[Buzzbugs]

Hello,

I am currently running my PC through a Yamaha HTR-6030 by running a 3.5mm from the headphone jack of the laptop, and down into the front 3.5 port on the amplifier. Suffice to say the audio quality is disappointing compared to, say, my desktop CD player that I am running through RCA in the back of the amplifier.

I was wondering, would a 3.5mm to RCA cable running from the PC to the back of the Amplifier make a difference? Or is there some other way I could bring my PC audio quality closer to what I'm getting out of my CD player.

Thanks!

 

[dachad]

You can add a decent digital to analog converter (DAC). DAC's run from a hundred to thousands.The Schiit Modi is a decent starting point. https://www.schiit.com/products/modi-1. USB or optical to the Modi, RCA to the receiver. I have a Modi 3 and an Asgard 3 Multibit connected to my two systems and am pleased with them. I've also got an Audioquest Dragonfly Red I mostly use with my phone, but it works well with my PC's.

There are a lot of DAC's out there at a lot of different price points. The Modi 3 and Modi Multibit are great starting points at around $100 and $250. Audioquest, JDS Labs and Massdrop have DACs in the same range. Pick a price you're comfortable spending, and order one up.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hello,
I am currently running my PC through a Yamaha HTR-6030 by running a 3.5mm from the headphone jack of the laptop, and down into the front 3.5 port on the amplifier. Suffice to say the audio quality is disappointing compared to, say, my desktop CD player that I am running through RCA in the back of the amplifier.
I was wondering, would a 3.5mm to RCA cable running from the PC to the back of the Amplifier make a difference? Or is there some other way I could bring my PC audio quality closer to what I'm getting out of my CD player. Thanks!

Can we assume you using 5.1 speakers with the HTR-6030?
Any headphones plugged into the HTR-6030?
The laptop's headphone jack only carries 2-channel audio.
Does the laptop have an optical output port?
A DAC connected between the laptop's digital outputs (USB or optical or other) and the Yamaha's line-input, should improve audio quality, but USB would normally only give you 2-channel audio.

 

[Buzzbugs]

Hello,

Thank you for your responses. I am using both 5.1 speakers and also headphones. Although with the speakers I just like to listen to my music in stereo, anyway. My main concern is the sound coming from the PC is very flat and not a lot of depth to it, and the difference is night and day compared to listening to CD's through my CD player.

No optical output on this laptop, just USB and the headphone jack.

 

[tmb821]

I use a fiio k3 on my laptop. It made the sound much better than just coming out of the 3.5.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hello,
Thank you for your responses. I am using both 5.1 speakers and also headphones. Although with the speakers I just like to listen to my music in stereo, anyway. My main concern is the sound coming from the PC is very flat and not a lot of depth to it, and the difference is night and day compared to listening to CD's through my CD player.
No optical output on this laptop, just USB and the headphone jack.

Hifimediy DAC, $30-$70.
https://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs?sort=p.price&order=ASC

 

[kkrazik2008]

USB dac, take your pick of options but $100 will go a long way with your current set up. Also, what is your source audio on the PC? You mentioned getting the same quality as your CD player, so lossless is a must.

 

[SupperTime]

usb out from laptop.
how can one improve that. i got an external dac and a nice cable to connect the laptop to the dac. but i feel the weakness is in the cheap and geric usb out hardware of the pc.how can one improve it?

 

[dachad]

You can try a USB filter, (Fiio's got one) or a more expensive DAC. Schiit's Bifrost with Unison USB is supposed to do some USB filtering and reclocking. Roon player software may create a better stream to the DAC.

 

[sajunky]

@Buzzbugs. Try a zero-cost improvement first. For the output to the amplifier I would use line-out on the back. Get a media player that would bypass Windows Direct Sound mixer. There is a free Foobar2000. You should use Foobar's WASAPI Exclusive mode output (it is add-on) and configure Windows sound properties to enable such mode. See my other recent message in this section for more details.

If the above doesn't help, you didn't waste your time, as for the best sound quality you will have to do the same with the external USB DAC attached.

As for headphones, I expect no improvements, you need a real headphone amplifier.

[ADDED] Use of course a loseless CD ripped files for comparison.

 

[Slogra]

What about using HDMI output from your laptop to your receiver? It should work as a digital audio transport. That way you will use the DAC in your receiver, which will be better than the one in your laptop.

And always use WASAPI and make sure the output frequency is the same as the source.

 

[F208Frank]

DAC for the win.

 

[drjjpdc]

A used Ray Samuels headphone amp/DAC (the Predator) would greatly improve your headphone listening through your computer.

For your audio system ditto on a separate DAC. MyDac is a good unit. has coax, optical digital inputs. Also analog as well and a usb connection. As previously said I have a Fiio high def player that has a very good dac inside. Connect it to your laptop and it looks as another drive. Also anything by IFI dac's would work in both situations.

 

[deama]

If you're saying that the sound from your PC is sounding flat then I'd guess that your CD player might be applying some EQ settings.
You don't really need a DAC these days unless you need higher volume than your motherboard can provide, or you hear background hissing or static, if we're talking about pure sound quality you won't really be able to notice the difference.

 

[luemas]

Just to chime in about the USB DAC route: if you get a Schiit Modi, try plugging it into a USB 2.0 port rather than a UBS 3.0 port (if you laptop has those options).

I was getting noise on my Modi 3 DAC in the right channel whenever adjusting the volume while there was a signal. After plugging it into a USB 2.0 port on my computer (desktop), issue no more!

YMMV...