[army165]

Recently got into the higher end headphone scene after some bad times with "gaming headsets". Turtle beach, Logitech G35 and G930 and finally with the Hyper X Cloud 2 headset. The last one had many good reviews but the sound was horrible once I got it. Sent it back and picked up some AKG K612 pro's. I thought a Sound Blaster E1 would be enough for it but it wasn't, that got send back too. Now I'm waiting on the Magni 2 from Schiit to arrive. My question here is whether or not I should invest in a DAC as well. I'm using this with my PC for mostly FPS gaming and I listen to heavy metal. Playing BF4 for the first time with the E1 maxed out was a shock for me when it came to situation awareness, totally new gameplay experience. Is the onboard DAC good enough or should I splurge on the Modi 2 as well? My mobo is the Asus Z97-A. Thanks ahead of time!

 

[cel4145]

The Magni 2 should certainly help. It has plenty of power to drive the K612 Pro to very loud volumes.

Your motherboard has the Realtek ALC892 chipset, which might benefit from a DAC for some improvement in sound which you might or might not find significant. But certainly the Magni 2 will make the biggest difference.

Wait until you hear your headphones with the Magni 2, then decide if you want to try to improve the sound from there.

 

[inthere]

I expect the improvement you'll get with the Magni 2 will pretty much blow you away. 
 
A DAC *may* improve things slightly 

 

[Music Alchemist]

Here's what I think you should do: Order the Modi 2, along with cables to connect everything, and also to connect your amp directly to your computer. Then compare with and without the DAC. If you hear a significant difference, it may be worth keeping, but it's possible that you won't hear a difference at all. Might as well also compare how the headphones sound from the amp (and DAC, if applicable) and directly from your computer's headphone jack, just to get a feel for the improvements.

 

[cel4145]

Here's what I think you should do: Order the Modi 2, along with cables to connect everything, and also to connect your amp directly to your computer. Then compare with and without the DAC. If you hear a significant difference, it may be worth keeping, but it's possible that you won't hear a difference at all. Might as well also compare how the headphones sound from the amp (and DAC, if applicable) and directly from your computer's headphone jack, just to get a feel for the improvements.

We know. You just buy and try everything, and then either return it or sell it

 

[Music Alchemist]

We know. You just buy and try everything, and then either return it or sell it

 
Well, my point was that you would need to compare with and without the DAC to tell whether you could hear (or at least perceive) a difference.
 
And lol...right now, I traded away all three of my headphones for more expensive ones, but won't receive them until a week or two from now...fortunately, a kind soul is lending me his M50x, so I won't have to listen to my laptop speakers while waiting. Maybe I'll learn to like them, despite my negative first impression.

 

[cel4145]

And lol...right now, I traded away all three of my headphones for more expensive ones, but won't receive them until a week or two from now...fortunately, a kind soul is lending me his M50x, so I won't have to listen to my laptop speakers while waiting. Maybe I'll learn to like them, despite my negative first impression.

What do you mean "three?" I thought you have bought and either traded or returned dozens of headphones in the last year

 

[Music Alchemist]

What do you mean "three?" I thought you have bought and either traded or returned dozens of headphones in the last year

 
Yes, but at the moment, I had three headphones, and traded them all away at once in exchange for one headphone. lol

 

[cel4145]

Yes, but at the moment, I had three headphones, and traded them all away at once in exchange for one headphone. lol

Maybe there's a headphone psychologists to help you deal with your headphone relationship building issues

 

[Music Alchemist]

Maybe there's a headphone psychologists to help you deal with your headphone relationship building issues

 
You make me lol every time, man. "Hi, I'm Music Alchemist, and I have a headphone problem."
 
But hey, at least I'm getting a much better idea of what I like and dislike in shorter time frames.
 
<end thread hijack>