[Strings]

My home/computer setup is as follows:

FLAC rips
to
Foobar2000 (kernel streaming)
to
X-Fi
to
Cambridge Audio Amp via the X-Fi's analogue out
to
Celestion Bookshelf speakers or Beyer DT880s

The question is, how can I improve it?

I know I could buy a better amp/better speakers but lets say they are fixed for now.

I'm thinking I'm losing a lot of potential with the lack of DAC. Unfortunately my X-Fi doesn't have any form of digital out.

So would you recommend just buying a USB DAC, to replace my X-fi soundcard and just have the DAC go straight into my amp?

It's either that or buy a new soundcard with digital out, then put THAT through a non-USB DAC, and then into the amp?

Thanks.

 

[Jay B]

There are lots of good USB DAC options.

On the cheaper side of things there is:
M-Audio Audiophile USB - $250 (but you should find it cheaper)
Musiland MD10 - $300.
HeadRoom MicroDAC - $300

Mid-to-Expensive:
Scott Nixon Tube DAC - $475
Stello DA100 - $700
Benchmark DAC-1 USB - $1250

Another option is to go for the M-Audio Transit ($99), which gives bit perfect output, and pair that with a good external DAC. On the cheaper side, people recommend the Beresford TC-7510 (around $200 i think). Or on the expensive side you could go for the X-DAC v3, which I'm considering right now. Note though that with the X-DAC it's said that you should strongly consider the X-PSU to go along with it. Actually the list will get huge here if you consider any external dac. Another good one I can think of is the Lavry DA10.

That should give you a good starting point. I've been looking for a DAC for a little while now, and the list just keeps getting bigger. But I think I'm gonna go for the X-DAC v3. But take your time and do your research to find the right DAC for you. There's plenty of good options. Happy hunting!

 

[Strings]

Cheers bud, so I'm just lacking a decent DAC then?

Am I right in thinking that (for music) the USB DAC should replace my X-Fi yeh?

 

[Jay B]

Does your Cambridge Audio amp have a digital input? You might benefit from getting something like the M-Audio Transit ($99) and sending a digital signal to your amp.

The other thing is, the headphone output of your amp might not be the greatest. I have a decent headphone amp, MF X-CAN v3, and it blows away the headphone out from my Sony amplifier. However, Cambridge Audio is a better brand than Sony, so it might not be too bad, but I bet there's still room for improvement. I'm running my headphone amp off of the analog outputs from my sound card with good results. I would imagine that the X-Fi's analog output would be sufficient if your running it into a good headphone amp.