[jcfs]

Hey guys, I need to ask you experts (or even non-newbies will do) for an advice.

I've been getting into music production (a mix of hiphop and classical) lately and I've purchased a DT 880. Sounds great, but after slightly educating myself on this matter, I have come to a conclusion that my source is crap
and I realized that there are ways to improve the quality of music even more.

So I've decided to spend extra dough (painstakingly) in order to improve my equipments. It seems that I have two choices:

1. Get a better sound card + amp.
2. Get a DAC + amp (some are built in together, I believe?).

And here are my purposes:
1. Music Production and general listening.
2. No games.
3. Budget around $300.
4. This is for my laptop

So what are your recommendations? I apologize in advance for the retardedly noob question, haha. Feel free to call me stupid, retard, idiot, or whatever you want, as long as you give me some useful information too

 

[G-man]

well, sound card is out of the question if its for your laptop. now, do you want it to be portable, or do you want a desktop one. also, do you want a tube amp, or a SS one?

 

[jcfs]

I wasn't even aware of the two types, SS and tube amp. I just did a quick search on this forum and through google. So it seems that tube amps are better when you crank up the music?

Well, I will be using it on a headphone and will not need it to be too loud. Maybe I'm missing the whole point about two different kinds, please correct me if I'm wrong or just completely misguided.

Anyway, assuming that there is no huge difference, what would give me a better value under the price range of $250-300?

And I really don't need it to be portable, as I probably will not be carrying it around to places. I will probably just carry my laptop out to places, but not the DAC/amp itself. Any recommendations? Thanksthanks.

 

[G-man]

firstly, where did you get the idea that tube sounds better at higher volumes? completely off the mark there. the main difference is in terms of sound, tubes are warmer and like mids. but, from what i know (and others may correct me) they do tend to "colour" the sound, which sounds nice when listening, but as you will also be producing music, a SS amp would be good for you, as they tend to be more neutral.
I would go with a desktop amp, purely because they will be better for your money compared to portable. you can either chose between getting separate dac and amp, in which case there are many, many choices and combinations. or you can chose for an all in one, in which case there are fewer. you need to decide which one. I am personally going to bet a Dared MP5 sometime in the future, because that suits me best, but that may not be for you. definately research some more, there are a lot of choices out there.

 

[shleepy]

Since you're using a laptop, I say you should go for a standard DAC/amp (and yes, some are built together)... Search through the forums for reviews of ones in your price range.

 

[vegaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gautam /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, sound card is out of the question if its for your laptop.

A laptop still has USB and Firewire, PCMCIA too, though there's not much choice for PCMCIA.

A USB option is an e-mu 0404, it has a headphone amp built-in, which is of good quality for the price, and it has inputs if you want to record too.

But keep in mind that you're using headphones, so you'll likely end up making your mix for headphones, and things will sound to be in different places on monitors, likely not where you intend them to be.

 

[jcfs]

So it seems like my choices have been narrowed down much more than before.

1. Desktop amp
2. SS amp

and at 3, I seem to be stuck.
3. So then would you guys recommend a separate DAC and amp, or ones that are combined?

And I've been reading around and the general consensus seems to be that at the lower end of spectrum (usually around less than 300$), the best choice seems to be E-MU 0404. I am flexible with my 300$ mark, and honestly anything under 500 goes.

 

[oicdn]

Well, for $300, you should look into an Indigo DJ. It has an amp on one jack, and just a line out on the other. So this way, you can atleast go for a lil while with the amp on the Indigo DJ. And when you get an amp down the road, the Line out on the DJ is AWESOME.

BUT, if you're producing music, you may actually prefer sticking with the DJ amp because it's SOOOOO sterile, and does nothing to the sound like many amps do, it'll perhaps give you a more accurate output of the final product?

If you want JUST a DAC and a desktop one at that, the Keces DA-151 is an AWESOME choice for $300 range.

 

[jcfs]

Right, because I will be doing music production, I want the most accurate sounds as possible. So basically, what I'm trying to do is achieve the most accurate and somewhat flat sound.

So would DAC and amp actually achieve that, or would it add colour to the music and defeat my purpose?

Thanks guys.