[bcschmerker4]

@pibroch  The phantom center works in your case.  I've a project on the drawing board that couldn't possibly use a phantom center:  For a new musical instrument that is also to be at once a sound reinforcement, musical-instrument monitoring, and public address rig, I'll have to get in contact with Engineering at Allenorgans® to see whether AES-EBU, Sony-Philips Digital Interface, High Definition Multimedia Interface, and/or seriously multichannel analog input consistent with the hardware requirements of Dolby Laboratories Atmos can be used as external sources for Digital Computer Organs from the CF-52 and/or L-343 and/or RL-66 up.  The test case is a four-manual full-custom DCO (with 76" C-style console and 86" external amplifier cabinet) to pack no fewer than 380 audio amplifier channels driving a massive three-dimensional bank of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers (including those in two new rostra as a Rygpoſitiv) as a workaround for architectural limitations contraindicating the around fifty HR-200 full-range and SR-1 subwoofer cabinets that would be recommended for a 95-rank organ.  Approximately three-fourths of the audio outputs are to be in the ceiling and upper walls of the intended hall of installation, and my preliminary plans involve a dedicated expression pedal (labeled EAC-Monitoren) for the external inputs in addition to a dedicated expression pedal (labeled Hovedværk-Fjernværk-Pedål) for the internal pipe-organ resynthesis; the "front trio" is to be integrated into the Hovedværk portion, the "rear trio" into the Fjernværk portion and the side L/R into the Pedål portion of the ceiling array.  (Expanded Audio Capabilites is advertised for a limited number of analog inputs: SMPTE balanced stereo, 6.3mm TRS bal/unbal stereo, and RCA unbalanced stereo.)  A/B'ing a full-custom Allen against a DAC-equipped McIntosh® rig driving eight XRT-2K tower speakers plus a pair of Avantgarde Acoustic® Baßhorn™ subwoofers would be quite a challenge indeed.

 

[pibroch]

An A/B would be quite easy to do with the right dac set up, say 48 linked 8-channel Dangerous Music dacs. All you then need is a listening room with the same specifications as your projects's room (with identically specified loudspeakers) built next door. Your powered listening chair would be on rails leading into an acoustically isolated tube linking both rooms. Let us know how it goes.

 

[leftside]

I do have a center speaker (for home theater use) and people swear it is on when listening to 2-channel music.

 

[Jimster480]

   
The law of diminishing returns are in full effect already starting with just the $100 DAC. In spite of it people can still justify purchasing an thousands on a DAC in order to extract the most out their speakers and headphones . In my case, it's scaled down to $600 Chord Mojo feeding a $25 Sony XBA-1 IEM. It did make the XBA-1 sound a lot more natural and have 3D imaging which the built-in DAC from smartphones or PCs. At one time, I thought I was listening to a different IEM due to immediate noticeable improvements in imaging and timbre. The difference for me is 30% better sound (in my scale YMMY), and that justify the price jump to me at least. For my computer speaker setup, it's the same case as well: I have a $1000 DAC and amp setup (Schiit Bifrost MB and Schiit Saga with 5692 tube buffer) just to feed a $400 (pair price) of Yamaha HS7 speakers. I've pretty much extracted the most out of those speakers without modifying the power amp inside them (op-amp change, capacitor change, etc.). The result is hi-fi sound in a near field listening environment.
 
However, if I probably started with a decent $100 DAC, the difference in improvements might've gone down to single digits and to some it'll sound ridiculous to spend 10x the price for a single percent digit improvement in sound.

Why would you use a $600 DAC to power a $25 IEM?
The IEM already sucks and honestly any AMP would have made the same improvement.
I think what you are hearing is the difference in an AMP.

 

[theveterans]

 
Why would you use a $600 DAC to power a $25 IEM?
The IEM already sucks and honestly any AMP would have made the same improvement.
I think what you are hearing is the difference in an AMP.

 
The sound is better than $100 IEMs I've heard such as Shure SE 215 which I gave away. Sound is close to the AKG K712 and I even prefer the XBA-1 to the amped K712 on some songs. It's that good to my ears when amped and fed with good DAC. The XBA-1 sounds like cheap earbuds unamped, but becomes alive with full bodied sound if I use Chord Mojo.

 

[exsomnis]

Between bad DAC implementations and good DAC implementations there is a huge difference. But between DACs that are competent enough, the differences are subtle and are dependent on your ability to detect them. Some people will be able to reliably discern the differences and some won't.

On the other hand, there is the point of view that all well implemented DACs sound the same, despite the differing methods of translating digital streams to analog audio. That comparisons aren't done properly - not voltage matched or volume matched and thus any differences experienced are actually just a byproduct of not having the comparisons done at equal loudness. And on top of this, having to rely on the inherently unreliable function of human aural memory, which as with other human senses are subjective and prone to variables.

OP and anyone else considering this will just need to form their own opinions on the matter.

 

[Jimster480]

   
The sound is better than $100 IEMs I've heard such as Shure SE 215 which I gave away. Sound is close to the AKG K712 and I even prefer the XBA-1 to the amped K712 on some songs. It's that good to my ears when amped and fed with good DAC. The XBA-1 sounds like cheap earbuds unamped, but becomes alive with full bodied sound if I use Chord Mojo.

I just can't believe that... Have you heard something like the 1More Triple drivers?
I mean honestly the engineering required to make something great..... there is no way that any $25 IEM can be good enough.
Unless ofcourse you just like bass, in which case there are plenty of options for you.

 

[max2]

So does a DAC really make a huge difference on a pc ?

 

[theveterans]

To me yep. YMMV

 

[Headzone]

So does a DAC really make a huge difference on a pc ?

Yeah

 

[Jimster480]

So does a DAC really make a huge difference on a pc ?

Really depends on what sort of output your computer has and what sort of headphones you are using.
If you have some HyperX or Creative Fatality gaming headphones then probably not really, unless your mobo audio sucks.
If you have a high end mobo then it won't make that much of a difference unless you have some good headphones/IEMs.

 

[kadrian]

So does a DAC really make a huge difference on a pc ?

To me, it's definitely yes.

 

[Asteron70]

If you think a higher quality DAC doesn't improve sound quality, then you aren't listening closely enough or you have a hearing problem... OR the rest of your set up (source files, source component, amp, speakers/headphones, cables) isn't up to scratch.
A higher quality DAC (yggy, metrum acoustics pavane, dave to name just a few) can have an immensely positive impact on quality of music, but you need the rest of your system to be up to scratch to hear/appreciate the impact.

 

[UntilThen]

If you think a higher quality DAC doesn't improve sound quality, then you aren't listening closely enough or you have a hearing problem... OR the rest of your set up (source files, source component, amp, speakers/headphones, cables) isn't up to scratch.
A higher quality DAC (yggy, metrum acoustics pavane, dave to name just a few) can have an immensely positive impact on quality of music, but you need the rest of your system to be up to scratch to hear/appreciate the impact.

Agree. Getting Yggy has made a very significant change to my setup. It doesn't even have to be Yggy. Get a competent dac and it's the start of your building blocks.

 

[wwmhf]

Yes, it certainly does assuming that you have a pair of good phones and a good amp