Sound Card VS DAC AMP

[HectiKCookiE]

So i'm buy a set of AKG K702's and need something to power them for around $125-$150. what would you suggest?

[Fred Castellum]

I'd get a DAC/AMP combo. 

 

 

EDIT: Sound cards don't beat external DACs. A internal sound card will inevitably receive noise due to being right there smack dab on your motherboard. 

[Octavialicious]

Your mobo should be more than enough for K702s

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

So i'm buy a set of AKG K702's and need something to power them for around $125-$150. what would you suggest?

Fiio E10K is the only thing that comes to mind in that price range

available here:

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425275072&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+e10k

[HectiKCookiE]

Your mobo should be more than enough for K702s

i asked jayztwocents on a live stream and he said they would definitely need one. he also has a pair 

[SSL]

i asked jayztwocents on a live stream and he said they would definitely need one. he also has a pair 

 

Who? Did he say why?

 

In any case:

 

Fiio E10k

Schiit Fulla

SMSL SD793-II - if you have optical audio out

 

Pick your poison.

[mvitkun]

Who? Did he say why

Him

https://www.youtube.com/user/Jayztwocents

[Hecknologist]

So i'm buy a set of AKG K702's and need something to power them for around $125-$150. what would you suggest?

Best you can get for that price is an O2 amp and dac that you build yourself. I did it and found it pretty damn easy and saved a bunch of money too, and you can buy your own components from a few different places.

Worth a thought.

[BoredErica]

I picked at Jayz's nonsensical reason for wanting an amp and he actually graced us with his presence on that very forum thread. Basically, he yelled about "this being an audiophile religion" and left. If that made no sense to you, don't worry, it didn't make much sense to me either.

[SSL]

I picked at Jayz's nonsensical reason for wanting an amp and he actually graced us with his presence on that very forum thread. Basically, he yelled about "this being an audiophile religion" and left. If that made no sense to you, don't worry, it didn't make much sense to me either.

 

Why am I not surprised :rolleyes:

[creatip123]

i asked jayztwocents on a live stream and he said they would definitely need one. he also has a pair 

 

Most probably out of an educated guess, using K702's specs, especially the sensitivity part, http://www.akg.com/pro/p/k702, and his own experience, with his system.

 

It's never a sure shot answer, because my system is different than your system. For example, gaming boards are using a more powerful amp chip on it, compared to cheap budget mobo. What's lacking for me, might not be lacking for you. 

 

I think a user here, @EmoRarity even run his straight off of his tablet, without any additional amp. 

 

Best thing to do is wait till it arrived, and try it on the onboard first. Don't worry, it won't break, or fry, or smoke, or anything if it turns out the onboard is inadequate to drive it properly. If it's inadequate, it's not too late to shop for a solution later. 

[Michael McAllister]

I see no reason why an amp would be necessary for those headphones assuming your motherboard is only two or three years old and performing to spec.

[creatip123]

I see no reason why an amp would be necessary for those headphones assuming your motherboard is only two or three years old and performing to spec.

 

My mobo is max 4 years old. Asus M5A78L-M/USB3. Dunno the exact release date, but considering it got socket AM3+, it couldn't have been older than 4 years (AM3+ was released in 2011). The onboard is less loud than my ipad 3. 

 

Some onboards are good, some got good (high enough) voltage but not much current (which is good for high impedance, high sensitivity headphones), some got good current supply but not high enough voltage (my onboard's case, as it sounds very clean, no distortions, no clips, just can't get loud enough), and some are just...shitty....

[Michael McAllister]

My mobo is max 4 years old. Asus M5A78L-M/USB3. Dunno the exact release date, but considering it got socket AM3+, it couldn't have been older than 4 years (AM3+ was released in 2011). The onboard is less loud than my ipad 3. 

 

Some onboards are good, some got good (high enough) voltage but not much current (which is good for high impedance, high sensitivity headphones), some got good current supply but not high enough voltage (my onboard's case, as it sounds very clean, no distortions, no clips, just can't get loud enough), and some are just...shitty....

 

I agree, which is why I included the qualifier 'performing to spec'.  Most modern boards have pretty decent chips, assuming they are working as advertised.