly can you use a desktop dac/amp for? You can connect it to a PC/laptop but what else? How about, for example, the dvd player of the home cinema (it has USB)? I don't think I'll ever want to bring a DAC with me to listen to music on the go, so is there any other use for portables?
 
I'm thinking about the following:
 
FiiO E10K
Schiit Fulla
Schiit Modi 2 (and I could get the Magni 2 later if it turns out I do need an amp)
Does the Modi 2 Uber worth the +50 bucks?
 
What do you think, any of the above, or any other device that's not on my list? Any help/recommendation will be appreciated (please keep it under $100, will go up to $150 if it's really worth it). I'm not sticking to brand new.
 
Thank you in advance.

You can't get a DAC without an amp. The amp is what powers your headphones, and all the DAC does is convert a digital signal to an analog one. If you add a DAC (but not an amp), you are bypassing the integrated amplifiers of your PC, and you'll still want something to kick the signal up to audible levels.

Oh, as for your DVD player, I doubt it can output audio over USB. If a player can output a digital audio signal, it will probably come from an optical output, so you could use a Schiit Modi Optical (or Modi 2 Uber) if you wanted some higher quality there.

Now, as for formal recommendations: better headphones. Sure, the ones you have/want might sound good, but investing $100 in an amp (and/or DAC) is not going to make your $100 headphones sound like $200 ones. The Sennheiser HD598 floats around $200, and that still does not need an amplifier. Step 1 in any audio setup is the drivers (headphones or speakers). You only move to the next steps if your current souce/amp (in this case, integrated on the sound card) doesn't work well with the better sounding drivers. From there, the amp is there to drive the headphones/speakers, and the DAC is there to provide a cleaner signal to the amp.

So unless your integrated sound card is flat out broken with your current headphones, I think you'll be much happier investing in better cans before diving into the components side of things.

I would use the money on better headphones in your case.

Thanks for the replies!
 
Sure, I didn't think a dac would transform my budget headphones into high-end ones, just thought the PC sound card would limit the capabilities of even these cheaper phones. Are you saying there won't really be any difference, unless I buy much more sophisticated/expensive headphones?
 
I'm actually pretty satisfied with what I have now headphone-wise, with the Pro 80 on its way here. Depending on how I like that, I'll just keep them for a while or upgrade to a better one later. So if they will produce the best sound they can, even without a DAC, then I'm good now.
 
I just read in many reviews of headphones similar to mine in price that they sound better with amp/dac. I think it was a Koss or an AKG where they actually wrote it 'needs' an amp/dac (about same price as Pro 80). Were they just too audiophile, and the difference would actually be really subtle?

I just don't think the improvement offered by a DAC/Amp would be a good value. I would hate for you to drop a bunch of money on components (almost as much as your headphones) for a "meh" improvement, especially when you could spend $200 on a pair of headphones, get a clear impovement, and still not need a DAC/amp to enjoy them.

Yeah I'd save the money for a headphone upgrade later on. It's not really worth spending money on amp and dacs for headphones with that price. Sure it will help but better to invest in better headphones.

What are you using right now for portable use? Maybe a new DAP would be in order.

Allright, I am convinced. Thanks for saving me from throwing out money.

I'm still thinking about a Creative Sound Blaster E1, though. Not primarily for amplification and dac, but the other nice features that I can actually use (portable double line out, mic, also curious about the driver software). I can pick it up really cheap, about 30 USD, so even if it was a waste, that is an amount I can handle (but I actually read some really nice things about it). What do you think?

As for DAP, I listen to music on my android phone on the go. I actually have zero experience with these flac players and whatnot. Looked at the FiiO X series but they just seem expensive to me, not sure I could use them to the fullest. Never even tried one, the last mp3 player I used is an iPod Nano 3g... Would my K81DJ profit from a nice portable dap? If so, could you please recommend me a few I could look at?