Jump to content

Less than 100€ DAC vs MOBO audio

leyo96

Hello,

 

I'm building my first pc and since I really care about sound I was wondering if I'd benefit from a not too expensive DAC.

 

My mobo is a MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon and my headphones are Sennheiser Momentum 1.

 

I mainly game and care about sound in game, but most importantly I always listen to music, unfortunately for convenience most of my songs are on Spotify at 320kbps but I have some FLAC albums.

Even more important for me is audio in movies, I only watch movies at blu ray quality without audio compression, nothing like Netflix, only 50GB movies lol.

 

Would I benefit from a "cheap" (under 100€) DAC? If yes what would you recommend me?

If no, how much would I need to spend to get a real audio quality improvement and what would you recommend?

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

A $99 Schitt Fulla 2 destroys onboard.

Not available in Italy unfortunately. Any other option?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Not available in Italy unfortunately. Any other option?

Thanks

Objective 2?

My life

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Not available in Italy unfortunately. Any other option?

Thanks

Simple and effective unit is the FX-Audio Dac X6.  Cheap quite a powerful amp and the dac I can tell you is better than the MSI gaming pro carbon on board audio as I have a B350 Msi gaming pro carbon.

 

https://www.amazon.it/BlackPJenny-FX-Audio-Preamplificatore-Decodifica-Amplificatore/dp/B07JWLHNWX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551752993&sr=8-1&keywords=fx-audio+dac+x6

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Himommies said:

Objective 2?

Nope

6 minutes ago, Tz000 said:

Simple and effective unit is the FX-Audio Dac X6.  Cheap quite a powerful amp and the dac I can tell you is better than the MSI gaming pro carbon on board audio as I have a B350 Msi gaming pro carbon.

 

https://www.amazon.it/BlackPJenny-FX-Audio-Preamplificatore-Decodifica-Amplificatore/dp/B07JWLHNWX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551752993&sr=8-1&keywords=fx-audio+dac+x6

 

 

Well 78€ is in my range if I can get a noticeable better audio. Do you just connect it via optical cable and that's it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Do you just connect it via optical cable and that's it?

Yeah, you can do that or use USB. You'll have to give it external power though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, vertix said:

Yeah, you can do that or use USB. You'll have to give it external power though.

Is the audio quality impacted if I connect the DAC to my monitor usb hub and then to my pc? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Is the audio quality impacted if I connect the DAC to my monitor usb hub and then to my pc? 

I wouldn't recommend as you might get some EMI or noise, but you can just use optical and feed it power through the power supply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

fiio k3, micca origen g2 , fx audio DAc x6 ,smsl m3 are all good dac/amp combos. if you want a standalone dac Grab a Sdac from massdrop the dac itself plus shipping should be enough to cover you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, rice guru said:

fiio k3, micca origen g2 , fx audio DAc x6 ,smsl m3 are all good dac/amp combos. if you want a standalone dac Grab a Sdac from massdrop the dac itself plus shipping should be enough to cover you. 

Do I need just a dac or dac + amp? I don't know if it matters anything but my headphones are super easy to power, with my msi laptop I'm around 30 volume most of the time in windows. 

 

Thanks for the help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, leyo96 said:

Do I need just a dac or dac + amp? I don't know if it matters anything but my headphones are super easy to power, with my msi laptop I'm around 30 volume most of the time in windows. 

 

Thanks for the help

Realistically you only need an Amp if your headphones are too quiet. Ideally, an Amp doesn't change the sound at all, it just boosts (or, one could say... Amplifies *ba da tiss*) the signal to create a louder volume.

 

So if your headphones can already go as loud as you want them to go, you won't see any benefit to an Amp.

 

With that in mind, some Amps colour the sound a bit (change the way the sound "sounds") - whether that's a good thing or not is personal preference. Purists would argue it's bad. But it comes down to whether you like the particular sound it creates or not.

 

Generally speaking, headphones with a higher impedance will require an Amp - this is not a strict rule, but just a general rule of thumb.

 

In your case, I'd skip the Amp unless you already have issues with maxing the volume and the headphones being too quiet.

For Sale: Meraki Bundle

 

iPhone Xr 128 GB Product Red - HP Spectre x360 13" (i5 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD) - HP ZBook 15v G5 15" (i7-8850H - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - NVIDIA Quadro P600)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Realistically you only need an Amp if your headphones are too quiet. Ideally, an Amp doesn't change the sound at all, it just boosts (or, one could say... Amplifies *ba da tiss*) the signal to create a louder volume.

 

So if your headphones can already go as loud as you want them to go, you won't see any benefit to an Amp.

 

With that in mind, some Amps colour the sound a bit (change the way the sound "sounds") - whether that's a good thing or not is personal preference. Purists would argue it's bad. But it comes down to whether you like the particular sound it creates or not.

 

Generally speaking, headphones with a higher impedance will require an Amp - this is not a strict rule, but just a general rule of thumb.

 

In your case, I'd skip the Amp unless you already have issues with maxing the volume and the headphones being too quiet.

Thanks for the explanation.

Since I don't think that I need an AMP, what budget DAC would you recommend me?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Thanks for the explanation.

Since I don't think that I need an AMP, what budget DAC would you recommend me?

 

Thanks

You've got some fantastic suggestions above - I quite like the O2 DAC's. There's just something nice about designing hardware that is totally open source and available to any Manufacturer that wants to make it.

 

Anything by FiiO and Schiit would also be top notch as well.

For Sale: Meraki Bundle

 

iPhone Xr 128 GB Product Red - HP Spectre x360 13" (i5 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD) - HP ZBook 15v G5 15" (i7-8850H - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - NVIDIA Quadro P600)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

You've got some fantastic suggestions above - I quite like the O2 DAC's. There's just something nice about designing hardware that is totally open source and available to any Manufacturer that wants to make it.

 

Anything by FiiO and Schiit would also be top notch as well.

What is a O2 dac?

Cheapest Schiit available is above my budget at 145€.

Fiio E10k is the cheapest I found on Amazon Italy at 85€

 

Thanks for the help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

What is a O2 dac?

Cheapest Schiit available is above my budget at 145€.

Fiio E10k is the cheapest I found on Amazon Italy at 85€

 

Thanks for the help

O2 DAC is also called the ODAC - it's made by companies like Mayflower and JDS - though some of them only supply the ODAC in a combo unit w/ the O2 Amp. Here's an example:

https://mayflowerelectronics.com/odac-rev-b-stand-alone/

 

Keep in mind that if you find a good combo DAC/Amp that fits in your price range, there's nothing wrong with buying it. Sure, the Amp won't benefit you, but if it's cheaper than a similar DAC standalone, you might as well.

 

The FiiO E10K would also be a good choice, btw.

For Sale: Meraki Bundle

 

iPhone Xr 128 GB Product Red - HP Spectre x360 13" (i5 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD) - HP ZBook 15v G5 15" (i7-8850H - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - NVIDIA Quadro P600)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

What is a O2 dac?

Cheapest Schiit available is above my budget at 145€.

Fiio E10k is the cheapest I found on Amazon Italy at 85€

 

Thanks for the help

the o2 is DAC made by JDS labs but without an amp I'm not sure how you would control the volume without an amp because DACs are made so they output one set volume and the amp takes that signal and amplifies it. your amp also serves as your volume control. personally I would go with a DAC/amp unit. the fiio e10k is a pretty good unit I used it for a while but I would splurge on the 15 euros and get the K3 it's newer and is made to replace the e10k as it has superior everything the amp is livelier and had good sounding bass boost along with a super clean dac. it's a great unit for the price

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, rice guru said:

the o2 is DAC made by JDS labs but without an amp I'm not sure how you would control the volume without an amp because DACs are made so they output one set volume and the amp takes that signal and amplifies it.

The same way regular people control volume? The Windows Volume control. Seriously that is not an issue in the slightest.

 

Granted, some people find a volume knob convenient. But the millions of people without a headphone amp get by. That's also why many keyboards have volume controls on them.

 

For Sale: Meraki Bundle

 

iPhone Xr 128 GB Product Red - HP Spectre x360 13" (i5 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD) - HP ZBook 15v G5 15" (i7-8850H - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - NVIDIA Quadro P600)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, dalekphalm said:

The same way regular people control volume? The Windows Volume control. Seriously that is not an issue in the slightest.

 

Granted, some people find a volume knob convenient. But the millions of people without a headphone amp get by. That's also why many keyboards have volume controls on them.

 

yes but I wasn't sure if the ODAC can output enough volume. My sdac and e10k can't just tried them with my akg k240 and dt 990 before making my comment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

O2 DAC is also called the ODAC - it's made by companies like Mayflower and JDS - though some of them only supply the ODAC in a combo unit w/ the O2 Amp. Here's an example:

https://mayflowerelectronics.com/odac-rev-b-stand-alone/

 

Keep in mind that if you find a good combo DAC/Amp that fits in your price range, there's nothing wrong with buying it. Sure, the Amp won't benefit you, but if it's cheaper than a similar DAC standalone, you might as well.

 

The FiiO E10K would also be a good choice, btw.

I can't seem to finda a ODAC in Italy unfortunately

7 minutes ago, rice guru said:

the o2 is DAC made by JDS labs but without an amp I'm not sure how you would control the volume without an amp because DACs are made so they output one set volume and the amp takes that signal and amplifies it. your amp also serves as your volume control. personally I would go with a DAC/amp unit. the fiio e10k is a pretty good unit I used it for a while but I would splurge on the 15 euros and get the K3 it's newer and is made to replace the e10k as it has superior everything the amp is livelier and had good sounding bass boost along with a super clean dac. it's a great unit for the price

If you tell me it's worth the extra 15€ I can buy the K3, but if I can find something cheaper that's better than the onboard sound I'd be happy as well.

 

Stupid question: when you have an amp do you control the volume from windows and keep the amp volume still or viceversa?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, leyo96 said:

I can't seem to finda a ODAC in Italy unfortunately

If you tell me it's worth the extra 15€ I can buy the K3, but if I can find something cheaper that's better than the onboard sound I'd be happy as well.

 

Stupid question: when you have an amp do you control the volume from windows and keep the amp volume still or viceversa?

Thanks

yep you can control the volume on windows and on the unit itself. I do it very often. I max out my headphones through my amp and I use my Keyboards volume controls to control overall volume through windows. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

the e10k should sound better than your onboard audio but I would avoid it. and instead get a smsl m3 or fx audio dac x6 if you wanna go cheaper than the k3. they all have good dacs but the smsl and the fx audio have superior amps than the fiio. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

the e10k should sound better than your onboard audio but I would avoid it. and instead get a smsl m3 or fx audio dac x6 if you wanna go cheaper than the k3. they all have good dacs but the smsl and the fx audio have superior amps than the fiio. 

They are both the same price. Which one would you recommend?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, rice guru said:

yes but I wasn't sure if the ODAC can output enough volume. My sdac and e10k can't just tried them with my akg k240 and dt 990 before making my comment.

If his onboard audio is loud enough, then the DAC will be too. He didn't mention anything about the sound being too quiet.

 

10 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

I can't seem to finda a ODAC in Italy unfortunately

Unfortunate - but check out the FiiO units then.

10 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

If you tell me it's worth the extra 15€ I can buy the K3, but if I can find something cheaper that's better than the onboard sound I'd be happy as well.

 

Stupid question: when you have an amp do you control the volume from windows and keep the amp volume still or viceversa?

Thanks

Most people would actually max the Windows volume, and entirely control via the Amp.

 

9 minutes ago, rice guru said:

yep you can control the volume on windows and on the unit itself. I do it very often. I max out my headphones through my amp and I use my Keyboards volume controls to control overall volume through windows. 

Interesting strategy. I wouldn't max out the amp, since you're pumping unnecessary power into them with no benefit. But if it's a good quality Amp, you shouldn't get much (if any) distortion.

For Sale: Meraki Bundle

 

iPhone Xr 128 GB Product Red - HP Spectre x360 13" (i5 - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD) - HP ZBook 15v G5 15" (i7-8850H - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - NVIDIA Quadro P600)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, leyo96 said:

They are both the same price. Which one would you recommend?

Thanks

that depends the dac x6 is an excelent choice if you want more power but they run into issues with 24 bit audio but theyoptical.  have more inputs usb, coax, and , while the m3  has coax and optical no usb and has a weaker amp. personally I would take the plunge and go for fiio K3 as it guarantees you can use it through usb. My first choice for cheaper is DAC x6 even if it does have the issues. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×