[I<3SQ]

I notice most of the threads in this forum are in regards to a DAC, but i'm sure most of you have mid level or better sound cards with surely have a DAC built in so what's the purpose of buying one when you've already got one? Does it do anything for SQ on music playback?

 

[mybeat]

Depends on the dac.

I've had x-fi gamer to my amp and 650, at first i liked the sound because i havent heard anything better.
There were allmost no bass, and not so much in soundstage.

When I got my dac I was like "OMG!!", the bass the everything improved alot.
Now if i go back to x-fi for testing purposes I can say that the difference is HUGE.

 

[krmathis]

A higher quality DAC than the built in one will improve the sound quality.
Its also the fact that most computers don't have an analog line-out. They usually just have headphone out, and in some cases an digital S/PDIF (optical) out.

 

[indianbraker]

i agree it depends on which external dac you go with but if you have the money a quality external dac will beat most internal dacs on the market unless you got the X-Fi meridian but we all know how rare those are lol.

 

[I<3SQ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indianbraker /img/forum/go_quote.gif i agree it depends on which external dac you go with but if you have the money a quality external dac will beat most internal dacs on the market unless you got the X-Fi meridian but we all know how rare those are lol.

I'm upgrading from an X-Fi to an AudioTrak Prodigy HD2..........I was told they wouldn't have them in until late August but I got a confirmation this morning that my order has shipped today!!!

I've already got some OpAmps waiting for it so now I just need to order my AudioSource AMP100 and see how it all sounds.