granodemostasa
Headphoneus Supremus
add the Bel Canto Dac-3, which has a USB input.
Originally Posted by jjhatfield So what do I need? I am confused at the difference between "sound card" and "DAC". Is there a difference? |
Originally Posted by russdog A DAC is what turns digital music files into analog electrical signals that an amplifer can then send to speakers or cans so you can hear sound. "DAC" means "Digital-to-Analog Converter". In the general case, a DAC consists of one or more special-purpose DAC-chips on a circuit board, connected to other special-purpose chips that do low-level amplification, enough to generate a line-out audio signal that you can send to some other piece of equipment that will amplify it further. Every CD player has a DAC in it. Every iPod or other Digital Audio Player (DAP) has a DAC in it. Any computer that has a headphone jack has a DAC in it. A soundcard is a combination of a DAC with weak amplification. As a general rule, computers are built to a price, so they come with crappy soundcards, meaning crappy DAC function and crappy amplification function. What do you need? Easy question, you will get many different answers. What you need is something that will replace the functionality of the crappy soundcard that's built in to your laptop. You can do this in a few different ways:
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Originally Posted by jjhatfield Looks like for simplicity's sake I'll be getting an Echo Indigo DJ, since it has a line-in (for desktop mic for talking on ventrilo), and a line-out (for running to my Headroom when I receive it via mini -> rca interconnect). Plus that means one less USB based piece of hardware, my laptop is already clogged as it is. I don't need amazing sound for games, but I do need some sound for games. I use headphones for 100% of my gaming. The Indigo DJ will produce sound for, say, World of Warcraft, right (the only game I play)? Not great sound, just sound. Thanks in advance for your responses. |
Originally Posted by jjhatfield ... I'll be getting an Echo Indigo DJ, since it has a line-in (for desktop mic for talking on ventrilo), and a line-out (for running to my Headroom when I receive it via mini -> rca interconnect). |
Originally Posted by zantafio To avoid confusion :
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Originally Posted by zantafio To avoid confusion :
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Originally Posted by milkpowder IO's line out also has amplifier and volume knob. |
Originally Posted by zantafio Yes, that's right. That's why it's better to have Indigo DJ if you want to use a dedicated headphone amp. And connect it to the unamplified line out. |