[takayuki91]

i have recently bought a DT 990/600 and LD MK-III. I am a 30% music 40% gaming 30% movies user i heard some people suggest getting both DAC and AMP. However most of the DAC have amp in it. i'm going to use them on my gaming laptop but i do not have a good sound card(realtek HD). Should i still get a DAC? if yes, WIll Udac-2 + MK-III good for dt990/600

 

[Coupe]

Gaming you say? Auzentech Forte has a high quality DAC with a socketable OPAMP. You can also use the built in headphone AMP to pre amp to your MK. Lets not forget CMSS3D. Best 3D positional sound. It's a real advantage.

works great with movies. Also check out the HTHD

 

[psone]

Quote:

AGaming you say? Auzentech Forte has a high quality DAC with a socketable OPAMP. You can also use the built in headphone AMP to pre amp to your MK. Lets not forget CMSS3D. Best 3D positional sound. It's a real advantage. works great with movies. Also check out the HTHD

and how exactly is he supposed to plug the forte into his laptop??
 
anyway hey takayuki91,
 
tbh my experience with realtek's soundcards hasn't been great, in so much as they sound pretty awful and IMO create a ton of noise, so running from the lineout directly to the MK III isn't exactly ideal. does your laptop have a digital out? if not there are a ton of usb DAC options out there, I'm currently looking to grab a LD DAC_I which FWIR is great value for money and complements the LD series of amps extremely well. again though there are a ton of options open to you really it all depends on how much you're willing to spend, budget is key it seems.
 
In short i reckon a DAC of some description will give you a marked improvement in SQ.

 

[Coupe]

oops Xo.  When I see gaming, I don't associate it with a laptop.
 
An Astro mixamp and I think turtle beach makes a DSS device.  Maybe they are worth a check if they are compatible.

 

[reiserFS]

Garbage in - garbage out, that's what you're doing without a DAC.

 

[vrln]

Words of wisdom. What he said... You can temporarily go without a DAC, but once your budget allows it I would definately get one. They destroy any integrated soundcard. If you want to continue using a soundcard, indeed check out the Auzentech line of cards. They are a modded X-Fi (so you get all the gaming EAX stuff) with a good DAC chip + replacable op-amps. If EAX isn´t important to you, a separate USB DAC would be exactly what you need

 

[takayuki91]

A separate USB DAC will be the best choice for me since my laptop doesn't have digital out. my budget should be around 200-300USD. Any recommendation for the USB DAC within this budget?

 

[psone]

From the small amount of research I've done before making my own purchase in the next few weeks, the Little Dot DAC_I is the most bang for your buck you're like to get in that price range and as I've said before FWIR it should pair really well with your MK III they should look pretty wicked together as well ;P
 
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=814&sid=ca08a84269587f81143f831a95bbcad1
 
anyway there are a ton of folks on here with far more experience than me who no doubt have some solid suggestions this is just my 2cent.

 

[ford2]

 
 
The LD DAC 1 has the most bang for buck full stop.
 

 

[takayuki91]

Thanks for the info. i decided to go for dac_1

 

[Zudeo]

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I also currently have a DT-990/600 and a LD MK III.  You mentioned using the Forte's built in headphone amp to pre-amp the MK III? How would I go about doing that? Also, is it better doing that than getting a Little Dot DAC_1?

Thanks in advance.
Quote:

Gaming you say? Auzentech Forte has a high quality DAC with a socketable OPAMP. You can also use the built in headphone AMP to pre amp to your MK. Lets not forget CMSS3D. Best 3D positional sound. It's a real advantage.

works great with movies. Also check out the HTHD