[dukeReinhardt]

Hi, I'm aware that there's a similar thread to this from just 2 weeks ago, but my needs are a little different to those in the older thread. I've also googled extensively, but my biggest problem seems to render those threads irrelevant, which is that I've got a budget of £80~£100, or $160. Components and such are more expensive in the UK though.
 
I currently own a crappy xtreme audio that I want to dump at first chance. My needs are for a preferably external solution (or possibly PCIe) that delivers noticeably better quality than realtek onboard or xtreme audio, that also has a headphone amp attached or included. Effects are unnecessary (though not unwelcome), portability is also a non-issue (especially since it adds to price), and I'll mainly be using headphones to listen to unaltered music, with occasional gaming and film viewing. Current headphones are the sony mdr 7506 and sennheiser hd280 pro, with the aim of upgrading to hd650.
 
I've considered these as well as combinations of them:
FiiO (E7, E9, E10, E17)
Xonar (dg, stx)
Boutique soundcards that are pretty expensive.
 
Creative, and the rest of the Xonar line don't seem to fit the bill unless paired with an external amp - too expensive.
DG sounded good for now, but it frankly sounds like not much of an upgrade. From one budget card to another even more budget card... hm. If I spend money, I want it to mean something, and last at least a little while.
E10 sounds nearly perfect but the output bit depth/sample rate seems to be lower than onboard, and it also crackles and lags I hear(?).
Finally most of the other solutions seem to be overkill/too expensive, especially as I'll be going with the humble 280s for a good while yet.
It seems like if the E7/E9 combo were just one solution, and the E7 amp and portability were removed, it would probably be not only exactly what I need, but bang-for-buck the solution I require. Is there maybe something comparable? Like, if the E17 weren't portable but instead had slightly higher sound quality on par with an essence STX.
 
Suggestions please? Any answer will be much appreciated ^^ 

 

[MattTCG]

The hd650's are a tough nut. I would not look at fiio even though I recommend them often...not for the 650's though. The e7/e9 is hear is sufficient. Better options would be an 02 amp with a decent dac like the MS ii, but that is way over your budget. You could build the 02 yourself for about $50 and have money left over for a decent dac. 

 

[dukeReinhardt]

Oh, wow. Now I've got a whole slew of fascinating articles to read (no sarcasm!). Initially that looks great, and very future-proof. Puts the E9 to shame. $50 would be amazing, but I'm having difficulty seeing how it could be so cheap (firstly I have no knowledge or tools, and I live in the UK, so delivery and import tax isn't to be sniffed at). If it can somehow be made <£50, I'm gonna be jumping all over it. Would it be worth waiting for the ODA+ODAC combination though? Gah. Budget budget budget.
 
Bearing in mind that any headphone upgrades are still more of a wish than a plan, Would it be alright to make an O2/ODA and just connect it to my soundcard for now? I'd add a better DAC later, but probably not for a while, if it makes sense to do that at all. The plan for now is just to make more out of the HD 280 without spending more than the headphones themselves. In other words, upgrade paths are great but almost optional, if you see what I mean.

 

[stv014]

The O2 would be fine for you, and would also work well with future upgraded headphones; it is just within your budget fully assembled. But if you are not planning to upgrade the HD280, then the much cheaper E10 and E11 would be suitable, too. It is true that the E10 does not support more than 96 kHz/24-bit (and does not actually have enough dynamic range for more than 16 bits), but almost all music is available in 44.1 kHz/16-bit anyway. Onboard audio may advertise 24-bit capability, but its implementation on most motherboards has an ENOB of 15 bits or even less due to the high level of noise. The E11 is decent, except for its limitation of only being usable from battery power, and not while recharging the batteries.
DACs do not make as much difference as some people think (other than the first upgrade from onboard), so you do not need to invest heavily in them. You can wait for the ODAC, or get a basic sound card like the Xonar D1 or DX that already has a decent DAC (see also here).
But if you want to save money, just get the E10 for the HD280. It may not be perfect (e.g. the lag problems you mentioned), but it is good enough.
 

 

[dukeReinhardt]

thanks stv (steve?). for me this thread highlighted more than anything that i ought probably to save up a bit of cash and make a better decision when i can afford both a phone and an amp/dac
 
thanks for the input guys

 

[Mauricio]

Audinst HUD MX1?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks stv (steve?). for me this thread highlighted more than anything that i ought probably to save up a bit of cash and make a better decision when i can afford both a phone and an amp/dac
Thanks for the input guys

Saving up the cash sounds like a good idea to me too.
But I would say if you got the Asus Xonar DG (PCI), at least you would have Dolby Digital (Dolby Virtual Headphone), which would be great for movies.
 
Would the Xonar DG improve the sound of the Senn HD280?
You could be the Guinea Pig and find out.
 
 

 

[dukeReinhardt]

audinist actually looks like a fantastic candidate too. one or two dissenters seem to think it's worse than an essence stx, but if it's as good as claimed by the majority of others, def seems like a big upgrade. thanks, but once again i think i'll wait a tad. (also, i'm going to korea on holiday soon - might save a penny on shipping and import tax!)
 
dg's pretty much the only thing i'm still probably getting, pretty much to tide me over. if i do, i'll let you know for sure