[Elio]

Hi all ,first post...

I've been reading a lot here and still haven't got a real idea what would be better for me. 
my pc is my main source for music and i use one of the DVD burners to listen to Discs i have.
 
So after a lot of reading in the forums i decided i needed a DAC or a sound card ,and got down to 2  main options 
for a sound card the AuzenTech Bravura PCI-E 7.1 Sound Card 
and for an External DAC the Musiland Monitor 02 US (which is just an external sound card right?) 
both of them are at the same price range so that the budget.
I listen to music mainly with the Sennheiser HD 515 through Fiio E5 to cancel the noise from the on board sound card. 
I'm happy with this setup in games and movies but with music i hear something is wrong.
The question is which one is better ? or which one suits my needs better? 
the near future plans are new headphones and probably an amp.thats basically the reason for the upgrades... 
 
Thanks in advance for any help
Elio

 

[ROBSCIX]

That is a question that comes up here all the time.  I would say that answer really depends on what you are after as they both have strengths and weaknesses.
The Bravura is a great new card and allows many upgrade possibilities through opamps.  Many people around here suggest the Musiland is a great unit also.
I cannot say which is better as I have not compared them directly.

 

[Elio]

thanks for the quick reply. 
lets say i get headphones which are more than the bravurua can handle in that case wouldn't it be better to have the  Musiland for an amp? or is this nonsense?
 

 

[SP Wild]

In terms of electronic engineering - it is better to move the dac and amplifier away from the electrically noisy computer chassis.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

In terms of electronic engineering - it is better to move the dac and amplifier away from the electrically noisy computer chassis.

Well that is an opinion.  There are many soundcards that have better noise and distortion rating then similarly priced external units.
 
Externals are not always better because they are external,there are good and bad units in both categories.
The internal of a PC is nowhere near as noisy as some suggest it is, if it was the system would never start up.

 

[Elio]

well in light of what you said ,what do you recommend based on your experience for lets say up to 150$ ? 
because i found out that i cant really put my hands on the bravurua for reasons that are not my fault. 
 have another question semi related - i have an optic out in my mother board, if the dac as an optic in will it sound better than the USB connection? 

 

[SP Wild]

Onboard digital is better than cheap USB inputs.  I don't know what dac is good at that price range though.

 

[Alexander01]

Go with a high quality internal soundcard like X-Fi Titanium HD. Make sure you have a good computer power supply with low ripple (seasonic based unit).
 
External DACs (through USB or onboard SPDIF out) mostly sounds flat, lifeless and low-fi due high jitter caused by the computer clock. A good Internal soundcard have much better soundstage, emotion, warmth, bass response etc. It's just more musical.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

well in light of what you said ,what do you recommend based on your experience for lets say up to 150$ ? 
because i found out that i cant really put my hands on the bravurua for reasons that are not my fault. 
 have another question semi related - i have an optic out in my mother board, if the dac as an optic in will it sound better than the USB connection? 

For external units you may be a bit limited but if that is what you are after, many ariund here have given great ratings to the uDac, it is about $89 -IIRC?
If you want something internal you could go with a Xonar DX or you can find some good deals on some used cards if you are ok with that.
It depends on several factors, some USB based units sound very good and some sound bad...same thing with optical. 
You cannot just make a general blanket statement like USB is bad or S/Pdif is great because they are never accurate as it depends on what is being tested.

 

[Elio]

well since i cant the get bravura and other cards are not in the budget, i think i'll go with musiland
thank for the replies.