[imeem]

   
Are there external DACs that do have DSP features for PC gaming, and if yes could you possibly recommend a few?
 
Thanks

Maybe usb soundcards made by Creative? like this one http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro
 
http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-go-pro

 

[RomanBurrr]

  Maybe usb soundcards made by Creative? like this one http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro
 
http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-go-pro

Thanks! Ive seen this before, anyone used this ?

 

[Andrew Werdna]

I haven't experienced an audiophile sound card, although I'm sure they must be out there. It would likely make a huge difference on the routing of the signal. As for replacing capacitors, why? If a receiver checks out and the sound is balanced, there is no reason to replace parts that are working. I have several vintage receivers and the capacitors are all fine. Servicing usually involves cleaning switches, balancing, cleaning fuse connections and checking for solder breaks and that's it. It IS possible to find very modestly priced vintage equipment that will sound as good or better than current equipment costing much more.

 

[nothing4me]

FYI, if you don't handle capacitors correctly... they can and will kill you (especially power supply capacitors via discharge). So, don't do it if you have zero experience with modifying and building electronics. If you are going to do it anyway... google around on how to do it safely.

 

[wooo headphones]

  First off: do you play PC games? If so, external DACs that only have USB inputs are out of the question. (S/PDIF ones are viable since you can connect them to sound cards.)
 

 
Why are external DACs that connect through USB non starters for video games? I play a lot of Counter-Strike so positional audio for footsteps is extremely important.
 
My setup is HE-500 with Project Polaris amplifier. I am currently using a FiiO E7 DAC from 2011 or something which connects through USB. I've been looking to upgrade my source.
 
Given my setup, do you guys recommend a high end soundcard or an external DAC? I was looking into the Sound Blaster Zx but the built in amplifier is sort of throwing me off ... seems like the card is designed for high impedence headphones, which mine are not. I'm not a big expert on circuitry but I just have an inkling that the pairing with my HE-500 will be suboptimal given what I've read in the past about output impedance.
 
So, maybe better I get an external DAC? What are some good suggestions for <= $300? I guess USB is out of the question....good to know.

 

[imeem]

Why are external DACs that connect through USB non starters for video games? I play a lot of Counter-Strike so positional audio for footsteps is extremely important.

My setup is HE-500 with Project Polaris amplifier. I am currently using a FiiO E7 DAC from 2011 or something which connects through USB. I've been looking to upgrade my source.

Given my setup, do you guys recommend a high end soundcard or an external DAC? I was looking into the Sound Blaster Zx but the built in amplifier is sort of throwing me off ... seems like the card is designed for high impedence headphones, which mine are not. I'm not a big expert on circuitry but I just have an inkling that the pairing with my HE-500 will be suboptimal given what I've read in the past about output impedance.

So, maybe better I get an external DAC? What are some good suggestions for <= $300? I guess USB is out of the question....good to know.

USB sound cards r bad for gaming because they have bad sound positioning. More worse than internal/on board sound card. You can do a test yourself to see if it is true for your case.

I would say for gaming, get a internal sound card or a multi channel a/v receiver that can output surround sound to your headphones. Or look at gaming-oriented external DACs that don't compromise sound positioning

 

[U-3C]

Anybody bothered to try this with onboard realtek alc1150?

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=392085

It bypassed my onboard's drivers, which intentionally crippled the dac and made it sound like schiit.

There's also Creative's SBX if you don't like Dolby:

https://m.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/410kj7/creative_dsp_sbx_without_creative_hardware/

I'm mostly interested in the Dolby one. Can anyone with an Asus card test and see if there is a difference in terms of sound quality, especially without any dsp enabled? I really am interested in a direct comparison to see if there is even a difference between different onboard audio and an internal sound card, as some onboard audio are quite good.