[pichu]

Ok, so I have the ultrasone HFI 580's. I only have onboard audio. No DAC or amp. I see that the Fiio e10 is a dac/amp combo, but it says it only does 96000 Hz / 24 bits. While my onboard can do 196000 Hz / 24 bits. So, will I get better sound quality? Becuase when I put my headphones at 196000, they sound so much more clear than at 96000. Will this be a downgrade going to the new dac or should i stay with onboard? I have the newest realtek drivers ( $180 newest motherboard ) Computers only 2 months old.

 

[skylinedo]

Just tested this just now ... stick with 196,000 hz.  In this hobby, stick with what yours ears tell you and not your peers.

 

[jarrett]

Do you have any actual 24/96 or 24/192 files? It's best to match Windows' sample rate to the files you play the most. Any outboard DAC will be an upgrade, plus that will be a better driving source

 

[skylinedo]

  Do you have any actual 24/96 or 24/192 files? It's best to match Windows' sample rate to the files you play the most. Any outboard DAC will be an upgrade, plus that will be a better driving source

This got me scratching my head.  I only have FLAC files. 
 
At the time when I tested with a $50 SIIG DAC using SPDIF supporting ONLY up to 16/96000 Hz. 
 
I switched the source back to the stereo out (24/192000) using the same song & didn't touch the matched volume levels on the SPDIF/Stereo Plug/Amplifier for the sake of consistency.  Didn't even move the headphones on my head. 
 
Thennnnnnn, the Stereo output settings (24/192000) won my ears against the SPDIF (16/96000). 
 
To be fair, maybe the $50 SIIG DAC is a real POS and I should seek out a DAC supporting 24/192000 (FiiO D3 192KHz/24 Bit).  If I get around to testing, I'll post my results.
 
Any other suggestions out there?