[Josh43]

Hello, I have a question regarding the Dacs. I have a Nu Audio internal sound card from EVGA it has a left right rca output, with an AKM AK4493 dac connected in rca with my Rotel A11 integrated amp.

My question is, would my sound be better with an integrated amp with a dac of the same price as my rotel amp on my Grado sr80 headphones and my Monitor Audio Silver 6 speakers, connected by rca cable and speaker wire Kimber Kable says affordable?

Basically amps with dac or without?
Internal sound card or not?

I'm waiting for your answer because I'm starting to get lost in the choices I made, it's all my equipment that I question...

Thank you !

 

[bagwell359]

What does your future in audio hold? If you are still buying and looking into the future, I'd buy separate pieces. If you are keeping it around this level, then consider cutting costs by combining,

 

[Mark200]

There is no inherent advantage to having a separate DAC versus one built-in to some other component (including a PC sound card). In practice, separate DAC's are "usually" a little better, but not because they are separate.

If you are streaming your music from your computer with the Nu Audio sound card and using the sound card DAC, I would continue doing that, since the Nu Audio sound card is highly regarded. If you can borrow a separate DAC and compare the sound, that might a good idea if you have nothing else to do, but I doubt you will hear any improvement on the gear you mentioned.

 

[Josh43]

Thanks, that answers my question!

I thought it sounded better with my old Sansui 4000 amps with the same hardware, but it's hard to find something that sounds as good today even if not impossible for the price!

 

[Josh43]

What integrated amplifier would be built in this spirit today ?

 

[Dogmatrix]

It is near impossible to predict since interactions between components and headphones involve many variables such as power levels and impedance
Often it is called synergy, you can search forums for combinations others have found apart from that it is suck and see

 

[bagwell359]

There is no inherent advantage to having a separate DAC versus one built-in to some other component (including a PC sound card). In practice, separate DAC's are "usually" a little better, but not because they are separate.

If you are streaming your music from your computer with the Nu Audio sound card and using the sound card DAC, I would continue doing that, since the Nu Audio sound card is highly regarded. If you can borrow a separate DAC and compare the sound, that might a good idea if you have nothing else to do, but I doubt you will hear any improvement on the gear you mentioned.

The difference is when one wants to upgrade one piece, but not the other.

The idea of separates is that each item can be maxed for one purpose. This tends to be less true as the price declines.

Again, if the OG doesn't want to modify and upgrade into the future he'd be less likely to expand into separates.

 

[bagwell359]

Schiit is popular around here. They don't make any amp with a DAC in it that can compare to the Gumby or the Yggy.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Separates allow for more customization and give you an upgrade path. Usually they are higher quality too. Integrated are more convenient and cheaper. Most people here go separates.

 

[Mark200]

The difference is when one wants to upgrade one piece, but not the other.

The idea of separates is that each item can be maxed for one purpose. This tends to be less true as the price declines.

Again, if the OG doesn't want to modify and upgrade into the future he'd be less likely to expand into separates.

Obviously having separates provides more flexibility to upgrade, etc. When I said that there is no inherent advantage to having a separate DAC (instead of the DAC built-in to an amp) I meant there is no electrical or audio advantage, assuming that the built-in DAC components are the same as used in a separate DAC. I think that Josh43 understands the flexibility advantage of having a separate DAC.

 

[Mark200]

Separates allow for more customization and give you an upgrade path. Usually they are higher quality too. Integrated are more convenient and cheaper. Most people here go separates.

That is partly because there is not much choice. There are not many headphone amps with a good DAC built in, although there are some.

 

[Ciggavelli]

That is partly because there is not much choice. There are not many headphone amps with a good DAC built in, although there are some.

There are some, but it always appears to be a bit of a sacrifice, like with the low powered DAVE headphone amp output (at least without an upgraded PSU). I guess the Bartok is better, but it still is a bit underpowered. It really all depends on on what headphones somebody is using too.

 

[Elegiac]

I came here to scrounge some enlightenment.

 

[Josh43]

That's exactly why I bought the Nu Audio Sound Card from EVGA, it beats usb dacs which are over 3x its price and it was designed in conjunction with audio note UK. I no longer have the bulk of an external dac, on Windows it has an Xmos driver like all other external dacs. I can't afford expensive things so I think it's a good compromise!

 

[Josh43]

I plug my headphones into my Rotel A11 connected to my sound card by an RCA Kimber Kable . I like my Grado SR80 headphones if I buy the RS2X will I see a difference ?