Before you buy amp and DAC + recommendations.

[Chairstorm]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

As I also said: today most motherboards have transparent sound and a dac job is to make the sound transparent and the amps job is to well amp the signal the dac sends out.

Oh okay, so getting something aftermarket will make no difference to the quality of the sound. But I would like to hear what youd recommend for amp/dac combos.

[Dackzy]

3 minutes ago, Chairstorm said:

Oh okay, so getting something aftermarket will make no difference to the quality of the sound. But I would like to hear what youd recommend for amp/dac combos.

Just look at the bottom and you will see everything I recommend

[Dackzy]

The first post of course  

[Wolf_Lbh]

1 hour ago, Chairstorm said:

Oh okay, so getting something aftermarket will make no difference to the quality of the sound. But I would like to hear what youd recommend for amp/dac combos.

Super simple breakdown:
Dac = Gets rid of artifacts in audio. If you have none... this does nothing. Also if you get a dac you will need to get an amp.
Amp = Makes sound louder. If your sound can go above what you are comfortable listening to without one... it just means it can go even louder now and you wouldn't use your headphones at that volume anyways. Also provides more power so headphones with a high impedance will require an amp to get a better signal. If possible avoid headphones that need an amp to do their job.

[spwath]

23 minutes ago, Wolf_Lbh said:

Super simple breakdown:
Dac = Gets rid of artifacts in audio. If you have none... this does nothing. Also if you get a dac you will need to get an amp.
Amp = Makes sound louder. If your sound can go above what you are comfortable listening to without one... it just means it can go even louder now and you wouldn't use your headphones at that volume anyways. Also provides more power so headphones with a high impedance will require an amp to get a better signal. If possible avoid headphones that need an amp to do their job.

Yeah, but high impedence doesnt necicarily mean that,  sensitivity is more important.

[Dackzy]

6 hours ago, spwath said:

Yeah, but high impedence doesnt necicarily mean that,  sensitivity is more important.

like I wrote in my post.

[Chairstorm]

So the quality of sound is only ever affected by the headphones? the amp and dac do nothing to the headphones? Wow I thought that it would improve the way things sounded, like being able to hear more detail and improve the different things like bass and mids and such.

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, Chairstorm said:

So the quality of sound is only ever affected by the headphones? the amp and dac do nothing to the headphones? Wow I thought that it would improve the way things sounded, like being able to hear more detail and improve the different things like bass and mids and such.

Tube amps can help some headphones to get better sound by extending the bass and smoothen the over all sound a bit out, but there is a lot of headphones that doesn't like tube amps and they have a long burn in time before they will have the same sound all the time. Well the sound quality can change if you have one of the things I have mentioned wrong with your board, but if you have a motherboard that is 6 years or less old, with no audio problem a dac and amp is a waste.

[Chairstorm]

Alright, thanks! I was about to drop some money on something I didn't need then. What will objectively improve the sound coming to my headphone from my computer then? a new sound card or something like that?

[Dackzy]

12 minutes ago, Chairstorm said:

Alright, thanks! I was about to drop some money on something I didn't need then. What will objectively improve the sound coming to my headphone from my computer then? a new sound card or something like that?

if you don't have any of the things I have listed, then you won't notice a difference and I would never recommend going for a sound card over an amp dac combo if you can.

[Tech Lover]

nice post.

i would like to add something here as well. people really need to know the difference between better audio experience and "meh" kinda audio experience.

its all about how well you get your experience. IM NOT saying one should invest everything they have in audio gear, but when you buy a nice pair of headphones you should do should research and look for best source to power your phones WITHIN YOUR BUDGET!

 

and to have a better audio experience is not too expensive as some people here say in audio section. the funny thing is I see many people who have fancy headphones and fancy audio gear but they say they cant feel difference between them and mobo audio, thats either hypocritical or just medical issue

 

again pls dont take my comment in the wrong way, im not saying putting too much money (when you are on a budget) will make your ear dance, but its also not THAT expensive to get proper eargasm with good research and going for best combination for your headphones. (in simpler terms, dont buy $200 amp/dac to run your earpods for skype)

[Dackzy]

8 minutes ago, Tech Lover said:

and to have a better audio experience is not too expensive as some people here say in audio section. the funny thing is I see many people who have fancy headphones and fancy audio gear but they say they cant feel difference between them and mobo audio, thats either hypocritical or just medical issue

If your motherboard has transparent sound and you get a dac and amp that is also transparrent then they should sound the same. Some headphones like the HE 400i and He 560 just wants all the power they can get and they will sound a little better if you give them more power, but this situation is really rare.To be 100% honest if I didn't get my O2 ODAC combo for 120€ I would just have gotten a amp. The thing you are refering to is most likly because people dont know what transparent sound sounds like and therefore they will notice a upgrade when they get a dac and amp.

[Tech Lover]

18 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

If your motherboard has transparent sound and you get a dac and amp that is also transparrent then they should sound the same. Some headphones like the HE 400i and He 560 just wants all the power they can get and they will sound a little better if you give them more power, but this situation is really rare.To be 100% honest if I didn't get my O2 ODAC combo for 120€ I would just have gotten a amp. The thing you are refering to is most likly because people dont know what transparent sound sounds like and therefore they will notice a upgrade when they get a dac and amp.

 

you are right, and im also adding to that as well. 

audio being transparent is not just one aspect of powering some decent headphones. as you have pointed out, Planars, usually tend to perform better with more power, and so do some of the top tier dynamic cans. 

and i also got O2 ODAC combo from JDS Labs, and the reason of its existence is to provide the most clean, uncolored sound with more than enough oomph for most of the headphones in the market. especially for the people who are on a budget. 

my point here was, that i have literally seen people power their HD 650 with onboard audio where they have to crank volume to max and they are not satisfied with their audio, not knowing that they can get many times better audio if they invest just a little in good amp.

im just recommending people to get the proper combo for their headphones. u can never expect to run say, HE560, from motherboard and listen to them with their full potential. you WILL need a proper source to power them, do go for extreme, but dont power them from ur onboard audio. 

investing a little in good amp would benefit you in long term.

[BoredErica]

Oh lord.

[Dackzy]

33 minutes ago, Tech Lover said:

 

you are right, and im also adding to that as well. 

audio being transparent is not just one aspect of powering some decent headphones. as you have pointed out, Planars, usually tend to perform better with more power, and so do some of the top tier dynamic cans. 

and i also got O2 ODAC combo from JDS Labs, and the reason of its existence is to provide the most clean, uncolored sound with more than enough oomph for most of the headphones in the market. especially for the people who are on a budget. 

my point here was, that i have literally seen people power their HD 650 with onboard audio where they have to crank volume to max and they are not satisfied with their audio, not knowing that they can get many times better audio if they invest just a little in good amp.

im just recommending people to get the proper combo for their headphones. u can never expect to run say, HE560, from motherboard and listen to them with their full potential. you WILL need a proper source to power them, do go for extreme, but dont power them from ur onboard audio. 

investing a little in good amp would benefit you in long term.

As I said if you cant power your headphones probably you should get a amp and motherboards like the Asus Formula line up has really good amps on them so they can power HD 600 and HD 650 (I have tried it on my formula VI). Most people wont need a amp other than the one they have one their onboard and I would not recomend as you can see an amp under 100$ since then you get into what motherboards have.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Dark_wizzie said:

Oh lord.

I know right  

[DennyBoy]

I have a question, I want to hook up my Audioengine A5+ to a DAC. My friend is willing to sell me a Focusrite Scarlett Solo for cheap and was wondering if it would make a good DAC for my A5+, or would I have better results by getting let say a Schiit Modi 2 or a Audioengine D1. Can the DAC on the Scarlett Solo compare to the DAC's from the Schiit, and Audioengine? 

[Pomfinator]

7 minutes ago, DennyBoy said:

I have a question, I want to hook up my Audioengine A5+ to a DAC. My friend is willing to sell me a Focusrite Scarlett Solo for cheap and was wondering if it would make a good DAC for my A5+, or would I have better results by getting let say a Schiit Modi 2 or a Audioengine D1. Can the DAC on the Scarlett Solo compare to the DAC's from the Schiit, and Audioengine? 

Or you could save money and just not buy a DAC.  If you don't have noise problems, don't get one.

[DennyBoy]

3 minutes ago, Pomfinator said:

Or you could save money and just not buy a DAC.  If you don't have noise problems, don't get one.

Getting a DAC wont increase my audio quality to much? Besides that, does the Scarlett Solo make for a good DAC? It also has a headphone jack as a bonus too + mic inputs if i decide to get a nicer mic down the road. Like how does it compare to the Schiit Modi 2 and D1?

[Pomfinator]

1 hour ago, DennyBoy said:

Getting a DAC wont increase my audio quality to much? Besides that, does the Scarlett Solo make for a good DAC? It also has a headphone jack as a bonus too + mic inputs if i decide to get a nicer mic down the road. Like how does it compare to the Schiit Modi 2 and D1?

Theres this misconception that DACs at entry-level price points increase quality.  They don't, similar DACs are found on your onboard.  Since you like the connectivity of the Scarlett so much, I can't convince you to not buy it.  The Modi is just a DAC, and the D1 isn't exactly the best value for money.

 

Are you producing content? If you are then for sure get the Scarlett, but if you aren't, just stick to USB mics and get a headphone amp that has line-level outs for your A5+.

[Dackzy]

1 hour ago, Pomfinator said:

Theres this misconception that DACs at entry-level price points increase quality.  They don't, similar DACs are found on your onboard.  Since you like the connectivity of the Scarlett so much, I can't convince you to not buy it.  The Modi is just a DAC, and the D1 isn't exactly the best value for money.

 

Are you producing content? If you are then for sure get the Scarlett, but if you aren't, just stick to USB mics and get a headphone amp that has line-level outs for your A5+.

Thanks for taking this

[Dackzy]

I wont bite if you ask stupid questions because there are none.

Or will I?

 

[SuicideAnomaly]

On 3/14/2016 at 6:26 AM, Dackzy said:

As I said if you cant power your headphones probably you should get a amp and motherboards like the Asus Formula line up has really good amps on them so they can power HD 600 and HD 650 (I have tried it on my formula VI). Most people wont need a amp other than the one they have one their onboard and I would not recomend as you can see an amp under 100$ since then you get into what motherboards have.

Jesus, how have you been able to trial such a large variety of headphones with your computer?!

[Dackzy]

8 hours ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

Jesus, how have you been able to trial such a large variety of headphones with your computer?!

I know people who owns the headphones, one of my friends has 20+ headphones.

[SuicideAnomaly]

Nice!