bgentry
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2014
- Posts
- 331
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- 127
I've asked about this twice in different ways in the Help forum and while I've gotten a few replies, I haven't gotten anything that's really helpful. I appreciate those who replied to me, but I just don't think I have the right audience in that forum for my questions. So here I am.
This is really two questions, both about my Macbook Pro's sound card versus something external.
1. Will an inexpensive DAC, like a Schiit Modi, make a noticeable improvement in sound? If not the Modi, is there something in the same ball park price wise that might make a sonic difference? I've tried to compare the output of my MBP versus an older SoundBlaster "Live" 24 USB, but I really couldn't tell a difference. I couldn't fully A/B them because of the computer setup, but I could go back and forth with about a 30 - 45 second delay between them. Again, couldn't really hear a difference.
2. I'm using a cheap Yamaha mixing board as a headphone amplifier and general "sound control" device. The whole board only sells for about $100, so the headphone section can't really be anything special. That being said, it's headphone output can drive my headphones ear bleedingly loud. That's no measure of quality, I'm just saying the output has a good bit of power. The specs say 75mW at 40 Ohms, but it must be more because it really can get very loud.
Anyway, I've A/B'ed the output of the Mac directly versus the mixing board and again, I have a hard time hearing any differences. Will a "real" headphone amp, like the Schiit Magni make a difference I can hear?
The Modi and Magni aren't super expensive, but I'd like to actually hear an improvement if I'm going to spend $200. If I can't, maybe that money would be better spent on better headphones. Or a better DAC and amp?
Thanks for reading.
Brian.
This is really two questions, both about my Macbook Pro's sound card versus something external.
1. Will an inexpensive DAC, like a Schiit Modi, make a noticeable improvement in sound? If not the Modi, is there something in the same ball park price wise that might make a sonic difference? I've tried to compare the output of my MBP versus an older SoundBlaster "Live" 24 USB, but I really couldn't tell a difference. I couldn't fully A/B them because of the computer setup, but I could go back and forth with about a 30 - 45 second delay between them. Again, couldn't really hear a difference.
2. I'm using a cheap Yamaha mixing board as a headphone amplifier and general "sound control" device. The whole board only sells for about $100, so the headphone section can't really be anything special. That being said, it's headphone output can drive my headphones ear bleedingly loud. That's no measure of quality, I'm just saying the output has a good bit of power. The specs say 75mW at 40 Ohms, but it must be more because it really can get very loud.
Anyway, I've A/B'ed the output of the Mac directly versus the mixing board and again, I have a hard time hearing any differences. Will a "real" headphone amp, like the Schiit Magni make a difference I can hear?
The Modi and Magni aren't super expensive, but I'd like to actually hear an improvement if I'm going to spend $200. If I can't, maybe that money would be better spent on better headphones. Or a better DAC and amp?
Thanks for reading.
Brian.