[akinari-kun]

I'll just start off by saying that I'm stuck in a huge dilemma. My Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G sound card in my PC is giving me an array of volume-related issues that are driving me crazy. While listening to music, I cannot have hardware sound at 100% and the foobar volume slider at 0db without introducing ear-shattering distortion. At the levels I listen to music through my speakers, I either have to have my hardware sound at 60% and foobar at 0db, or my hardware sound at 100% and the foobar volume slider at around -10db, which, to my understanding decreases sound quality.
 
I'm not sure what's causing the issue. It may be my speakers (JBL Duet III, only 60db snr?) but they work fine if I hook them up directly to onboard Realtek audio at 100% and foobar at 0db and from my iPhone 100% volume, but just not from my PC sound card. Could it be that my sound card is outputting too much for my speakers to handle? 
 
If that's the case, my question is, would an external DAC solve this problem? For example, An Audinst MX1, would I be able to max out the volume of the mx1 and the volume in foobar without distortion by adjusting analogue volume?
 
I'm completely stumped, any advice/comments will be appreciated.

 

[BenF]

Hifimediy DAC is 42$ plus shipping, it sounds really great with both headphones and speakers.
Highly recommended

 

[akinari-kun]

What about the ODAC USB, Modi and Audinst MX1? Any experience on which one sounds "better?"

 

[BenF]

ODAC is over 3 times the cost of HiFimediy DAC, sounds the same, has less power
 

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

ODAC is over 3 times the cost of HiFimediy DAC, sounds the same, has less power

 
The ODAC delivers the industry-standard 2V. Anything higher is a mistake.

 

[BenF]

Quote:

 
The ODAC delivers the industry-standard 2V. Anything higher is a mistake.

Hifimediy is audibly louder, by 8-9DB on JVC HA-S400.
May be it pushes more current.

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

Quote:

 
The ODAC delivers the industry-standard 2V. Anything higher is a mistake.

Hifimediy is audibly louder, by 8-9DB on JVC HA-S400.
May be it pushes more current.

 
No, it's not a question of current. A DAC, by design, needs only deliver a small current.
 
If a DAC isn't compliant with industry standards, for example by exceeding the 2V spec as some do, it should cause the attached amp to be louder. But producing more than 2V is a defect in design rather than a benefit.
 
Amplifiers drive headphones and there current can be very important. Headphones like the JVC HA-S*** series don't require much power. They can easily be made to play louder by increase the volume on the amp.

 

[BenF]

Quote:

 
No, it's not a question of current. A DAC, by design, needs only deliver a small current.
 
If a DAC isn't compliant with industry standards, for example by exceeding the 2V spec as some do, it should cause the attached amp to be louder. But producing more than 2V is a defect in design rather than a benefit.
 
Amplifiers drive headphones and there current can be very important. Headphones like the JVC HA-S*** series don't require much power. They can easily be made to play louder by increase the volume on the amp.

I don't connect an amplifier to Hifimediy, drive headphones directly