[matar]

Hello...
 
I'll be honest and start off by saying that my knowledge of audio, generally speaking, is limited. However, I do appreciate good quality music.
 
I currently own the Edifier s730 speakers and I was looking for a sound card to purchase. It seemed like it was between the Essence STX and the HT Omega Claro...
 
It all seemed clear until a friend of mine suggested that I look into external DAC's.
 
So if I had a budget of approx. $300, what route would be the best to take in order to improve overall sound quality?
 
Thank you

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I'll be honest and start off by saying that my knowledge of audio, generally speaking, is limited. However, I do appreciate good quality music.
I currently own the Edifier s730 speakers and I was looking for a sound card to purchase. It seemed like it was between the Essence STX and the HT Omega Claro...
It all seemed clear until a friend of mine suggested that I look into external DAC's.
So if I had a budget of approx. $300, what route would be the best to take in order to improve overall sound quality?

What headphone would you be plugging into the this external DAC (with built in amp?)?

 

[matar]

None at the moment (or at least nothing worth mentioning) but I'll be looking to get the hd650's soon.

 

[xkonfuzed]

None at the moment (or at least nothing worth mentioning) but I'll be looking to get the hd650's soon.

Then get a decent external DAC, something like the ODAC or Schiit Bifrost , then get an amp to give juice to your HD650's. The HD650's are 300ohms so they need a good amp to shine.

 

[munchzilla]

The JDS Labs ODAC is very good for $149 brand new, and it's tiny. powers off of USB.
there is also the Schiit Modi for $99 but if you want to spend $300 or so... and want an amplifier as well, then you can either get amp+DAC unit in one, or a separate DAC and separate amplifier.
 
and if you do get one that is DAC+amp in one, make sure it has DAC only out so that you can use it with your speaker amplifier.

 

[xkonfuzed]

Here are some combos that may help you:

Schiit Modi > Shiit Magni.

Objective DAC > O2 Amplifier

HRT Music Streamer II > Maverick Audio TubeMagic A1