Before you buy amp and DAC + recommendations.

[livermore]

I have a question and hope someone here can help me.

 

I have a 2.1 speaker system on my PC and I'd like to connect my second to it also.
I bought on ebay an audio switch which allows me to choose which PC is connected to the speakers.
Despite the switch do its work, I simply can't use it because of the white noise that generates on the speakers.
I open the switch box and it's just wires connecting to the switch itself, without any type of electronics to filter that white noise.

 

Do you guys know of any switch that do filter the sound or the only way to clear that white noise is to buy an amp?
By the way, which would be more suitable for my needs, a dac or an amp?

 

Thank you.
 

[nox_]

Please recommend dac+amp that would be very portable but would be good enough to connect 2 - 6 speakers and would not break the bank, budget not defined for now, but maybe 200 - 300 euros, but if there are something very light and portable for more money, I will consider it.Portability and light weight are top priority in this case.I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to audio related things so if I did not specify something important,sorry about that. @rice guru Could you maybe offer some advice?

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, noxdeouroboros said:

Please recommend dac+amp that would be very portable but would be good enough to connect 2 - 6 speakers and would not break the bank, budget not defined for now, but maybe 200 - 300 euros, but if there are something very light and portable for more money, I will consider it.Portability and light weight are top priority in this case.I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to audio related things so if I did not specify something important,sorry about that. @rice guru Could you maybe offer some advice?

Sorry man I'm not a speaker guy but @Derkoli and maybe @King Poet might be able to help because I know they have pretty sweet setups with speakers. And I know this guy is pretty controversial in the audio world check out zeos's Reddit because he should  have recommendations for your use case because for how much he loves his heaphones he more of a speaker guy.

  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/&ved=2ahUKEwiUvtKSkq_hAhVFba0KHTuGDkgQjjgwAHoECAYQAw&usg=AOvVaw3YGETuPHsQ8gEh99c1o3qL

[Derkoli]

4 hours ago, rice guru said:

Sorry man I'm not a speaker guy but @Derkoli and maybe @King Poet might be able to help because I know they have pretty sweet setups with speakers. And I know this guy is pretty controversial in the audio world check out zeos's Reddit because he should  have recommendations for your use case because for how much he loves his heaphones he more of a speaker guy.

  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/&ved=2ahUKEwiUvtKSkq_hAhVFba0KHTuGDkgQjjgwAHoECAYQAw&usg=AOvVaw3YGETuPHsQ8gEh99c1o3qL

[Derkoli]

7 hours ago, noxdeouroboros said:

Please recommend dac+amp that would be very portable but would be good enough to connect 2 - 6 speakers and would not break the bank, budget not defined for now, but maybe 200 - 300 euros, but if there are something very light and portable for more money, I will consider it.Portability and light weight are top priority in this case.I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to audio related things so if I did not specify something important,sorry about that. @rice guru Could you maybe offer some advice?

if the speakers are powered (self amplified) or you have an amp, any portable dac would work, as the dac doesnt actually power the speakers, it only gives the amp signal. Have a look at fiio's stuff or an audioquest dragonfly. https://www.amazon.co.uk/AudioQuest-DragonFly-Digital-Audio-Converter/dp/B01DFMV4NQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=dragonfly+red&qid=1554144999&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Or, if you can stretch the budget a bit, have a look at chord's stuff. Finding a dac+amp for 2-6 speaker that is portable is uh kind of stretching it. My home theater setup can use kilo watts at peak power (it is 15.2.5 though... meh. proves a point in my little mind.)

[loppantorkel]

So... I've got an old, sporadically upgraded PC from 2010 which is working great. I've been thinking about replacing it but doesn't really got enough incentive to do so. Games are working fine. Getting a new, bigger screen isn't an option until I get a new PC. However, doing a sound upgrade now might be feasible. Soo... I find out you do DACs and Amps now instead of soundcards?! The thing is, I've got an old Yamaha Stereo amp in the closet... Can I use this to the PC anyhow?

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, loppantorkel said:

So... I've got an old, sporadically upgraded PC from 2010 which is working great. I've been thinking about replacing it but doesn't really got enough incentive to do so. Games are working fine. Getting a new, bigger screen isn't an option until I get a new PC. However, doing a sound upgrade now might be feasible. Soo... I find out you do DACs and Amps now instead of soundcards?! The thing is, I've got an old Yamaha Stereo amp in the closet... Can I use this to the PC anyhow?

You should only ever consider this if you have good speakers or headphones to pair then with. Otherwise stick with onboard

[loppantorkel]

2 hours ago, rice guru said:

You should only ever consider this if you have good speakers or headphones to pair then with. Otherwise stick with onboard

Yea.. I'm looking at new headphones and speakers too. It started with me needing a new mic (old integrated mic in headset needs to be replaced). Might as well go for a separated mic headphone this time... maybe a bit better than before - this is where DACs and Amps start to appear.. There's a breaking point where I just give up if things get too complicated. Getting a DAC for my old Amp is doable. Atm I'm looking at Blue Mic Snowball, maybe Yamaha NS-333 Speakers and some DAC, if this should work well with my old Yamaha Stereo amp and PC...

[CoolChris]

Speaker-wise, jbl monitors are still great. Personally, jbl lsr205 and headphones, I like AKG K240.

[Neewbieaudio]

Wauw, what a thread! First of all thanks! I have some questions. I’m a total neewbie. I get that I might not need an upgrade. But tis the summer and I have so much free time. Ive gone and replaced my old 15” Macbook Pro workhorse for a new 2018-model for the USB-C only to change it for a WINDOWS! PC. Yes, I did that. Holy smokes. My new PC is so freakin’ fast and cost under half of the what the Macbook Pro did, albeit I had to spend a lot of time researching pc components. 

 

I also spent an obscene amount of time on keyboard research. Switches, PCB’s, cases and all. 

 

So then I saw a guy on reddit with a crazy portable audiorig and now I’m here. Ready to spend so I can perfect my reddit/desktopsetup photo. 

 

I do mostly listin to music on my iphone. I do play a lot of pc games. My headphones are these: https://aiaiai.dk/headphones/tma-2/wireless-2-preset

they work in both wored and wireless. 

 

I just got the highest Tidal tier. So I should have enough source material. It says Master from the PC and iPhone but there’s something about MQA I need. 

 

So I know not much. I’m after a thing that looks nice in my photo and gives me better sound. 

 

It should be a fairly cheap dac/amp/combo for desktop. 

 

Or ...

 

Something portable. Should I get a firefly red? 

 

Is MQA neccesary? Is Tidal stupid? 

 

Also. I can already hear a difference between 320 kps from Apple Music and Tidal HiFi. Especially at the end of ‘Let Down’ from Radiohead. There are bells in the HiFi version which aren’t there in the mp3. 

 

Please help me! 

[rice guru]

Get equalizer APO. Make the bass flat, make the lower mids flat and turn up the highs and upper mids a few db 

This comment somehow posted int he wrong forum post

[Derkoli]

On 8/4/2019 at 8:43 AM, Neewbieaudio said:

Wauw, what a thread! First of all thanks! I have some questions. I’m a total neewbie. I get that I might not need an upgrade. But tis the summer and I have so much free time. Ive gone and replaced my old 15” Macbook Pro workhorse for a new 2018-model for the USB-C only to change it for a WINDOWS! PC. Yes, I did that. Holy smokes. My new PC is so freakin’ fast and cost under half of the what the Macbook Pro did, albeit I had to spend a lot of time researching pc components. 

 

I also spent an obscene amount of time on keyboard research. Switches, PCB’s, cases and all. 

 

So then I saw a guy on reddit with a crazy portable audiorig and now I’m here. Ready to spend so I can perfect my reddit/desktopsetup photo. 

 

I do mostly listin to music on my iphone. I do play a lot of pc games. My headphones are these: https://aiaiai.dk/headphones/tma-2/wireless-2-preset

they work in both wored and wireless. 

 

I just got the highest Tidal tier. So I should have enough source material. It says Master from the PC and iPhone but there’s something about MQA I need. 

 

So I know not much. I’m after a thing that looks nice in my photo and gives me better sound. 

 

It should be a fairly cheap dac/amp/combo for desktop. 

 

Or ...

 

Something portable. Should I get a firefly red? 

 

Is MQA neccesary? Is Tidal stupid? 

 

Also. I can already hear a difference between 320 kps from Apple Music and Tidal HiFi. Especially at the end of ‘Let Down’ from Radiohead. There are bells in the HiFi version which aren’t there in the mp3. 

 

Please help me! 

Welcome to windows , There is definetley a difference between spotify premium + apple music and Tidal, so many more details you can hear. Tidal is definetley not stupid, It's un-needed for most people who use beats headphones running off a phone, But it's amazing for audiophiles with resolving equipment. I find there isn't too much difference between a well mastered/recorded FLAC song and the same song on MQA, it's a very, and i mean very, tiny difference on my main system (B&W 803 D3, Mcintosh MA9000, Schiit yggdrasil dac etc.) and i can't tell a difference on my portable setup. There is a tiny difference again on my headphone setup, but it's small, What's the budget for the amp/dac?

[fasyrt]

Gentlemen, could you please help to decide between Schiit Fulla 2 and Sabaj D3 ?

It will be used with a mediocre PC (Realtek ALC892 - this is why DAC too) only at home for symphonic metal, Nightwish, Iron Maiden, Manowar.

Headphone will be a closed one, possibly an Audio Technica ATH-A550Z.

For the complete setup I can afford up to 300€.

[Starlord808]

So a dac is for microphones and an amp is for headphones? I only want to power my headphones so I only need an Amp right?

[Dackzy]

On 9/23/2019 at 2:16 AM, Starlord808 said:

So a dac is for microphones and an amp is for headphones? I only want to power my headphones so I only need an Amp right?

DAC stands for digital to audio converter, it takes the 1s and 0s your PC spits out and makes them analog, then the analog signal is send to whatever amp you have connected to the DAC and amplifies the analog signal. You can connect your headphones to the amps output.

Your PC already has a DAC build in, but the quality of it isn't the greastest, but it is there, so you can just buy a amp like the JDS Atom or Schiit magni 3 and connect it to your PC via the RCA on the back of the unit, and ofc a RCA to 3.5mm cable.

 

For microphones you need a ADC, which is an analog to digital converter. Microphone interfaces typically have these if they are made to connect to a PC.

 

 

[HumdrumPenguin]

On 3/8/2016 at 12:48 PM, Dackzy said:

If you have suggestions about gear and explanations.

If you have some gear that you would like to see added then there are 4 options.

 

Comment the gear you would like to see added and why or send me a PM, I will then look into it very thoroughly when I have time and if I find it worthy, then it will be added. Often I will get a loaner unit and test it.

 

If you want a explanation to something, then comment what you would like explained or send me a PM and then I will look into it.

 

FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT THIS POST

Remember there are no stupid questions, I am here to help.

I hope that this post helped you and cleared some things up for you 

If you wanna add a bit more information, talk a bit about planars and electrostatic cans (and their absolute need for a specialized amp to work), the benefits of sound stage and imaging for gaming, and maybe even do a few recommendations

[Jorn3l]

Hi guys.

 

So, i´m thinking to sell a kidney and buy a set of beyerdynamic mmx 300 gen2 aimed for gaming. 

What recomendations for dac/amp combo do you sugest for those cans? 

I currently have sennheiser gsx 1000.

 

Thanks

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, Jorn3l said:

Hi guys.

 

So, i´m thinking to sell a kidney and buy a set of beyerdynamic mmx 300 gen2 aimed for gaming. 

What recomendations for dac/amp combo do you sugest for those cans? 

I currently have sennheiser gsx 1000.

 

Thanks

since it has a mic you generally want to keep both the mic and headphone plugge din to the same unit. maybe the creative x3 but I havent tried it yet so Im hesitant to reccomend it  but is relatively affordable , schiit hel , or mayflower arc mk2

[Jorn3l]

On 2/26/2020 at 5:08 PM, rice guru said:

since it has a mic you generally want to keep both the mic and headphone plugge din to the same unit. maybe the creative x3 but I havent tried it yet so Im hesitant to reccomend it  but is relatively affordable , schiit hel , or mayflower arc mk2

Yeah,

 

wonder if someone tried the creative x3.. any info x3 owners?

[ghostxix]

Can somebody recommend amp/dac (about 150 - 200 $) for headphones(AKGk7xx)/speakers with analog switch between the two?

 

[ShearMe]

On 3/5/2020 at 5:15 AM, ghostxix said:

Can somebody recommend amp/dac (about 150 - 200 $) for headphones(AKGk7xx)/speakers with analog switch between the two?

 

just add this in front of whatever: https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Audio-Switcher-Headphone-Selector/dp/B0787X4J4V

[Steemax]

Didn't see this thread until after placing my order, I picked up the HD 6xx. For a dac/amp I just ordered the Fiio K5 Pro, is this a good paring for the 6xx? 

From what my very limited audio knowledge can tell me this should be a good entry setup. This will be connected to my PC full time.

[leyo96]

Hello,
I just ordered my first pair of real headphones and now I need a Dac and Amp or a dac/amp combo for them. I currently have a bad 25€ amp/dac from amazon for my Sennheiser Momentum.

Ideally my budget would be 200€, I spent 160€ for the headphones, I don't really want to spend way more for the dac and amp. If it's really really worth it I could go up to something like 260€, but not really above that.

 

What would you recommend me? 

Thank you for your help!

[Steemax]

On 4/24/2020 at 9:31 PM, Steemax said:

Didn't see this thread until after placing my order, I picked up the HD 6xx. For a dac/amp I just ordered the Fiio K5 Pro, is this a good paring for the 6xx? 

From what my very limited audio knowledge can tell me this should be a good entry setup. This will be connected to my PC full time.

Well in case anyone was wondering this setup is everything I was hoping it to be and would recommend the K5 Pro to anyone looking to get a 6xx. Now i've started going down the rabbit hole and ordered a Audeze LCD-2 ... hopefully the K5 Pro will be able to handle it. Although it's low impedance it's apparently power hungry.

[rice guru]

On 5/9/2020 at 1:31 PM, Steemax said:

Well in case anyone was wondering this setup is everything I was hoping it to be and would recommend the K5 Pro to anyone looking to get a 6xx. Now i've started going down the rabbit hole and ordered a Audeze LCD-2 ... hopefully the K5 Pro will be able to handle it. Although it's low impedance it's apparently power hungry.

The k5 pro has a surprising amount of power you should bw fine for the most part