confused. what do i need to get?

[denl82]

Thanks for your quick reply

My motherboard has an intergreated soundcard. I also have an x-fi, but because it wasn't seated fully in the pci slot, my motherboard(and presumably the x-fi) was destroyed this past Saturday. I should be getting a replacement motherboard in 2 weeks or so, then I'll rebuild my computer, and voila, back to internet radio listening and gaming. That's what I plan to use the DAC for--that, and to get x-fi or better sound quality, since I cannot use pci soundcards any more, and a DAC will surely up the level of intergrated sound...

I pm'd this guy who wrote a review on the EB01, because he mentioned it's performance with a particular game I play(bf2), and if he tells me in his response that the eb01 and that game pair well together, then I think I will shoot for that DAC. In another review on this site, the eb01 was directly compared to the MicroDAC, and was said to have a little less quality than the latter DAC, for $200 less.

Anyways, I'm about to head to bed, lol=] I'll research the amps and the EB01 more when I get the chance later on.

Thanks for all the help man, talk to you later! =]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hYdrociTy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It has only usb, and is powered by the usb.. http://www.diykits.com.hk/dac.html It says 103USD plus shipping... not much more than the silverstone, but yea it does seem pretty expensive after shipping.. one of their other solutions looks very cool, particularly the DAC IN BOX thing.. Its size is about half of an ipod, and has both optical and coax + RCA analog outs on that litting thing! The only caveat is that it needs a seperate power supply like a wall wart or something. The silverstone sure looks nice though.. I'm just not quite sure about its performance as there arn't that many people who seem to have them. Do you already have a sound card on your computer? Will you be using a dedicated cd player or something? Since dacs vary in input/output options, it would be best to know what you will be using it for right now, and in the immediate future.

 

[hYdrociTy]

Which motherboard/case is causing such trouble? I've never heard of one that cannot fully accept a common pci audio card @_@.. I assume you have sli, and then only like one free pci slot and if that one doesn't fit you're screwed =D
I guess since you will be gaming, it would still be best if you somehow fit an xfi in there, since it has pretty good sound quality if you do xfi--->amp with a mini to rca cable---and then it has like optical out or coax out on the card, so later on you can add a dac and stuff so its pretty upgrade friendly... and won't interfere with game performace...

Your mobo doesn't have digital out? Even some budget ones nowadays have either optical or mini-coax out...

The silverstone is still beyond me though, as it seems to be made by a pc case company. I really can't judge a book by its cover, so maybe an enclosure company can make something good.. then again that statement goes both ways.... the dac looks nice, but it makes me wonder how much of the msrp is the case and how much is of the components inside..

have any pics of your comp insides?

Oh Im a bf2er too! Only got the demo though, so Im mostly on daddletreff.de, wartech strat, cz warzone, or sometimes tr3 vancouver (only 10 max though)

 

[Gatticus]

Considering the cheap price I am tempted to try this Silverstone DAC over my X-Fi for music too. Here's the DAC and Opamp it uses. Are those good parts?


Brown Burr PCM2702 D/A
Output: OPA624 op-amp

 

[denl82]

Good night hYdrociTy=]
I don't have pics of my comp setup, sorry=] I have a DFI LANPARTY UT nf4 Ultra-D motherboard, and a LIAN LI PC-7 USB2 ATX Mid Tower case. I've never had any problems with my father's computer in that case, but ever since I installed the Ultra-D in it, I noticed that I couldn't fit pci cards fully into the slot. I thought of a solution tonight, though: Bend the top part of the pci bracket(where you screw the pci card onto the case) all the way up, so I can push the x-fi down all the way. That way, I can keep the xfi and solve all my issues. HOWEVER, since I've been researching for a new audio solution, I've thought that maybe I'll save the x-fi for a friend who I plan to buy the hd595 for, and go ahead with a DAC solution for me, as long as it can handle my games well. THAT, Im still in the process of finding out if it can do or cannot.

Bf2, ahhhh bf2 man. It is seriously one of the best game I've ever played, and I've played video games hardcore for (almost=) all my life. It is definitely worth the money, or even an upgrade! If you ever get bf2, I suggest you check out FULLCONTACTWAR squad/voip only server. Squad/team work is enforced there, and the squad work is simply l33t. I've traveled from North American servers to Japanese servers, and back, and nowhere, nowhere(!), has whole teams squading up the way they do on FCW.

Maybe when I get my computer working we can game some time. I'll send ya a pm then hehe=] Word.

Thanks for help and patience, I'll talk to ya later!=]


*edit* oh btw, my motherboard doesn't have optical out or coax out, but it does have s/pdif out. Is that the same as optical out?=]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hYdrociTy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which motherboard/case is causing such trouble? I've never heard of one that cannot fully accept a common pci audio card @_@.. I assume you have sli, and then only like one free pci slot and if that one doesn't fit you're screwed =D I guess since you will be gaming, it would still be best if you somehow fit an xfi in there, since it has pretty good sound quality if you do xfi--->amp with a mini to rca cable---and then it has like optical out or coax out on the card, so later on you can add a dac and stuff so its pretty upgrade friendly... and won't interfere with game performace... Your mobo doesn't have digital out? Even some budget ones nowadays have either optical or mini-coax out... The silverstone is still beyond me though, as it seems to be made by a pc case company. I really can't judge a book by its cover, so maybe an enclosure company can make something good.. then again that statement goes both ways.... the dac looks nice, but it makes me wonder how much of the msrp is the case and how much is of the components inside.. have any pics of your comp insides? Oh Im a bf2er too! Only got the demo though, so Im mostly on daddletreff.de, wartech strat, cz warzone, or sometimes tr3 vancouver (only 10 max though)

 

[hYdrociTy]

spdif is just the codename for sony philips digital interface or something like that.. ill lookup your mobo model...

ok here:

Since it has digital in and out, then it would probably be better to get a dac with coax in.. I dont know how much an xfi will improve in framerate, but even if you give it away, you can still either get a usb dac or a regular dac.. your choice..

 

[denl82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hYdrociTy /img/forum/go_quote.gif spdif is just the codename for sony philips digital interface or something like that.. ill lookup your mobo model... Since it has digital in and out, then it would probably be better to get a dac with coax in.. I dont know how much an xfi will improve in framerate, but even if you give it away, you can still either get a usb dac or a regular dac.. your choice..

Word=] I have no problem going with a DAC now, but I just need to know what's the highest audio setting one can use with a DAC in bf2. Then I'll be set. So, using coax out would bypass my intergrated audio? Or does the sound still come from the intergrated audio soundcard, then to the coax out jack, to my DAC? And hey, do you think using a DAC will give me like at least 30% increase of sound quality over my x-fi?

Thank you for your help, have a nice day!=]

 

[hYdrociTy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Word=] I have no problem going with a DAC now, but I just need to know what's the highest audio setting one can use with a DAC in bf2.

I think the files in bf2 are just mp3s or similar, probably at 44.1kHz.. Nothing to get excited about..

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then I'll be set. So, using coax out would bypass my intergrated audio? Or does the sound still come from the intergrated audio soundcard, then to the coax out jack, to my DAC?

It would still come out of the integrated audio's infrastructure, but sound quality wise yes, it is 'bypassed.' The sound card just takes the digital computer stuff and arranges it as a digital stream.. doesnt touch the music signal, just does some computery stuff....LOL i dont know how to describe it.. The important part is what goes on before it even reaches your mobo or the integrated stuff. The sound might go through the windows software mixer or some other direct x something or other...

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And hey, do you think using a DAC will give me like at least 30% increase of sound quality over my x-fi?

For gaming probably not... For music.. well the thing is, none of this stuff can be quantified...All you have to know is that digital signals are just +/- voltages and can rarely affect quality....It is the analoge section that is critical to sound quality (at least applies for under 1000 dac setups...). The mobo probably has the worst analog section you can possibly imagine, as I can hear hiss even with sony mdr-300 POS headphones.... An xfi has an excellent (relatively) analog and even dac section...BUT it still is inside your computer and prone to lots of noise, though nowhere as close as integrated or whatever. My m-audio card has no hiss at all even though it is right under my graphics card and stuff. The difference between an xfi's dac and <150 dollar dac would be minimal, the analog sections would be quite noticible...My 192kHz capable m-audio card sounds pretty good right out to an amp, but even the entech number cruncher 203.2 I got for ~50 bucks gives a good step up in my opinion. (though the number cruncher originally was priced a like 300 bucks so maybe this is an exception..)

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you for your help, have a nice day!=]

You're welcome

 

[denl82]

Sup hYdrociTy=]
*edit* Nm, think the problem's ok=]

--

Well thank you for your help lol, later!=]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hYdrociTy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the files in bf2 are just mp3s or similar, probably at 44.1kHz.. Nothing to get excited about.. It would still come out of the integrated audio's infrastructure, but sound quality wise yes, it is 'bypassed.' The sound card just takes the digital computer stuff and arranges it as a digital stream.. doesnt touch the music signal, just does some computery stuff....LOL i dont know how to describe it.. The important part is what goes on before it even reaches your mobo or the integrated stuff. The sound might go through the windows software mixer or some other direct x something or other... For gaming probably not... For music.. well the thing is, none of this stuff can be quantified...All you have to know is that digital signals are just +/- voltages and can rarely affect quality....It is the analoge section that is critical to sound quality (at least applies for under 1000 dac setups...). The mobo probably has the worst analog section you can possibly imagine, as I can hear hiss even with sony mdr-300 POS headphones.... An xfi has an excellent (relatively) analog and even dac section...BUT it still is inside your computer and prone to lots of noise, though nowhere as close as integrated or whatever. My m-audio card has no hiss at all even though it is right under my graphics card and stuff. The difference between an xfi's dac and <150 dollar dac would be minimal, the analog sections would be quite noticible...My 192kHz capable m-audio card sounds pretty good right out to an amp, but even the entech number cruncher 203.2 I got for ~50 bucks gives a good step up in my opinion. (though the number cruncher originally was priced a like 300 bucks so maybe this is an exception..) You're welcome