Sound Card Vs. External DAC
Apr 11, 2013 at 5:51 PM Post #17 of 37
Quote:
wolter said:
But this's No 24/192kHz. It's nothing changes? :\
 
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As far as my experience goes ... no it doesn't matter. (Guess unless you are spending damn lot of money on whole audio setup... and in that case you wouldn't be thinking about Modi)
 
Apr 11, 2013 at 6:39 PM Post #19 of 37
I use the ASUS Xonar Essence STX for this exact same set up. It has a 600 Ohm amp which I can use to power any headphone I want (it only has 1/4" jacks), plus it uses RCA jacks for the speakers, which can be plugged straight into any A/V Reciever. I personally use a Yamaha RX-V471 Reciever.
 
Aug 3, 2013 at 2:48 PM Post #21 of 37
flisker said:
As far as my experience goes ... no it doesn't matter. (Guess unless you are spending damn lot of money on whole audio setup... and in that case you wouldn't be thinking about Modi)
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More, I will tell you that you would really prefer to listen to hi-end 48kHz than low-end 192kHz. As an example my NAD does only 48kHz and sounds at least the same if not better than 192kHz on Lenovo.
 
Aug 3, 2013 at 2:49 PM Post #22 of 37
wolter said:
Hello.

Who could  recommend me a DAC up to $ 200 for hi-fi system - Q Acoustics Q2050i and Yamaha A-S500. My goal is to improve the sound quality. I would listening a electronic music (house, deep house, tech house). I would greatly appreciate for your help. (Sorry if not here Signature)
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Great pair of speakers, I just got one too:)
 
Dec 7, 2013 at 2:07 PM Post #23 of 37
I'd like to piggyback on this post. I've read over NamelessPFG's guide to PC gaming, but I'm still a little lost on USB dacs vs soundcards vs amps vs ??? I bought a dragonfly USB DAC with my sennheiser 598s. I like to game on the go with a decent MSI laptop, but I'm not sure the dragonfly actually improves gaming at all; and, if it does, I have no idea if I'm using the right settings (the laptop came with windows 8). I also want to use them for quiet office music listening. However, my real gaming prize is my desktop at home with a gtx 780 and 1440p monitor (I figured it was about time I stopped getting my audio from the monitor speakers - yikes!!).
Anyway, I like the dragonfly for it's portability, but I also found a xonar DX soundcard used for $40. Would this be worth buying for my desktop, or does the dragonfly I already own trump it? Also, should I chuck the dragonfly all together and buy the sound card + external amp that could be used with the sound card but also by itself on the go?
I am a total newbie to all this, so please speak to me as if speaking to a child :p
 
Dec 7, 2013 at 2:32 PM Post #24 of 37
lttlfld said:
I'd like to piggyback on this post. I've read over @NamelessPFG's guide to PC gaming, but I'm still a little lost on USB dacs vs soundcards vs amps vs ??? I bought a dragonfly USB DAC with my sennheiser 598s. I like to game on the go with a decent MSI laptop, but I'm not sure the dragonfly actually improves gaming at all; and, if it does, I have no idea if I'm using the right settings (the laptop came with windows 8). I also want to use them for quiet office music listening. However, my real gaming prize is my desktop at home with a gtx 780 and 1440p monitor (I figured it was about time I stopped getting my audio from the monitor speakers - yikes!!).
Anyway, I like the dragonfly for it's portability, but I also found a xonar DX soundcard used for $40. Would this be worth buying for my desktop, or does the dragonfly I already own trump it? Also, should I chuck the dragonfly all together and buy the sound card + external amp that could be used with the sound card but also by itself on the go?
I am a total newbie to all this, so please speak to me as if speaking to a child
tongue.gif
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You'd have been better off asking on my guide thread. It was only by chance that I saw this.
 
The Xonar DX has Dolby Headphone and DS3DGX (their answer to ALchemy). For $40, I'd say it's worth it.
 
USB DACs like the Dragonfly are not meant for gaming; they lack DSP features like headphone virtual surround, and if you care for older PC games, the A3D/EAX effects they used. You can still use things like Razer Surround or Out Of Your Head for virtual surround, but the former's kinda lackluster and I haven't tried the latter, which is payware.
 
Dec 7, 2013 at 2:42 PM Post #25 of 37
namelesspfg said:
You'd have been better off asking on my guide thread. It was only by chance that I saw this.

The Xonar DX has Dolby Headphone and DS3DGX (their answer to ALchemy). For $40, I'd say it's worth it.

USB DACs like the Dragonfly are not meant for gaming; they lack DSP features like headphone virtual surround, and if you care for older PC games, the A3D/EAX effects they used. You can still use things like Razer Surround or Out Of Your Head for virtual surround, but the former's kinda lackluster and I haven't tried the latter, which is payware.
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Thank you! I'm new to the site, so apologize for the clumsiness. Is there anything I could get for my laptop to improve the positional awareness from my 598s?
 
Dec 7, 2013 at 7:19 PM Post #26 of 37
I have a weird question. It seems to me like a USB connected DAC would have at least the advantage that the source hadn't passed through a name brand sound card of any kind, while an optical output would possibly have been I don't know, colored or treated in some way by what maybe subpar on board sound thought was best? Is there anything to this, or would there be no conceivable difference between coming off the optical on board vs. say a hi end sound card? I guess I'm asking is it a given that optical outs are neutral and unprocessed.
 
Dec 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM Post #28 of 37
lttlfld said:
Thank you! I'm new to the site, so apologize for the clumsiness. Is there anything I could get for my laptop to improve the positional awareness from my 598s?
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Most of the current Creative and Asus USB audio devices will provide the gaming features you're looking for.
 
I haven't tried either side's current lineup, though...well, I did have a Recon3D USB at one point, but I wasn't all that impressed with it, to be honest.
 
Dec 10, 2013 at 8:33 PM Post #29 of 37
namelesspfg said:
Most of the current Creative and Asus USB audio devices will provide the gaming features you're looking for.

I haven't tried either side's current lineup, though...well, I did have a Recon3D USB at one point, but I wasn't all that impressed with it, to be honest.
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The dragonfly isn't doing anything for me so I'm getting an eclaro sound card for the desktop and just doing to keep the laptop running without anything extra
 
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