[Jlava]

Hi,
 
So I am looking into sound cards for my computer and would like to know how they are in comparison to having an amp instead. I currently have Vmoda m80s and Vsonic Gr07 BEs that I have without an amp. Is an amp worth getting for these? My motherboard is relatively old and heard that even a 20 to 50 dollar soundcard can make a substantial improvement over onboard sound.

 

[genclaymore]

The sound blaster omni and the Sound blaster Z are both within that price range, Amazon and ebay usually have the omni between 45-47 while ebay usually have the Z around 49ish if your lucky. The Omni suppose to be like a external Z. Which would be a very good choice for you.  Both have a good headphone amp which will come in handly, with the omni if your planning to either run two graphics card's or like room for a PCI-E card inside your comp.

 

[Jlava]

Not sure if it is related but have also been looking at amp/Dac (If I have that correctly). Would a Fiio E17 be a good way of getting both better sound from home plus getting a mobile amp for my Ipod Touch? As I said I don't have an amp, and I feel like it may be worth it if it improves my sound and allows for future upgrades

 I dont wanna waste money as well if it will get outclassed in time.

 

[genclaymore]

If you want something that you can use with both your computer and your iphone then yea, it would be worth it if you want more from your audio.

 

[Jlava]

Well it seems that my computer's sound may not be adequate, and being able to get better sound while mobile seems like an added plus. What sort of benefits do you think this investments will bring in terms of sound? And if I understand correctly, the DAC part of the Fiio e17 or any hardware, means that it can act as sort of a soundcard? 

 

[genclaymore]

That be hard to say because I don't have the Vmoda's my self or a Fiio E17, but I would expect it to be alot for both your Ipad touch and your computer. I don't see a reason why you would not like the E17, since you are not happy with how your headphones perform from your ipad and computer onboard.

 

[Jlava]

Well definetly from my computer, the Ipod sounds much better than most other sources I have tried. My question is do you see amps giving performance increases warranting the price?

 

[TsukiNick]

Honestly they are pretty good, I have the Schiit Modi/Magni Combo and my Creative Sound Blaster Z sounded just about the same in stereo mode and amplified it to great levels.  I later sold the Creative Sound Blaster Z and bought a Xonar DGX which is dirt cheap and could not be happier.
 
It's really fun having an analog control knob and just seeing it's beauty though, I mean they are a work of art.
 
If you are interested in the Schiit MM Stack let me know and I might part with it.
 
I really doubt with amps it really increases the sound quality beyond a certain point, I have a FiiO E12 for portable use with my X3 as well and I can't tell the difference between my Magni reliably maybe I'll find a better way to control test.

 

[Jlava]

Oh so with that stack can you just grab the magni when you wanna go portable? Do you still need a sound card with the modi DAC? Thats the thing I was trying to get around upgrading my soundcard if I were to get the E17. 

 

[TsukiNick]

  Oh so with that stack can you just grab the magni when you wanna go portable? Do you still need a sound card with the modi DAC? Thats the thing I was trying to get around upgrading my soundcard if I were to get the E17.

I wouldn't say the Magni is super portable has to be plugged in and it's somewhat big, but it's not like a huge monster or anything.
 
You don't need a soundcard with the Modi it's just a simple line level RCA jack DAC to feed to something else I wouldn't recommend directly inputting to headphones.
 
I would pretty much go with this path: If you want something cheap for a PC that performs well go with an Asus Xonar DG or DGX (depending on which connections your PC has)
If you want something portable get a FiiO X3, it's a portable player, a DAC, has a pretty nice built in amp (you can't feed other sources other than your PC into it though)
Has a line out, so sometimes I connect my FiiO X3 to my FiiO E12 or use a 3.5mm to RCA and connect it to my Magni.
 
But with the headphones you are using you really don't need some huge amp or anything.  So really just look at the Xonars or getting the FiiO X3 (if you want to be able to play music on the go with good quality.)  The X3 will sound better than your iPod touch by far.  It's interface won't be as good but sound and storage are better (you can put a damn 128GB SD card in it and it has 8GB built in)

 

[genclaymore]

His choice's for his desktop isn't limited to just Asus Xonar DG/DGX's, there are still used Omni's on amazon still for $45-49 which are a 3rd choice. IF the op does get a Xonar DG  if he has a free PCI slot or DGX if he has a free PCI-E slot, I would suggest he use unixonar driver's as I found them to work better for me When I had both DG and a DGX then the official driver's from asus.

 

[Jlava]

So whats the difference between the X3 and the E17 besides the included mp3 player? Wouldnt I get similar results with the E17 with an Ipod? Whats the point of running the X3 to an E11, isnt X3 alrady being amped? Sorry I am a bit new to this whole amp world. If I were to run either the E17 or X3 directly to my computer, would to eliminate the need for an upgraded soundcard?

 

[TsukiNick]

Yeah I mean he could go with that I just was amazed with bang for buck with the xonar.

 

[Jlava]

Been trying to understand stuff online. Whats the point of an upgraded soundcard if you run your setup through the Modi DAC? Doesn't this bypass the soundcard all together? If this is true it seems a soundcard upgrade with a mobile amp would be best for me because I am looking for mobility with a portable amp and the quality at home when I run it from my computer. This is if I finally grasp all this lol

 

[genclaymore]

  Been trying to understand stuff online. Whats the point of an upgraded soundcard if you run your setup through the Modi DAC? Doesn't this bypass the soundcard all together? If this is true it seems a soundcard upgrade with a mobile amp would be best for me because I am looking for mobility with a portable amp and the quality at home when I run it from my computer. This is if I finally grasp all this lol

People run it thru a external dac because they want the gaming functions of the sound card while using there external dac to get the best of both worlds. That is the common reason why people like me use either a X-FI, Xonar DGX, Or Omni into my Bifrost uber. Because I also play games and wanna use the features of the sound card for gaming usage, like the Virtual headphone functions and all the other stuff.