[vinay]

 
I have being in a delimea to buy a DAC or soundcard? Have asked many times and i get different responses..
 
But now i am intreseted in knowing what exactly does a DAC have over soundcard or vice versa??
As far as i can make out is that Good Soundcard has DAC chip and Headphone AMP same as a Good DAC.. It just differs in quality of the DAC chip Or am i missing anything else..
 
Technically there are lot of factors i assume esp in this world of digital marketing(Dolby headphones, dolby digital ,EAX/DS3D etc)..
 
How do you guys choose your equipment esp between DAC or Soundcard?(esp the ones who choose without auditioning them)

 

[matthewh133]

Outboard DACs are built for music. That is their primary function and as such all the parts within them reflect this. Sound cards are made to perform a wide array of tasks, so they are less specific to the music needs. With that less money is spent on parts to make music the best it can be. Outboard DACs can also cost A LOT more than any PC sound cards, and there is a reason for this. No point going into technicalities but basically a DAC is built solely for music and has more room to place parts in it while a computer sound card is built for a wide array of tasks and has a smaller surface to fit higher quality parts on.

 

[vinay]

 
Ok now consider one needs surround sound effect during movies(through headphones), but he listen to music most of the time.. Which is preferable?

 

[radonsg]

Maybe get a dac + a 7.1 usb headphone

 

[matthewh133]

You don't need 7.1 surround headphones to get a surround feel. 5.1/7.1 USB headphones have a reputation of greatly degrading sound quality in the search of perfect surround. Some headphones with a good sound stage and a good sound card (Xonar Essense STX). The Xonar has Dolby Headphone which is good for surround in movies. Match them up with something like the DT880 or AD700/900 which both have great soundstage and you're golden.

 

[beeman458]

vinay wrote:
 
How do you guys choose your equipment esp between DAC or Soundcard?(esp the ones who choose without auditioning them)
 
Ya read a boatload of reviews and make your pick based upon the number of reviews that talk to you.
 
If one reads a large enough sample, my experience, you're good.  Based upon the above method, I've not made a purchase I wasn't happy with.
 

 

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Ignoring the potential sound quality differences.  There are some significant usability differences between the different options.  A big part of the decision depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it.
 
You can break it down into three broad categories:
Sound cards:
Can have multiple channel output.  Recording input.  Special things like Dolby Headphone for games and movies.  May work in Linux if it is generic enough to have Linux drivers.  Consumer grade cards likely won't have ASIO.
 
External audio interface: things like the EMU 0404 USB
Can have multiple inputs and outputs.  Can have proper ASIO drivers since they're typically geared to professional audio work.  Will require custom drivers.  May or may not work in Linux (likely won't).
 
DAC with USB input:
Typically two channel only.  No input for recording.  Can be generic and work with standard OS supplied USB audio drivers.  Some are proprietary and require their own drivers.  Many don't have an ASIO driver available (I don't consider ASIO4ALL to be a real ASIO driver).  Some do have an ASIO driver available (for example ones that are based on CEntrance's implementation).  Some are limited to only supporting 44.1 and 48 over USB while others can do 88.2 and 96.  Some will require custom drivers to do 88.2 and 96 over USB while others (like CEntrance) can do 88.2 and 96 using the standard OS supplied driver).  Some can do 192 but will require custom drivers.  Devices that require custom drivers likely won't run on Linux and may or may not be able to run on OSX. 
 
A neat thing about multiple outputs is that with the right software (like J River Media Center) you can divide the outputs into zones.  Two channels for each zone.  Send different audio to each zone or sync each zone with the same audio.  That way you can send audio to different rooms or different equipment.  So multiple outputs can be useful even if you only do two channel.
 
USB DACs are far more generic as long as you get one that doesn't require custom drivers.  Plug it in and it works on almost any OS. 
 
USB DACs and USB external audio interfaces can also be connected to laptops and easily moved from one computer to another.  Internal desktop sound cards are not so flexible.

 

[vinay]

Thanks for the info guys..
 
I really dont like the so called gaming headphones.. tried a few for songs and they really bad.. My ultimate use is for songs but then occasionally watch movies and play games ..
My headphones(currently HD555 and A700) or speakers are always going to remain stereo.. pefer it that way..
I have decided to get the Audio-gd FUN since i needed a DAC to drive active speakers and headphones.. But i was reading few old thread and noticed that STX was suggested by many over the Compass..
 
My real question do i need to add a soundcard to get the surround sound effect in movies and games.? or my onboard "realtek 888" audio is good enough?

 

[radonsg]

depends on your movie source, does it have Dolby, dts or etc.
http://www.timefordvd.com/tutorial/SurroundSound.shtml
 
Your realtek 888 does have those surround sound support
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsview.aspx?langid=1&pfid=28&level=5&conn=4&prodid=135
 
Thus you should be able to get the surround sound effect, just the quality

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

Maybe get a dac + a 7.1 usb headphone

And how exactly would that work now? Firstly, 7.1 headphones sound bad. Secondly, 99% of DACs are stereo, certainly not 7.1.

 

[radonsg]

Quote:

And how exactly would that work now? Firstly, 7.1 headphones sound bad. Secondly, 99% of DACs are stereo, certainly not 7.1.

I was refering that they work separately & not together. My bad on the 7.1, cos I thought about gaming on my Razer Megalodon.

 

[Mr. B]

After I joined Head-Fi and did some research I dumped my Logitech 5.1 speakers and X-Fi card in favor of a stereo speakers and a DAC.
 
95% of my audio usage on the PC was music which is inherently stereo so it made sense to just have two good speakers instead of six crappy ones.  I got an E-MU 0404 USB DAC because moving the audio processing out of the computer case made a lot of sense with respect to internal electrical noise.  I also ended up finding use for the mic/optical inputs. 

 

[vinay]

Quote:

depends on your movie source, does it have Dolby, dts or etc.
http://www.timefordvd.com/tutorial/SurroundSound.shtml
 
Your realtek 888 does have those surround sound support
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsview.aspx?langid=1&pfid=28&level=5&conn=4&prodid=135
 
Thus you should be able to get the surround sound effect, just the quality

 
Thanks radsong..
 
Now i am clear.. will Buy the DAC and look for better speakers and Headphones..



 
Quote:

After I joined Head-Fi and did some research I dumped my Logitech 5.1 speakers and X-Fi card in favor of a stereo speakers and a DAC.
 
95% of my audio usage on the PC was music which is inherently stereo so it made sense to just have two good speakers instead of six crappy ones.  I got an E-MU 0404 USB DAC because moving the audio processing out of the computer case made a lot of sense with respect to internal electrical noise.  I also ended up finding use for the mic/optical inputs. 

Yup.. stereo is anyday better than surround effect for music..
 
Many do say about electrical noise with internal soundcard but i never heard any when i tried at my friends place..
 
Have you tried the optical 0404, is there any diff from usb, in sound quality..

 

[vinay]

Quote:

vinay wrote:
 
How do you guys choose your equipment esp between DAC or Soundcard?(esp the ones who choose without auditioning them)
 
Ya read a boatload of reviews and make your pick based upon the number of reviews that talk to you.
 
If one reads a large enough sample, my experience, you're good.  Based upon the above method, I've not made a purchase I wasn't happy with.
 

 

 
I know it was vauge question.. my bad..
 

 

[beeman458]

vinay wrote:
 
I know it was vauge question.. my bad..
 
I didn't see it that way.  I understand how hard it is to get a footing when you're not sure where to initially place your feet.
 
What do I do when I'm not sure in a question such as yours?  I just keep reading reviews until things start to click.  And the good news, eventually, they will.