[bisayaboi]

Indeed. A thunder storm killed a PCI slot in my PC which held the X-Fi Xtremegamer card. I had no choice but to use my integrated sound card.
 
Sad, I was about to look for a new DAC when...
 
I realized there is no difference in sound between my integrated sound card and my X-Fi Xtremegamer.
 
It truly is all placebo and hype. For a second I thought it sounded worse but it turned out that way because I ASSUMED it would sound worse. It didn't, it sounds exactly the same.
 
DAC's and Cables do not do anything to enhance sound quality.
 
Only amps are really worth anything... and to be honest anything over the Fiio E9 is also just hype, overpriced, placebo.
 
A good source such as a high bitrate digital file, better media players (Foobar sounds better than iTunes for some reason), an amp, and most importantly of all a good set of headphones are the key to good sound.

 

[caracara08]

:|
so foobar is better than itunes but DACs, cables, and amps over the e9 dont make a difference?
 
well if youre happy with it, then fine, but dont talk like what you think is law.

 

[t-h-e-p-i-m-p]

haha, your just making a fool of yourself.

 

[bigshot]

Bad DACs sound bad. Good DACs all sound the pretty much the same. iTunes sounds great if your equipment takes advantage of its strengths. Apple computers and iPods are designed to sound great with iTunes.

 

[monoethylene]

Quote:

Indeed. A thunder storm killed a PCI slot in my PC which held the X-Fi Xtremegamer card. I had no choice but to use my integrated sound card.
 
Sad, I was about to look for a new DAC when...
 
I realized there is no difference in sound between my integrated sound card and my X-Fi Xtremegamer.
 
It truly is all placebo and hype. For a second I thought it sounded worse but it turned out that way because I ASSUMED it would sound worse. It didn't, it sounds exactly the same.
 
DAC's and Cables do not do anything to enhance sound quality.
 
Only amps are really worth anything... and to be honest anything over the Fiio E9 is also just hype, overpriced, placebo.
 
A good source such as a high bitrate digital file, better media players (Foobar sounds better than iTunes for some reason), an amp, and most importantly of all a good set of headphones are the key to good sound.

 
 

 

[Satellite_6]

My integrated sound truly sucks unfortunately (tried it recently for kicks), but all good DAC's I've tried so far do sound roughly the same. 
 
I'd wager that either your integrated sound is really good or your soundcard sucks because there is at least some difference between average craptacular integrated sound and a good DAC, or a good DAP even.
 
 

 

[bigshot]

Amps only improve sound if you're using full size cans with a portable device designed for portable headphones. Most integrated amps have perfectly fine amplification circuitry.

I've found that it's more common to find crappy DACs in older equipment. Most modern DACs are good. The chips inside a lot of equipment are stock items, and you'll find pretty much the same thing in different brands and price levels.

 

[labrat]

Del

 

[bcasey25raptor]

i agree with the op 100%. i bought a fiio e7 and it sounds no greater then my integrated laptop audio. figures.

 

[caracara08]

troll success 

 

[bisayaboi]

Quote:

:|
so foobar is better than itunes but DACs, cables, and amps over the e9 dont make a difference?
 
well if youre happy with it, then fine, but dont talk like what you think is law.

This is all subjective of course, but my IB English teacher taught me that if you want your statement to be stronger, don't mention "in my opinion" even though it is an indeed an OPINION.
 
I'm not gonna get into computer audio but I believe the different methods they output sound makes a difference. Or iTunes output of direct sound just sucks.
 
Honestly if DAC's/Amps/cables can't objectively improve sound then there IS NO DIFFERENCE. Just hype/placebo. It's the same as falling into the Bose/Beats marketing campaign.
 
The only difference I know that DAC's can have is that if a DAC is utterly bad that changing it makes a difference. Like bigshot says, most modern DAC's are good, I guess my integrated sound has a good DAC then, not too surprised since this is one of the newer motherboards from AMD.
 
I bet you that an E7 (which I also had before) for example will sound exactly the same as a $1000 DAC.
 
 

 

[Willakan]

Ignoring the troll posts, it is entirely possible that the OP has a decent integrated audio chipset. The main differences people hear from integrated sound are normally noise or other gigantic flaws in the sound. Separate sound cards didn't decline in popularity because nobody cared, they declined in popularity because the sound that came with your motherboard was improving vastly in quality.

 

[Satellite_6]

Quote:

So you have never tried any portable amps at all?
Or only the cheapest Cmoys?
Also the last line shows your complete ignorance about the subject discussed.

The last line is completely accurate.
 
If your integrated sound has a good DAC then good for you OP.  

 

[aamefford]

Generally wouldn't get sucked in, BUT...  In theory, if a dac is "good"  it should sound the same as other "good" dacs - wait, here me out - a dac is supposed to decode the music as it was recorded, and render it as it was recorded, not add a sound of its own.  So, if a "good" dac (or any dac for that matter) is doing its job appropriately, it should sound like another "good" dac doing it's job appropriately.  My limited experience with dacs (apogee duet, Cambridge audio dacmagic, pico dac/amp, headroom UDA with max dac, udac2, CEntrance Dacport LX, the V-Dac, headphonia dac cable, Leckerton UDA-4), and they all sound mostly the same, and just varying degrees of "good".  Amp and headphones are likely the limit in hearing just how "good" a dac is. Cables - meh.  As long is it is a good conductor, quality built, and of appropriate size for the load, I can't tell the difference.

 

[bisayaboi]

Quote:

The last line is completely accurate.
 
If your integrated sound has a good DAC then good for you OP.  

Well if my integrated sound chipset happened to be good that's nice but the point I'm trying to convey is that anything over $100 spent on DAC's is a waste since as long as the DAC is of good enough quality it will sound the same. Hell, possibly spending over $30-50 might be waste...