Less than 100€ DAC vs MOBO audio

[leyo96]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

check out the FiiO units then

Thanks for all the answers.

 

Fiio EK10 85€

Fiio K3 100€

SMSL M3 80€

BlackPJenny FX-Audio Dac-x6 78€

 

What do you suggest?

[rice guru]

12 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

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

 

Unfortunate - but check out the FiiO units then.

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

 

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.

I don't max the amp completely. but when playing games  and my keyboard is closer its better to use the keyboard as volume control otherwise I use my amp as volume control while watching movies or listening to music. on my amp loud but not too loud for my headphone is about at 2:00 I would keep it there and if I need the quick volume control I'll just use the keyboard. 

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, rice guru said:

I don't max the amp completely. but when playing games  and my keyboad is closer its better to use the keyboard as volume control otherwise I use my amp as volume control while watching movies or listening to music. on my amp loud but not too lou for my headphone is about at 2:00 I would keep t there and if I need the quick volume control I'll just use the keyboard. 

Oh okay that's fair.

[rice guru]

29 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Thanks for all the answers.

 

Fiio EK10 85€

Fiio K3 100€

SMSL M3 80€

BlackPJenny FX-Audio Dac-x6 78€

 

What do you suggest?

If you want to maximize what you can get for your budget I lean towards k3 it performs and has the least amount of flaws. But if you just want something that sounds better any of them should do. Just be wary of each unit's flaw. As they all have flaws. Especially the m3 as you can't use usb. Ifyour Mobo support optical audio your good. These are pretty well revied amps anyway and a little bit of research goes along way.

[leyo96]

6 minutes ago, rice guru said:

If you want to maximize what you can get for your budget I lean towards k3 it performs and has the least amount of flaws. But if you just want something that sounds better any of them should do. Just be wary of each unit's flaw. As they all have flaws. Especially the m3 as you can't use usb. Ifyour Mobo support optical audio your good. These are pretty well revied amps anyway and a little bit of research goes along way.

It has optical audio out. Is usb or optical better?

 

Stupid question #2: Does this work as a dac as well? I see an output jack and output knob and I was (maybe) looking for a xlr interface for my microphone set up.

[rice guru]

they should all work as DACs. honestly I don't hear a difference between optical or usb it's just factor really. if you have a good dac it shouldn't matter

[leyo96]

Since I'm already here I have another probably stupid question: in the audio settings in windows what should I put for sample rate and bit depth? What does it do? thanks

[rice guru]

oh nvm I didint realize you were talking about a interdace. yes it should work as a dac. not sure how it will sound but it should work

[rice guru]

4 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Since I'm already here I have another probably stupid question: in the audio settings in windows what should I put for sample rate and bit depth? What does it do? thanks

the sample rate depends on your gear . not too sure about bit depth

[dalekphalm]

6 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Since I'm already here I have another probably stupid question: in the audio settings in windows what should I put for sample rate and bit depth? What does it do? thanks

Realistically you should leave these as the default settings unless you know what you're doing.

[rice guru]

but for my sdac and fiio e10k I have 24 bit @96khz

[Tz000]

3 hours ago, leyo96 said:

Thanks for all the answers.

 

Fiio EK10 85€

Fiio K3 100€

SMSL M3 80€

BlackPJenny FX-Audio Dac-x6 78€

 

What do you suggest?

I would get the DAC X6 again in a heart beat.. I was looking at all those when I made my purchase and the versatility of the X6 got me,  I could run this off my PS4, XBOX, PC, TV, LAPTOP, CABLE BOX anything with an audio output I could push it through this unit and use headphones or output to my stereo speakers in my living room with ease via the RCA outputs on the back.   After reading countless reviews online etc the FiiO units from what I remember were really bass heavy and the amp is sub par at least in the K10 I have no info on the K3.   The M3 lacks inputs and the build quality is not as nice imo.

 

 

 

The Amp is quite powerful for this price range my HD6XX at 300ohm are about the limit for it but anything less than that are powered with ease.   

 

I have owned it for over 2 years and have not have a single issue with it.  

 

Also was reading earlier you were looking at just DAC's which would be fine if your running it into a set of speakers or amplifier but you You can't use just a DAC with headphones unless it has a headphone amp built in most only have rca in / out.

 

+ the x6 is the cheapest on your list,  what could go wrong?

[rice guru]

8 minutes ago, Tz000 said:

I would get the DAC X6 again in a heart beat.. I was looking at all those when I made my purchase and the versatility of the X6 got me,  I could run this off my PS4, XBOX, PC, TV, LAPTOP, CABLE BOX anything with an audio output I could push it through this unit and use headphones or output to my stereo speakers in my living room with ease via the RCA outputs on the back.   After reading countless reviews online etc the FiiO units from what I remember were really bass heavy and the amp is sub par at least in the K10 I have no info on the K3.   The M3 lacks inputs and the build quality is not as nice imo.

 

 

 

The Amp is quite powerful for this price range my HD6XX at 300ohm are about the limit for it but anything less than that are powered with ease.   

 

I have owned it for over 2 years and have not have a single issue with it.  

 

Also was reading earlier you were looking at just DAC's which would be fine if your running it into a set of speakers or amplifier but you You can't use just a DAC with headphones unless it has a headphone amp built in most only have rca in / out.

 

+ the x6 is the cheapest on your list,  what could go wrong?

going off the back of this guy your using amazon. if you don't like it or don't see a difference you can always return it. no matter what you choose honestly they are all pretty good at doing their respective jobs. 

[dalekphalm]

8 minutes ago, Tz000 said:

I would get the DAC X6 again in a heart beat.. I was looking at all those when I made my purchase and the versatility of the X6 got me,  I could run this off my PS4, XBOX, PC, TV, LAPTOP, CABLE BOX anything with an audio output I could push it through this unit and use headphones or output to my stereo speakers in my living room with ease via the RCA outputs on the back.   After reading countless reviews online etc the FiiO units from what I remember were really bass heavy and the amp is sub par at least in the K10 I have no info on the K3.   The M3 lacks inputs and the build quality is not as nice imo.

 

 

 

The Amp is quite powerful for this price range my HD6XX at 300ohm are about the limit for it but anything less than that are powered with ease.   

 

I have owned it for over 2 years and have not have a single issue with it.  

 

Also was reading earlier you were looking at just DAC's which would be fine if your running it into a set of speakers or amplifier but you You can't use just a DAC with headphones unless it has a headphone amp built in most only have rca in / out.

 

+ the x6 is the cheapest on your list,  what could go wrong?

Sorry - why would you need a headphone amp? If his headphones work fine on, say, onboard audio (which the vast majority doesn't have a headphone amp), it should work fine here as well.

 

You can definitely benefit from an Amp with the 6xx, especially if you find the max volume too quiet, but unless I'm missing something, the amp is definitely not required.

[rice guru]

Just now, rice guru said:

going off the back of this guy your using amazon. if you don't like it or don't see a difference you can always return it. no matter what you choose honestly they are all pretty good at doing their respective jobs. 

also the K3 is a much improved K10  it has a nicer sounding amp provides the same amount of power a e10k  but it has a good amp. the k3 is basically a non portable fiio A5 

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Sorry - why would you need a headphone amp? If his headphones work fine on, say, onboard audio (which the vast majority doesn't have a headphone amp), it should work fine here as well.

 

You can definitely benefit from an Amp with the 6xx, especially if you find the max volume too quiet, but unless I'm missing something, the amp is definitely not required.

it's ,more about value for the money. since the o2 and fulla aren't available in his country. these are options he can go for. and if it works fine on on board audio he wouldn't be considering an upgrade.

 while I was looking around and doing my own testing with the sdac a standalone dac is not enough to power anything as all it does is create a signal a separate amp can amplify. hense why everyone reccomends stacks or just buy an amp first then a DAC. but if he gets a combo unit he can stay within or under budget and be able to drive his headphone with a new DAC. but the fact that the dac output of a fiio and a sdac cant push a 55 ohm akg k240 just off the dacs alone tell me that it isn't enough to power say even a momentum which OP uses. 

[dalekphalm]

Just now, rice guru said:

it's ,more about value for the money. since the o2 and fulla aren't available in his country. these are options he can go for. and if it works fine on on board audio he wouldn't be considering an upgrade.

 while I was looking around and doing my own testing with the sdac a standalone dac is not enough to power anything as all it does is create a signal a separate amp can amplify. hense why everyone reccomends stacks or just buy an amp first then a DAC. but if he gets a combo unit he can stay within or under budget and be able to drive his headphone with a new DAC. but the fact that the dac output of a fiio and a sdac cant push a 55 ohm akg k240 just off the dacs alone tell me that it isn't enough to power say even a momentum which OP uses. 

Fair enough - anyway, I did mention that the OP may well be better off (value wise) buying a Combo unit even if he didn't specifically need an amp.

[leyo96]

Wow guys, thanks to everybody for the support. As you said I'm gonna buy the x6 with Amazon and I hope that I won't return it. 

Quick question: usb or optic? 

[dalekphalm]

17 minutes ago, leyo96 said:

Wow guys, thanks to everybody for the support. As you said I'm gonna buy the x6 with Amazon and I hope that I won't return it. 

Quick question: usb or optic? 

I would use USB if possible. It'll supply power to the DAC and provide the audio data.

 

Optical and USB are both digital connections, so quality should be identical.

[Guest]

@vertix is my audio guru.

Please come help!

[-BirdiE-]

5 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Sorry - why would you need a headphone amp? If his headphones work fine on, say, onboard audio (which the vast majority doesn't have a headphone amp), it should work fine here as well.

I remember when I knew nothing about audio....

 

Go try plugging 103 dB/V headphones into the RCA outs of a DAC. Let me know how that goes for you.

[vertix]

this is heresy

[rice guru]

39 minutes ago, -BirdiE- said:

I remember when I knew nothing about audio....

 

Go try plugging 103 dB/V headphones into the RCA outs of a DAC. Let me know how that goes for you.

I tried telling him

 

[xtroria]

by DAC, you mean a dac and an amp because a DAC will not power a headphone by itself.

 

Why would you need an external amp + dac? Does it not get loud enough when you're on 90% on your onboard audio?

 

If it does, and you're not getting any hiss or EM static, you don't need an additional amp / dac.

 

If you still want an external amp + dac, I recommend not cheaping out by only spending 100 euro and spend some proper money to get something like magni + modi combo

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, xtroria said:

by DAC, you mean a dac and an amp because a DAC will not power a headphone by itself.

 

Why would you need an external amp + dac? Does it not get loud enough when you're on 90% on your onboard audio?

 

If it does, and you're not getting any hiss or EM static, you don't need an additional amp / dac.

 

If you still want an external amp + dac, I recommend not cheaping out by only spending 100 euro and spend some proper money to get something like magni + modi combo

yuoui can getr a decent combo unit for less than a 100 but the magni modi isnt even the best option at the price point. the magni modi recently got dethroned by amps like the atom and monolith LS. but he also stated that he can't import  anything so hes pretty limited to amazon italy.