[lozanoa11]

I have this sound card: Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

It worked fine for me for over a year now, and is great for gaming. Well I don't game so much anymore and well i recently got an amp, and it seems to be too bright for me. My turntable seems alot more neutral compared to it. So I was wondering if I should get a new card or a DAC?

I was looking at this:
Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card - Sound Cards
The Asus ST, but am thinking that I would be wasting my money b/c it has an Amp that I would not use.

Would I be better off getting a DAC and using my current sound cards optical out? What DAC would you recommend around the $200 price?

Thanks for the help!

 

[GWorlDofSPACE]

The X-fi cards are not really good for music at all. So the best option for you would be maybe an USB external dac.

 

[thebathingape]

I had x-fi fatality -> Xonar D2X then Cambridge Dacmagic on USB and i can 100% recommend the external usb dac option.

 

[lozanoa11]

Would USB be better than digital out from my sound card?

 

[bordins]

You may be surprised when hear sounds from Asus Xonar STX. Compared to adaptive usb audio interfaces, IMHO, the STX offers better price/performance.

Another choice would be TC Konnekt 8 Firewire DAC. This one outperforms most entry-level USB DACs.

 

[Hybrys]

I'm interested in this aswell. I've been doing research on DAC-only options, because I have a DIY amp, but have nearly forgotten everything else.

Does a DAC act as a USB sound card, producing it's own sound out? Or does it still rely on internal sound equipment, meaning that a sound card AND a DAC would be needed?

If I was to get a VDAC, would it be optimal to use my computers SPDIF out, or USB out? Would there by any quality difference? Would it be better to find a sound card with a digital out, then go to the VDAC from there?

Just to be clear:

Option one:
Computer --> onboard sound SPDIF out --> VDAC --> Amp --> Headphones

Option two:
Computer --> USB --> VDAC --> Amp --> Headphones

Option three:
Computer --> third party sound card SPDIF out --> VDAC --> Amp --> Headphones

Which is optimal?

 

[lxxl]

Yes there will be differences between the 3 options, however I don't own a VDAC. Option 1 and 3 could be close if you manage to do bit perfect with ASIO/WASAPI, USB will sound totally different.

 

[Hybrys]

Edited. Reading comprehension is for winners.

 

[Elk]

Get a USB DAC and keep the sound card. You can use both. Have the sound card output your gaming audio and have audio from your music players route through the DAC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lozanoa11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would USB be better than digital out from my sound card?

Yes