[Prpnnightmare]

There's no need of a DAC unless your motherboard is defective.

That is (good) news to me. have never trusted the quality of sound coming out of a motherboard, but my X-Fi Titanium HD is on its last legs, hence looking for the alternative. Thank you for the reply.

 

[halcyon]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a DAC I can use from my PC with Dolby Atmos?

Which headphones are you using?
Why would you prefer an external DAC?

 

[nraymond]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a DAC I can use from my PC with Dolby Atmos?

Atmos is output via HDMI for multi-channel speaker setups, or over a 2-channel connection for Atmos headphone. Decoding would be in a home theater receiver via HDMI before amplification sent to speakers.

 

[Prpnnightmare]

Which headphones are you using?
Why would you prefer an external DAC?

I'm currently using Hifiman HE-4XX, though I will likely change these soon as they're on their last legs like my current sound card. I actually don't mind purchasing another sound card or using an external DAC - I just thought that an external DAC may be a better choice as there seems to be a wide range of options for a wide range of budgets.

Atmos is output via HDMI for multi-channel speaker setups, or over a 2-channel connection for Atmos headphone. Decoding would be in a home theater receiver via HDMI before amplification sent to speakers.

Sorry, I should have clarified that i'm looking to output Atmos Headphone.

 

[halcyon]

I'm currently using Hifiman HE-4XX, though I will likely change these soon as they're on their last legs like my current sound card. I actually don't mind purchasing another sound card or using an external DAC - I just thought that an external DAC may be a better choice as there seems to be a wide range of options for a wide range of budgets.



Sorry, I should have clarified that i'm looking to output Atmos Headphone.

External DAC (and especially when combined with an external headphone amp) benefit the listener, when driving harder to drive (insensitive), power-hungry and impedance-variant headphones. Driving such headphones from, say motherboards headphone output, may result in less than stellar audible results.

So, That's why I asked about the headphones, because which headphones you use does matter. With certain type of headohones you can actually benefit from an external dac/amp (* there are other potential benefits from an external dac-amp, like measurably better S/N, better external noise suppression, etc).

HE-4XX is a fairly low sensitivity headphone (at 93 dB/mW) at a fairly low impedance of 38Ohm. Your current X-Fi Titanium HD has an output impedance of roughly 32 of Ohm (way too high for a 38Ohm headphone like HE-4xx) and output power in few milliwatts even for easy loads. This will more than likely result in changes in frequency response, as the headphone is not a linear impedance load. In plain english, worse sound quality than what the headphone is capable of with a proper amp.

Thus, your sound, esp. bass performance will benefit from changing from Titanium HD to a low impedance (near 0 Ohm) output and more powerful (a hundred milliwatts minimum) DAC/Amp, that is able to drive even lower impedance headphones (like HE-4XX) that are harder to drive due to their insensitivity (again, like HE-4XX).

You don't necessarily need an external DAC though, just a better headphone amp connected to your soundcard, is enough. The amp will then give low impedance output and more power to the headphone, better than the soundcard itself can give.

In plain English, your sound quality, even with current headphones, will benefit from an external amplifier like for example, Topping L30 (c. $140, used with your current soundcard feeding it analog signal) or if you want combined DAC+headphone amp, somethin like Schiit Hel (c. $189). These are just two examples. Budgets and preferences from people to people vary.

 

[Prpnnightmare]

External DAC (and especially when combined with an external headphone amp) benefit the listener, when driving harder to drive (insensitive), power-hungry and impedance-variant headphones. Driving such headphones from, say motherboards headphone output, may result in less than stellar audible results.

So, That's why I asked about the headphones, because which headphones you use does matter. With certain type of headohones you can actually benefit from an external dac/amp (* there are other potential benefits from an external dac-amp, like measurably better S/N, better external noise suppression, etc).

HE-4XX is a fairly low sensitivity headphone (at 93 dB/mW) at a fairly low impedance of 38Ohm. Your current X-Fi Titanium HD has an output impedance of roughly 32 of Ohm (way too high for a 38Ohm headphone like HE-4xx) and output power in few milliwatts even for easy loads. This will more than likely result in changes in frequency response, as the headphone is not a linear impedance load. In plain english, worse sound quality than what the headphone is capable of with a proper amp.

Thus, your sound, esp. bass performance will benefit from changing from Titanium HD to a low impedance (near 0 Ohm) output and more powerful (a hundred milliwatts minimum) DAC/Amp, that is able to drive even lower impedance headphones (like HE-4XX) that are harder to drive due to their insensitivity (again, like HE-4XX).

You don't necessarily need an external DAC though, just a better headphone amp connected to your soundcard, is enough. The amp will then give low impedance output and more power to the headphone, better than the soundcard itself can give.

In plain English, your sound quality, even with current headphones, will benefit from an external amplifier like for example, Topping L30 (c. $140, used with your current soundcard feeding it analog signal) or if you want combined DAC+headphone amp, somethin like Schiit Hel (c. $189). These are just two examples. Budgets and preferences from people to people vary.

Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed reply, I really appreciate it. I have been looking at the Schiit offerings for some time actually, primarily the Fulla 3 as I know I'm going to have to change these HE-4XX shortly, and that would leave me some money to do so, as there is a huge markup on the Schiit products locally. The Fulla 3 here is $260AUD, the Hel is $525AUD which is almost double the price even after currency conversion.

 

[halcyon]

Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed reply, I really appreciate it. I have been looking at the Schiit offerings for some time actually, primarily the Fulla 3 as I know I'm going to have to change these HE-4XX shortly, and that would leave me some money to do so, as there is a huge markup on the Schiit products locally. The Fulla 3 here is $260AUD, the Hel is $525AUD which is almost double the price even after currency conversion.

I feel your pain. Take a look at local importers of Topping products. Topping offers excellent performance/price.

Topping L30 Headphone amp (no DAC, so you need to pair this with your current sound card or motherboard's analog line-output)
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/topping-l30-headphone-amplifier

Topping E30 Desktop DAC (no headphone amp, so you need a separate amp after this, like Topping L3 or something else)
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/topping-e30-desktop-usb-dac?_pos=1&_sid=c3b166c1e&_ss=r

In performance, Topping is even better than Schiit, except for output power to harder to drive headphones.

If you go this route, you still need to hook up your mic/headset's microphone separately to the Mic input of your soundcard (or motherboard's built in audio Mic input) to get voice/chat working.

 

[Gun21]

The $500 Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Balanced Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA is a very good all in one solution. It powers my HD800S extremely well and is worth looking at.

On a side note: you asked about Dolby Atmos for Headphones? Can anybody tell me if you can use Dolby (and DTS Headphone X) out to a Dac/Amp using USB (or optical) on Windows 10? I've tried Razer Surround just now over USB, and it's pretty good, but I'm eager to try Dolby Atmos and DTS X for comparison. Unfortunately, I can't trial them again because I installed both previously last year, so no-go on that front.

 

[Monstieur]

On a side note: you asked about Dolby Atmos for Headphones? Can anybody tell me if you can use Dolby (and DTS Headphone X) out to a Dac/Amp using USB (or optical) on Windows 10? I've tried Razer Surround just now over USB, and it's pretty good, but I'm eager to try Dolby Atmos and DTS X for comparison. Unfortunately, I can't trial them again because I installed both previously last year, so no-go on that front.

Yes, they output stereo PCM for headphones. However the DAC must support 16/24-bit 44.1/48 KHz or they won't work.

 

[piji]

The in-game headphone mode is preferable to external HRTFs, as it typically uses XYZ coordinates per object. There are poorly written games which collapse to 7.1 before HRTF with the in-game headphone mode. Even with Spatial Sound, multiple objects may be collapsed into one due to limitations on the number of channels which varies by platform (Windows vs Xbox) and spatial sound provider (Dolby Atmos for Headphones vs DTS Headphone:X vs Windows Sonic for Headphones). In the games I've played, I prefer per-object accuracy over a generically better 7.1 HRTF algorithm from an external solution.

For the 7.1 HRTFs, you just need the impulse responses and you can try any of them in Equalizer APO. This is a superior solution than installing a virtual sound card etc. which has its own issues.

Is Sonic vs DTS Headphone X vs Dolby Atmos basically down to preference?

 

[Monstieur]

Is Sonic vs DTS Headphone X vs Dolby Atmos basically down to preference?

Dolby Atmos for Headphones is clearly superior for HRTF. I recorded the impulse response and saw a dip in the mids, but it's a minor issue. Game mode has a shorter reverberation time than Movie. Music mode is untouched stereo with just EQ. Atmos is the best provider because you will get true object-based rendering for E-AC-3 Atmos content in supported applications like Netflix, Edge, and Movies & TV.

DTS Headphone:X rolls off the bass resulting in no sub-bass impact.

Windows Sonic for Headphones has a smaller sound stage than Atmos, but doesn't destroy the frequency response like DTS.

 

[Prpnnightmare]

I feel your pain. Take a look at local importers of Topping products. Topping offers excellent performance/price.

Topping L30 Headphone amp (no DAC, so you need to pair this with your current sound card or motherboard's analog line-output)
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/topping-l30-headphone-amplifier

Topping E30 Desktop DAC (no headphone amp, so you need a separate amp after this, like Topping L3 or something else)
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/topping-e30-desktop-usb-dac?_pos=1&_sid=c3b166c1e&_ss=r

In performance, Topping is even better than Schiit, except for output power to harder to drive headphones.

If you go this route, you still need to hook up your mic/headset's microphone separately to the Mic input of your soundcard (or motherboard's built in audio Mic input) to get voice/chat working.

Just wanted to follow this up and let you know I purchased the Topping E30 and the Topping L30. I really appreciate your help and advice!

Looking forward to getting Dolby Atmos for Headphones rolling through this setup when it arrives.

 

[Gun21]

I've ended up with a THX amp + HD800S and I don't find I need surround DSPs anymore, unless they're for older games. More and more, modern games feature their own Headphone mode, and as pointed out a few pages back, they are superior to any external DSPs cos they do the full XYZ. Still, I hang on to my SB X3 using optical out, especially for mic duties.

The one superb thing though about Dolby, SBX etc is that they can give soundstage, airiness and depth to headphones that don't have those qualities in the first place, ie closed backs, for example. MLE mentions this extensively in his reviews, so it's a valid point. And, in one nice package you get other great DSP's and EQ options. Equalizer APO is a pain to use on the other hand.

Also also: gaming headphones are a lot better than they were in 2011. Back then, the Audio Technica AD700's were king of the hill. Nowadays, they are considered too shrill, or have just plain fallen apart I've got a set of Beyer MMX2's now, and they are an absolute joy and so much more fun than the Audio Technicas.

BTW @Sennheiser Listen to me: make a gaming version of the HD800S with a mic. Audeze did it with the GX. Just do it, we will pay

 

[nraymond]

BTW @Sennheiser Listen to me: make a gaming version of the HD800S with a mic. Audeze did it with the GX. Just do it, we will pay

Wouldn't an Antlion Modmic work? https://antlionaudio.com/

 

[Gun21]

Wouldn't an Antlion Modmic work? https://antlionaudio.com/

Yes, but it's a pain with the extra wires and all the farting around, especially so if you are swapping out your other headphones/sets and their microphones, and have to reconfigure stuff in Windows. As I say, I'd pay for a HD800S version of the below