Dac amp or Audio-Interface

[Purpleee]

Hi guys,

 

I already searched for quite some time but couldn't find a satisfying answer so here is my Problem/Question.

I recently bought a pair of Akg k240 MK2 together with the zalman zm mic 1.

Before that I used the Logitech g35 for 5 years.

Now that I used the Akgs for some time I adapted to stereo sound and like it a lot just the zalman sounds quite tinny ( I know it's very cheap)

I read a lot about dac amps and Audio-Interfaces being mandatory and I just used my onboard chip (alc1220). I like the sound from the Akgs but they aren't very loud on max volume but other than that I don't really know if the sound could be better mainly because the only headphones I ever used where the g35s...

So here is my question: Could I improve the sound from my Akgs and the one from my mic with a budget dac amp or Audio-Interface ( around 80 dollars) or is it not really worth it to get a dac amp or interface for the same amount of money as my headphones?

In the future I might upgrade to a real microphone but not at the moment.

The ones I looked at are:

Behringer Um2

Behringer Xenyx302

Fiio E10 + 1 Dollar USB soundcard for the zalman

Behringer Umc202 

Could not really find a dac amp with mic input in the price range that's why I looked at Audio-Interfaces

Or can you recommend something else? 

 

Ps. Buying from Germany but I guess that's not that important

 

[Turtle Rig]

17 minutes ago, Purpleee said:

Hi guys,

 

I already searched for quite some time but couldn't find a satisfying answer so here is my Problem/Question.

I recently bought a pair of Akg k240 MK2 together with the zalman zm mic 1.

Before that I used the Logitech g35 for 5 years.

Now that I used the Akgs for some time I adapted to stereo sound and like it a lot just the zalman sounds quite tinny ( I know it's very cheap)

I read a lot about dac amps and Audio-Interfaces being mandatory and I just used my onboard chip (alc1220). I like the sound from the Akgs but they aren't very loud on max volume but other than that I don't really know if the sound could be better mainly because the only headphones I ever used where the g35s...

So here is my question: Could I improve the sound from my Akgs and the one from my mic with a budget dac amp or Audio-Interface ( around 80 dollars) or is it not really worth it to get a dac amp or interface for the same amount of money as my headphones?

In the future I might upgrade to a real microphone but not at the moment.

The ones I looked at are:

Behringer Um2

Behringer Xenyx302

Fiio E10 + 1 Dollar USB soundcard for the zalman

Behringer Umc202 

Could not really find a dac amp with mic input in the price range that's why I looked at Audio-Interfaces

Or can you recommend something else? 

 

Ps. Buying from Germany but I guess that's not that important

 

Your not going to get much with only 80 US dollar.  However yes the sound card does not have a HP amp.  Its just a input.  If you get a HP amp or DAC interface then yes your volume and possibly the quality will improve to the point its very noticeable and what not.  Just see which one you like better with the list you provided.  Look at their specs with like DB level and SnR and what not.

[Purpleee]

So did anyone test to of the ones I mentioned above and can recommend one?

[Purpleee]

16 hours ago, Turtle Rig said:

Your not going to get much with only 80 US dollar.  However yes the sound card does not have a HP amp.  Its just a input.  If you get a HP amp or DAC interface then yes your volume and possibly the quality will improve to the point its very noticeable and what not.  Just see which one you like better with the list you provided.  Look at their specs with like DB level and SnR and what not.

Thank you!

[rice guru]

20 hours ago, Purpleee said:

 

Could not really find a dac amp with mic input in the price range that's why I looked at Audio-Interfaces

Or can you recommend something else? 

 

The only cheap DAC amp I can think of with a mic input is the syba sonic.

[Purpleee]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

The only cheap DAC amp I can think of with a mic input is the syba sonic.

I read about that one but some people said that the mic quality is really bad is that true?

[rice guru]

46 minutes ago, Purpleee said:

I read about that one but some people said that the mic quality is really bad is that true?

Never heard it. So I don't know I just know of jt. Honestly your zalman probably won't at all benefit from getting a sound card. All I can say when I updated my setup from onboard to a fiio e10k with my k240 they definitely benefited. I found the low end got tighter and stronger and the imaging and sound stage improved.  I believe that's attributed to the fact that the headphones are now properly powered. 

[Purpleee]

3 hours ago, rice guru said:

Never heard it. So I don't know I just know of jt. Honestly your zalman probably won't at all benefit from getting a sound card. All I can say when I updated my setup from onboard to a fiio e10k with my k240 they definitely benefited. I found the low end got tighter and stronger and the imaging and sound stage improved.  I believe that's attributed to the fact that the headphones are now properly powered. 

So you think it's worth it paying the same amount of money for a dac amp that you pay for headphones?

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Purpleee said:

So you think it's worth it paying the same amount of money for a dac amp that you pay for headphones?

For a person that has that exact case I say yes. 

[Purpleee]

I did some additional research and found the FX Audio DAC-X6. A lot of people say its better than the Fiio E10k. But the k240 mk2 dont have a lot of bass but only the Fiio E10K has a bass boost. So which should i go for between these two?

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Purpleee said:

I did some additional research and found the FX Audio DAC-X6. A lot of people say its better than the Fiio E10k. But the k240 mk2 dont have a lot of bass but only the Fiio E10K has a bass boost. So which should i go for between these two?

Look into using a equalizer Apo with peace gui.