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Upgrading from motherboard sound, Also: competitive FPS gaming
Sep 23, 2013 at 1:28 PM Post #16 of 35
 
Sep 23, 2013 at 1:34 PM Post #17 of 35
The Topping TP30 is a t-amp for passive speakers that also has a DAC and headphone amp built in. So you'd be paying for that extra (primary) functionality.
 
Sep 23, 2013 at 3:10 PM Post #18 of 35
flumphy said:
   
I play competitive cod. Knowing if someone is in front or behind me is not a problem because I know the maps so well and I can rotate my aim a bit to check with stereo from which side the sound is coming.
Because Dolby Headphone is 100% an effect and you still only have L and R (no speakers behind/infront of you) I'm not sold on it yet. I'm doing some research and so far I've found 1 competitive player that used a sound card capable of it, but chose not to because it had negative effects.
I'm looking for a used Xonar DG so I can try it. If I like it and still want to spent money I'll just add an E10 unless I get recomendend something else.
Click to expand...

Asus Xonar DG (PCI) sound card is $26.80 (Amazon) and there is a $10 mail in rebate this month (Amazon).
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 2:40 PM Post #20 of 35
I've decided on buying an DAC/AMP and have selected a few,
 

url: http://i.imgur.com/rfVBAgN.png
 

 
url: http://gyazo.com/5970f77fd0e8eaf94b92f4940c672c86.png
 
 
Can someone comment on these DAC/AMPs? 
 
red circle is better :p
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 3:10 PM Post #21 of 35
flumphy said:
  I've decided on buying an DAC/AMP and have selected a few,
 
Can someone comment on these DAC/AMPs? 
Click to expand...

I've bought 4 SMSL audio devices and at least two of them no longer works.
 
A USB DAC (or DAC/amp) will bypass any on-board (built into motherboard) or add-on internal sound card.
With USB, all your getting is basic 2-channel audio, no headphone surround sound.
An S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) input DAC (or DAC/amp) can still use the on-board audio features.
 
An Asus Xonar U3 or Creative Sound Blaster Go are the only two external decently priced USB audio devices that come with headphone surround sound .
 
That's why I always suggest the Asus Xonar DG or DGX sound cards, audio quality is around the same as the Fiio E10.
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 3:49 PM Post #22 of 35
purpleangel said:
  I've bought 4 SMSL audio devices and at least two of them no longer works.
 
A USB DAC (or DAC/amp) will bypass any on-board (built into motherboard) or add-on internal sound card.
With USB, all your getting is basic 2-channel audio, no headphone surround sound.
An S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) input DAC (or DAC/amp) can still use the on-board audio features.
 
An Asus Xonar U3 or Creative Sound Blaster Go are the only two external decently priced USB audio devices that come with headphone surround sound .
 
That's why I always suggest the Asus Xonar DG or DGX sound cards, audio quality is around the same as the Fiio E10.
Click to expand...

 
If I plug in an usb dac/amp and then an cable from Xonar DG to the dac/amp can I get surround thru the dac/amp?
 
For example the Musiland 02US Dragon http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/musiland-02us-dragon-computer-soundcard-usb-dac-usb3-0-support.html has an RCA input?
 
EDIT: Is Topping any good?
 
Greetings,
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 4:06 PM Post #23 of 35
flumphy said:
  If I plug in an usb dac/amp and then an cable from Xonar DG to the dac/amp can I get surround thru the dac/amp?
 
For example the Musiland 02US Dragon http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/musiland-02us-dragon-computer-soundcard-usb-dac-usb3-0-support.html has an RCA input?
Click to expand...

You mean with the 02US Dragon, plug it's USB connection into the computer (USB) and then run an analog audio cable from the DG's 3.5mm jack to the RCA inputs on the dragon.
Not a connection I would think of using, or how it would function?
 
But if you have the Xonar DG installed and the DG's headphone amplifier can drive headphones up to 150-Ohms, and the DG has Dolby Headphone Surround Sound, why would you need the Dragon, or any other external headphone amplifier hooked to the DG?
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 4:10 PM Post #24 of 35
purpleangel said:
  You mean with the 02US Dragon, plug it's USB connection into the computer (USB) and then run an analog audio cable from the DG's 3.5mm jack to the RCA inputs on the dragon.
Not a connection I would think of using, or how it would function?
 
But if you have the Xonar DG installed and the DG's headphone amplifier can drive headphones up to 150-Ohms, and the DG has Dolby Headphone Surround Sound, why would you need the Dragon, or any other external headphone amplifier hooked to the DG?
Click to expand...

 
Xonar DG has an 
1 x S/PDIF out (1 x Optical (Toslink))
 
So I thought maybe it was possible.
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 4:14 PM Post #25 of 35
flumphy said:
   
Xonar DG has an 
1 x S/PDIF out (1 x Optical (Toslink))
 
So I thought maybe it was possible
Click to expand...

I'm still trying to understand the features of the dragon
And the DG does have an optical output, so it's easy to plug things to it using an optical cable.
but I can't figure out why you want or need to adding anything to the Xonar DG, beside plugging headphones directly into it's headphone/line-out jack.
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 4:29 PM Post #26 of 35
purpleangel said:
  I'm still trying to understand the features of the dragon
And the DG does have an optical output, so it's easy to plug things to it using an optical cable.
but I can't figure out why you want or need to adding anything to the Xonar DG, beside plugging headphones directly into it's headphone/line-out jack.
Click to expand...

 
So a DAC adds nothing to the sound quality? 
I'm just not sure that an €30 soundcard sounds the same/better than a more expensive DAC/AMP.
 
EDIT: The dac inside Xonar DG is good?
 
EDIT2: I quote you: You can daisy chain an external DAC (& amp) to a sound card's digital output for some great audio quality gaming and movie watching (and music listening).
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 7:12 PM Post #27 of 35
flumphy said:
  So a DAC adds nothing to the sound quality? 
I'm just not sure that an €30 sound card sounds the same/better than a more expensive DAC/AMP.
 
EDIT: The DAC inside Xonar DG is good?
 
EDIT2: I quote you: You can daisy chain an external DAC (& amp) to a sound card's digital output for some great audio quality gaming and movie watching (and music listening).
Click to expand...

An external DAC can add sound quality, but the (30 Euro) Xonar DG will offer roughly offer the same audio quality as the (55 Euro) Fiio E10.
(It costs a little more to make an external audio device then an internal one)
I would rate the Xonar DG as a decent sound card (with it's decent CS4245 DAC chip)
You would need to spend more then 55 Euros to make a (worthwhile) noticeable difference from the Xonar DG.
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card should make a noticeable improvement over the Xonar DG.
You can daisy chain stuff to a sound card for great audio quality, but you have to spend enough for a noticeable difference
But your current headphones are not worth spending that much on a DAC & Amp in the first place.
 
Sep 25, 2013 at 10:10 AM Post #28 of 35
purpleangel said:
  An external DAC can add sound quality, but the (30 Euro) Xonar DG will offer roughly offer the same audio quality as the (55 Euro) Fiio E10.
(It costs a little more to make an external audio device then an internal one)
I would rate the Xonar DG as a decent sound card (with it's decent CS4245 DAC chip)
You would need to spend more then 55 Euros to make a (worthwhile) noticeable difference from the Xonar DG.
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card should make a noticeable improvement over the Xonar DG.
You can daisy chain stuff to a sound card for great audio quality, but you have to spend enough for a noticeable difference
But your current headphones are not worth spending that much on a DAC & Amp in the first place.
Click to expand...

 
I've found an used Xonar D2, but I can't find anything about the D2 versus the DG. Do you know which is best?
 
Also:
  • Sound Blaster X-FI HD 
  • Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro
 
Do they both have Dolby or similar? If they have something different, which has the best?
Sound quality? From reviews I hear the X-FI HD has much better sound.
 
Sep 25, 2013 at 10:28 AM Post #29 of 35
flumphy said:
   
I've found an used Xonar D2, but I can't find anything about the D2 versus the DG. Do you know which is best?
 
Also:
  • Sound Blaster X-FI HD 
  • Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro
 
Do they both have Dolby or similar? If they have something different, which has the best?
Sound quality? From reviews I hear the X-FI HD has much better sound.
Click to expand...

Guess the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD external sound card would be ok if you had to have an external sound card.
 
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