I'm thinking about buying a used one from this site and I'm pretty new to this world so I'm having a hard time getting perspective on how these would compare to others out there.   http://www.head-fi.org/t/608867/audio-gd-sparrow-version-a-usb-dac   At $140 shipped, is this a good deal...

Quote: Yes, this is essentially true, afaik. I was looking for reviews of the USB card too and good ones are hard to come by. You can always buy the less expensive version and listen to it. If you like the sound, don't worry about it. :)

Sound Check will normalize the volume. So, it will prevent one song from being significantly louder than another song. It shouldn't affect the quality too much. Sound enhancer will add in a good bit of DSP processing which will color the sound in an attempt to restore some of the lost detail...

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific. Since I'm using a MacBook Pro, the system can't accept a pci or pci-e sound card. So, it would have to be USB.

Well, I've got a set of Promedia 4.1's from approximately 2001 that sound as good today as they did then. I can't imagine a better audio investment. Buy from a place with a decent extended warranty if you are worried about getting a set that will last.  

So, I've got a New MacBook Pro with Retina Display, Sennheiser PC 360's and a love for PC gaming. So, I'll boot into Windows 7 for my fix and I'll chat with the team I'm playing with using my Sennheiser's. The sound quality in the builtin mike is great and the overall quality is satisfying, if a...