JamesHenry

I mean, sure, but getting an entry leve DAC isn't much more expensive. Wouldn't you say it's worth the extra buck. The amp I have is supposed yo be quite good.

Ah thank you! That's really good to know actually. I'm far away from being ablr to afford that gradient of equipment!

I think I'm missing your point. Storage space isn't the issue here. It's that I stream music. I don't own or have FLAC files on my desktop or phone. And I'm not sure I want to switch to being music piece by piece. And my understanding is that MQA is supposed to be of slightly higher quality than the hi-fi option.

Thank you!! I'm seriously considering the D10 I somehow can't find the Bluetooth protocols used for the MX30, which makes me think it's quite lossy

Thanks for the reply! Here I tend to agree. I know it's technically lossy, but the day I can afford speakers, an amp and dac that are sharp enough that I can hear the loss is not close in my future. I feel like with entry level equipment it does sound slightly better. That being said, I understand that the DAC will be better at decoding, but, is the difference really audible on entry level speakers. Analogous to what I said above, if I had equipment worth 20k I might hear the loss, will the difference be meaningful and worth the hassle of finding a MQA capable DAC on my setup?

Nah, this is for a desktop setup, can be the size of a dictionary for all I care. But I must say, I'm supremely curious about the MQA decoding. There seems to be a lack of information on how valuabe that is to a DAC. Any intel? Thanks for the answer

Hello, I'm contemplating getting a DAC to accompany my amp and speakers. The one I have on my motherboard is underwhelming, and there's a lot of interference. For around 100 bucks, options I'm considering are the Topping D10, D30, MX30, Schiit Modi 3 and the Audioquest Dragonfly Black. I more or less get the difference in what I get between the Topping models, and I guess Topping D30 vs Modi 3 will boil down to taste (for me shipping cost are a barrier to by the Modi 3). However, since I use Tidal, and many music pieces are in MQA format, the trade-off between the dragonfly and Topping/Modi are less clear. Does the MQA decoding from the dragonfly truly make a difference? And if it does, is it enough to offset the sacrifice you make in size? I'm assuming here that since it's much smaller, very close to a USB port and it also contains an amp, the Topping and Modi will have it beat in terms of the precision/detail of the output, and run a lesser risk of being sound-polluted by the USB port. Thanks!

So, I ended up getting the Beyerdynamics DT990 pro 250 ohm with the Fiio Q1 MkII. It works, but if you listen to a lot of classical music like I do, some quiet portions or entire pieces will be disappointingly quiet. I returned the FiiO and swapped it for the Topping NX4 DSD. I'd say that's the perfect combo if portability is what you're looking for. The topping drives the DT990 to a good level on all the music I listen to, and the price difference is not a dealbreaker. I'd recommend the FiiO if you have 32/38/80 ohm headphones, because it does improve the sound quality for a fairly cheap amount. However, for anything with higher resistance I'd be reluctant to say I as impressed, and if dishing out the 50-80 bucks difference for the Topping is an option, I'd go for it.

Thanks! I've tried a bunch of those solutions. So far the best I can do is use the receiver out and connect it to the subwoofer in, via RCA. It works if I turn on the logitech console. But I'm wondering whether the pre-amp out makes any difference for a normal out? In any case, it works fine for now. Thank you for all the answers :)

Hey guys, Have a Denon receiver, and Logitech Z-906 speakers. I'm trying to bypass the dac/amp in the sub woofer. I hooked up all the speakers to the receiver, and they work perfectly. But I'm at a loss as to how I should connect the subwoofer. There's a pre-amp out on the receiver, but with a single out slot, and the only appropriate "in" in the sub is rca (l/r red white cable). Can't find the proper cable. So far, I've tried with a S/PDIF cable from the receiver to two different subs (one had a single in, the logitech I plugged into one of the two RCA entrances) Neither of them produced any sound. (one of them might be dead, the logitech works 100%) Any suggestions on how to hook this up properly.

Hey guys, I find myself really interested in sound setups of late, so I thought I would post a couple of questions here, since research on the topic doesn't always provide me with a clear answer. My primary goal is to maximize the sound quality when listening to music. Firstly, I have a set of Logitech Z906 speakers, which seem to have reasonable sound quality for the price point. They are currently plugged into my desktop pc. I was curious as to whether I should get an external DAC, and if yes which one. (for around 100$) And I'm still confused as to whether routing the sound through an optical cable is better than the 3 part analog cable they also provide. I've read mitigated opinions on the topic. Second, I have a Denon Amp, not sure exaclty which AVR-X model. It is fairly old (about 10 years), but still functional. I would like to hook it up to some speakers and a subwoofer. So far, speakers work fine, and if I plug my Beyerdynamics in, it also works flawlessly. I haven't been able to get a subwoofer to function though. (I've routed it through the pre-out Sub outlet, but I'm unsure which cable I should be using) Not certain whether it's a cable or settings issue. I'd also ideally like to know, given that I will be playing music mostly through my phone, if I should be getting some sort of DAC. Lastly, I'd like to create a cheap setup with speakers (I have), a subwoofer (I have), a cheap amp (have to buy) and a bluetooth diffuser (don't have). Is a DYNAVOX CS-PA-1 + FiiO BTR3 or MicroBTR a good combo, or should I opt for something slightly better? Thank you in advance James

Hey guys, I just bought a Fiio Q1 Mk II to go with my BD 990dt earphones. I recall reading somewhere that in order to get the full benefit out of the dac/amp it needed to be plugged in via the usb to micro usb cable. Firstly, is that true? Secondly, when doing that, it seems like the Q1 also drains the battery of whatever hardware I'm using to recharge its own battery. Of course, this is undesirable since it both defeats the purpose of it having its own battery and also significantly diminishes said battery life. Is there a fix to that (haven't been able to find anything so far)? Thanks in advance James

Thanks a lot!! Yes it's quite helpful. My preference would of course be the open back variant. But I'm a student, so my coworkers are students in the library. Suppose I'm listening on a mild volume setting, I'm worried the bleed would annoy the select few people not using earphones/earbuds themselves. (Linus in his video says they'll hear as much as you, which of course is not desirable) Do you think I would disturb were you in that position?

Hey, I'm looking to substitute my audio technica ATH M50X headphones, due to a broken hinge. (Earcup keeps falling off, loose wire, etc.) Usage is mostly going to be listening at home (20%), when I study in the library (75%) and commuting (5%). I will play music using either my smartphone or computer. I've ordered a FiiO Q1 Mk II, because I read that an amp/dac improves sound quality. I currently use Tidal to stream music (HiFi and Masters only) I'm considering an open back option, however, my concern is that the sound leakage will bother my peers. How big of an issue is that? This option would make me lean towards the Beyerdynamics dt990. Conversely, if it's an issue, I'd go for the closed back option, in which case I'm torn between getting the Beyerdynamics dt770 or sticking to a new pair of M50X. Lastly, if I go for any Bayerdynamic setup, the usually offer 32, 80 and 250 ohm sets. Considering the FiiO Q1 usage at all times, is the 250 ohm the best option, or should I stick to the 80 ohm variant. Price of all the options are within my range, floating at around 120$. I selected those options because my priority is sound neutrality. (80-90% of my listening is classical music). I'm open to suggestions for headphones that achieve that goal in a similar price range, or another portable DAC/Amp suggestion if you have anything better around 100-120$.

I recently had my eyes on the Lenovo Legion series, since the only compromise I would be making is battery life. I've kinda gotten use to just pack my charger if I'm going to be dependent on my laptop that day. Around 1000 Swiss Francs, but I can go above or below by about 20%. I mind not having a Full HD display, the rest is not that important, media consumption is a secondary use. I would like to be able to upgrade the RAM, given how RAM consumption is evolving and that I would rather not have to change my computer in 2 years again. https://en.toppreise.ch/index.php This is the link to an indexing site, which will show you the best price for each product in Switzerland. Thanks for looking into it