BJarv
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2013
- Posts
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So I'm relatively new to the whole audiophile thing and purchased Sennheiser HD598's about two years ago. I instantly fell in love with the sound of them. Now I'm looking into upgrading from just plugging them into my PC's headphone jack.
From what I've read a DAC is a definite upgrade over standard PC output. An amp on the other hand is more or less preference for the 598's since they don't have a very high impedance. I personally want the functionality of an amp for future headphone upgrades and just for a physical volume knob (It's surprising how big of a difference not having one is).
I'm looking for either an amp/DAC combo, or separate units. One thing I'm confused about is the connection from the computer to the DAC. I've read mixed thoughts on whether or not a USB DAC has any noticeable effect on computer performance. Since I play a decent amount of games that performance effect could be a big deal to me. If that is true then I'm mostly looking at DACs that have an optical and/or S/PDIF input. I also like the multiple input options with not just USB DACs.
Here's what I've been looking at.
Audio-gd NFB-15.32 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm
Audio-gd NFB-11.32 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1132/NFB11.32EN.htm
-The only differences I notice between these two is the 11.32 supports a higher resolution optical input and the 15.32 has the filters. Of course the price is different too.
Schiit Magni and Modi http://schiit.com/products
HA INFO DA1 http://www.ab-system.hk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=61
TEAC UD-H01 http://www.crutchfield.com/p_063UDH01B/TEAC-UD-H01-Black.html
-Can't seem to find anything on this one. Not sure if it's new or just that bad.
I guess the big thing I'm wondering is if paying $300 is going to make a noticeable improvement. Or if spending around $150 or less is the best bet. Also if a USB only DAC will effect my computers performance significantly or not.
The music I mostly listen to is different types of rock. I will listen to almost anything though. Like, classical, movie soundtracks, pop, rap, electronic, acapella, ect.
In case it matters for the USB effect my PC specs are.
-Intel Core i7 930 CPU
-EVGA X58 SLI LE Motherboard
-12GB 1600Mhz tri channel RAM
-PNY GTX 780 Graphics card
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
From what I've read a DAC is a definite upgrade over standard PC output. An amp on the other hand is more or less preference for the 598's since they don't have a very high impedance. I personally want the functionality of an amp for future headphone upgrades and just for a physical volume knob (It's surprising how big of a difference not having one is).
I'm looking for either an amp/DAC combo, or separate units. One thing I'm confused about is the connection from the computer to the DAC. I've read mixed thoughts on whether or not a USB DAC has any noticeable effect on computer performance. Since I play a decent amount of games that performance effect could be a big deal to me. If that is true then I'm mostly looking at DACs that have an optical and/or S/PDIF input. I also like the multiple input options with not just USB DACs.
Here's what I've been looking at.
Audio-gd NFB-15.32 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm
Audio-gd NFB-11.32 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1132/NFB11.32EN.htm
-The only differences I notice between these two is the 11.32 supports a higher resolution optical input and the 15.32 has the filters. Of course the price is different too.
Schiit Magni and Modi http://schiit.com/products
HA INFO DA1 http://www.ab-system.hk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=61
TEAC UD-H01 http://www.crutchfield.com/p_063UDH01B/TEAC-UD-H01-Black.html
-Can't seem to find anything on this one. Not sure if it's new or just that bad.
I guess the big thing I'm wondering is if paying $300 is going to make a noticeable improvement. Or if spending around $150 or less is the best bet. Also if a USB only DAC will effect my computers performance significantly or not.
The music I mostly listen to is different types of rock. I will listen to almost anything though. Like, classical, movie soundtracks, pop, rap, electronic, acapella, ect.
In case it matters for the USB effect my PC specs are.
-Intel Core i7 930 CPU
-EVGA X58 SLI LE Motherboard
-12GB 1600Mhz tri channel RAM
-PNY GTX 780 Graphics card
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
