should i get a dac and other external audio equipment for my pc??

[Moonman21]

idk if my mobo has a good enough quality audio quality to get into hifi audio

 

[Dedayog]

Just now, Moonman21 said:

idk if my mobo has a good enough quality audio quality to get into hifi audio

 

You're going to pay a good bit to get into HiFi audio, more than that PC cost you.  Just be aware.

 

If you mean you want to just add speakers to the PC, then the onboard sound is fine.  

[rice guru]

If it sounds clean enough it's good enough. But if your dissatisfied with how it sounds say your hearing noise or it's not loud enough or it's unable to play the codecs you want say.. DSD then upgrade

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

You're going to pay a good bit to get into HiFi audio, more than that PC cost you.  Just be aware.

 

If you mean you want to just add speakers to the PC, then the onboard sound is fine.  

Not really a good dac is like a $100 and a good amp is like a $100. This isn't audiophile hifi this is entry level hifi what most people would consider hifi

[Moonman21]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

If it sounds clean enough it's good enough. But if your dissatisfied with how it sounds say your hearing noise or it's not loud enough or it's unable to play the codecs you want say.. DSD then upgrade

its missing some volume in my opinion as i have a pair of old bose companion speakers

[rice guru]

But then again his PC is pretty cheap so point taken

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, Moonman21 said:

its missing some volume in my opinion as i have a pair of old bose companion speakers

Those speakers should not be affected by the audio out of your PC aside from signal the volume should be reliant on the speakers themselves if the speakers are not loud enough that's your speakers fault

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

But then again his PC is pretty cheap so point taken

Right, even spending $200 in audio is unbalanced but if that's the use case for the machine... A good audio source for streaming, then yeah.

 

I'm just older so I have separates for my living room and my PC audio was always just okay.  Seems you can get both now in one place, and that's nice.

[Moonman21]

 

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

Those speakers should not be affected by the audio out of your PC aside from signal the volume should be reliant on the speakers themselves if the speakers are not loud enough that's your speakers fault

ok got it

[Moonman21]

2 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

Right, even spending $200 in audio is unbalanced but if that's the use case for the machine... A good audio source for streaming, then yeah.

 

I'm just older so I have separates for my living room and my PC audio was always just okay.  Seems you can get both now in one place, and that's nice.

its meant for mostly gaming, music streaming and college work

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, Moonman21 said:

its meant for mostly gaming, music streaming and college work

I'd invest in a GPU first, then work on Audio.  Or maybe a nice easy solution to audio is in powered Bluetooth bookshelves like the Mackie's if you're looking for more and better sound w/ a bluetooth option.

[Moonman21]

Just now, jstudrawa said:

I'd invest in a GPU first, then work on Audio.  Or maybe a nice easy solution to audio is in powered Bluetooth bookshelves like the Mackie's if you're looking for more and better sund w/ a bluetooth option.

yea i have a 1660 on the way just wanted to get  some advice as im interested in getting into hifi

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, Moonman21 said:

yea i have a 1660 on the way just wanted to get  some advice as im interested in getting into hifi

Like I said in the other post lots of value to be had in entry level audio.

[Moonman21]

4 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

I'd invest in a GPU first, then work on Audio.  Or maybe a nice easy solution to audio is in powered Bluetooth bookshelves like the Mackie's if you're looking for more and better sound w/ a bluetooth option.

could u recommend a good youtube channel to start learning about hifi

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Moonman21 said:

could u recommend a good youtube channel to start learning about hifi

I tend  to watch a combination of z reviews , DMS , Joshua valour , metal 571, good guy bad reviews.

Take a r views with a grain of salt when it comes to sound he likes to ramble and likes to callll everything "best" when he likes the headphone. But he has the biggest library . Good guy bad reviews does the best iem reviews on YouTube I find. And the other  3 I watch along side of zeos as they are pretty good at analysis of sound and if they all agree on something is good or something is bad then that thing is probably good or bad. 

Linus nhas also made a lot.of good educational videos on audio on topics like amps, dacs, and codecs 

 

[Berice]

2 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

You're going to pay a good bit to get into HiFi audio, more than that PC cost you.  Just be aware.

 

If you mean you want to just add speakers to the PC, then the onboard sound is fine.  

I'd like to disagree with that.

 

Entry level HiFi has gotten pretty cheap with the introduction of Massdrop and companies vying a spot in the general marketplace.

 

For example, a 58X Jubilee and a O2 Amp+SDAC Combo box will run you under 300 USD and is a solid HiFi starting point.

 

Ok, the O2/SDAC combo isn't the greatest thing money can buy, but it's one of the best under 150 USD.

[Dedayog]

5 minutes ago, Berice said:

I'd like to disagree with that.

 

Entry level HiFi has gotten pretty cheap with the introduction of Massdrop and companies vying a spot in the general marketplace.

 

For example, a 58X Jubilee and a O2 Amp+SDAC Combo box will run you under 300 USD and is a solid HiFi starting point.

 

Ok, the O2/SDAC combo isn't the greatest thing money can buy, but it's one of the best under 150 USD.

It's relative is my point.  His entire gaming PC didn't cost much more than $300, adding JUST audio for that amount is a lot relatively.  Not saying it's good or bad, just a heads up.

 

I do agree with you that it's much cheaper than it used to be.

 

 

[Berice]

16 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

It's relative is my point.  His entire gaming PC didn't cost much more than $300, adding JUST audio for that amount is a lot relatively.  Not saying it's good or bad, just a heads up.

 

I do agree with you that it's much cheaper than it used to be.

 

 

His computer's price really doesn't matter if he's looking for just good audio.

 

You're going to think it's a bad case of circumstancial evidence, but I know a guy who built a HiFi audio system around a Raspberry Pi. He says it makes his music collection "portable", which... I mean I guess. It's not like his stack was 10x the size of the Pi 

[R4MP4G3RXD]

Getting an external dac is almost always better than your built in dac. I'd recommend a Topping D10 and a Schiit Magni 3 for a solid entry level setup, but if that's a bit out of budget get an FX Audio DAC-X6, they're like $70 on amazon or $65 from china(they also do a lot of sale if you don't mind waiting a month for it), it's a dac+amp, it's cheap, not the best but certainly a GOOD buy.

[Dedayog]

10 minutes ago, R4MP4G3RXD said:

Getting an external dac is almost always better than your built in dac. I'd recommend a Topping D10 and a Schiit Magni 3 for a solid entry level setup, but if that's a bit out of budget get an FX Audio DAC-X6, they're like $70 on amazon or $65 from china(they also do a lot of sale if you don't mind waiting a month for it), it's a dac+amp, it's cheap, not the best but certainly a GOOD buy.

How much better are those than the audio chip on my Gaming 5, for example?  At what level are the lower vs higher end motherboard offering?

 

 

I think that's a viable question since if audio as a whole has come a long way, it stands to reason the audio on motherboards has too?

[Berice]

18 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

How much better are those than the audio chip on my Gaming 5, for example?  At what level are the lower vs higher end motherboard offering?

 

 

I think that's a viable question since if audio as a whole has come a long way, it stands to reason the audio on motherboards has too?

The issue you're more likely to run into with onboard audio is not being able to power harder to drive headphones, which are the ones that also generally benefit the most from a good DAC.

 

I agree that nowadays most people would say onboard audio on high-end motherboards is pretty good.

 

But onboard can't deliver enough power for higher end headphones, which leads to needing an amp, which then leads to needing a DAC.

 

The main benefit of cheaper dac/amp combos are mostly for the amp part, since their DAC chips are mostly comparable to high-end motherboards.

[R4MP4G3RXD]

11 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

How much better are those than the audio chip on my Gaming 5, for example?  At what level are the lower vs higher end motherboard offering?

 

 

I think that's a viable question since if audio as a whole has come a long way, it stands to reason the audio on motherboards has too?

Less overtones and better snr**, meaning less sounds that drown out each other(which is very noticeable, even with modern "bassy" music) and more precision at low volumes, which comes in handy in fps games. While audio has come a long way you have to keep in mind that the gear they put on your motherboard is made for quantity not quality, not saying it's bad by any means, but it's not good either. It's good enough for general music playing, and gaming, but for actual listening not so much.


**Better snr(signal to noise ratio), because the ALC1220 chip on your board says UP TO 120dba snr, while let's say for instance the topping D10 has a measured snr of >=115db and the X6 has a snr of >=105db

[R4MP4G3RXD]

Plus there is a much lower noise floor with external dacs.

[pas008]

42 minutes ago, R4MP4G3RXD said:

Less overtones and better snr**, meaning less sounds that drown out each other(which is very noticeable, even with modern "bassy" music) and more precision at low volumes, which comes in handy in fps games. While audio has come a long way you have to keep in mind that the gear they put on your motherboard is made for quantity not quality, not saying it's bad by any means, but it's not good either. It's good enough for general music playing, and gaming, but for actual listening not so much.


**Better snr(signal to noise ratio), because the ALC1220 chip on your board says UP TO 120dba snr, while let's say for instance the topping D10 has a measured snr of >=115db and the X6 has a snr of >=105db

Lol Look at audio 10 yrs ago mobos are doing that consistently now

Its tech it gets better over time

Most modern decent mobos have dac and amps that rival 5yr old external Solutions by far

[R4MP4G3RXD]

8 minutes ago, pas008 said:

Lol Look at audio 10 yrs ago mobos are doing that consistently now

Its tech it gets better over time

Most modern decent mobos have dac and amps that rival 5yr old external Solutions by far

I don't quite understand what you're saying, but I do know that I can hear a very noticeable difference between my external and any integrated sound chip in my house, even when streaming youtube, and youtube has pretty bad audio.