[kwang411]

Hi guys, I'm currently using my computer as my source, with the Asus Xonar essence STX sound card, connected to Little Dot amp and to K701.

So do I need to get an external DAC (I;m thinking of the Keces DA-131)? Will it make a substantial difference, or would my STX be a good enough source by itself?

right now i'm pretty happy with my setup, but I'm still wondering what kind of difference I would get with a proper DAC.

Thanks in advance!

 

[.Sup]

More than you need your speakers

 

[MomijiTMO]

The STX as a dac is pretty good. I have a v-dac and found the differences between the two to be quite small. You might find the DA-131 to not be a big enough set up for the price.

 

[krmathis]

You do not need one as your Asus Xonar essence STX already have a DAC built in.
The sound quality will improve with a higher quality external DAC though, so for that reason it may be worth it.

 

[sainttoad]

the k701s get better and better as you improve your DAC. all the best qualities of the k701 (airyness, separation, soundstage) are improved by a DAC upgrade, in my experience.

 

[Zeroblade]

Your soundcard's pretty good, but if you think spending another 300~400 bucks for improving what you already have is worth it, go for it. I have the KECES DA-131's successor - the DA-151 mk1 - and it made a HUGE difference for me. This is coming from a guy who used to use his onboard sound though, so the difference might not be so huge in your case

What LD amp are you using? If it's one of the lower-end ones, I'd say get an even beefier amp like the Audio-gd C2C for your K701 and D2000

 

[kwang411]

Thanks guys, I think I will save up a bit more for a higher end DAC then, I don't think i can justify spending $400 on a DAC that will only yield minimal results

@zeroblade, you have it other way around, DA131 is the upgraded version of DA151

I have the LD mk4 SE amp, it improves the K701 by quite a margin IMO, powerful bass and very smooth sound.

 

[neergan1216]

My experiences have shown that any reasonable priced dacs give small, if any, improvement. I have found that the most profound impact is simply Foobar2000 with Wasapi plugin. My Sennheiser HD600's, Toshiba (Vista) laptop's built-in card gives me fantastic performance, better than my speaker system.

 

[Zeroblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwang411 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks guys, I think I will save up a bit more for a higher end DAC then, I don't think i can justify spending $400 on a DAC that will only yield minimal results @zeroblade, you have it other way around, DA131 is the upgraded version of DA151 I have the LD mk4 SE amp, it improves the K701 by quite a margin IMO, powerful bass and very smooth sound.

Technically, the DA-151 came out later than the 131. It's just that the 131 can handle higher bitrates and performs better than the 151 overall

 

[the search never ends]

I'd get a better amp before I got a dac (considering your cans) If you're pretty happy, what would you like improved? I run straight from my soundcard often. A good sonudcard is often close to the performance of modest dac's....opinions vary.
Call Ray Samuels and ask his opinion on running the 701's out of that amp.