I'm looking to buy a decent DAC/AMP to pair with my Sennheiser Game One.

[onscreenname]

Hello folks!

I'm in need of a external/ portable DAC/AMP for my headset so any recommendation is welcomed. The reason is that I'm starting to hear random popping noise (low in the background not very audible) when my GPU under load especially during ALT + TAB between heavy GPU usage applications to desktop/ browser and my friends also complained about static noise (randomly not all the time) from my microphone.

As the Game One is a headset so I would like to buy a DAC/AMP that have microphone port. Currently I'm looking at the Creative G5/G6 but they are kinda "expensive" in my place

[Universes]

What is available to you? 

 

How much is the Creative G5 for you? Because if $100USD is expensive, then you're not really going to get anything decent. Most decent DACs are around $70-100USD. 

If you need to save money, you just need a DAC and not an amp. An amp isn't necessary for the Sennheiser Game One's. 

[rice guru]

17 minutes ago, onscreenname said:

Hello folks!

I'm in need of a external/ portable DAC/AMP for my headset so any recommendation is welcomed. The reason is that I'm starting to hear random popping noise (low in the background not very audible) when my GPU under load especially during ALT + TAB between heavy GPU usage applications to desktop/ browser and my friends also compaint about static noise (randomly not all the time).

As the Game One is a headset so I would like to buy a DAC/AMP that have microphone port. Currently I'm looking at the Creative G5/G6 but they are kinda "expensive" in my place

schiit distributes through a place in vietnam called "audio Choice. you can probably get the schiit fulla . otherwise the cheap syba sonic should be able to do the job

[onscreenname]

10 minutes ago, Universes said:

What is available to you? 

 

How much is the Creative G5 for you? Because if $100USD is expensive, then you're not really going to get anything decent. Most decent DACs are around $70-100USD. 

If you need to save money, you just need a DAC and not an amp. An amp isn't necessary for the Sennheiser Game One's. 

Like $150. G6 is $170

[onscreenname]

25 minutes ago, rice guru said:

schiit distributes through a place in vietnam called "audio Choice. you can probably get the schiit fulla . otherwise the cheap syba sonic should be able to do the job

The only Schiit product I can find is Schiit Fulla 2 but it doesn't have microphone port, right?

[Universes]

1 hour ago, onscreenname said:

The only Schiit product I can find is Schiit Fulla 2 but it doesn't have microphone port, right?

It has a microphone and headphone jack. https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-1

[onscreenname]

25 minutes ago, Universes said:

It has a microphone and headphone jack. https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-1

That's Schiit Fulla 3. The Fulla 2 got "Analog Input" port

[Tigerleon]

4 hours ago, onscreenname said:

That's Schiit Fulla 3. The Fulla 2 got "Analog Input" port

The G6 is great if you can afford it.

[onscreenname]

30 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

The G6 is great if you can afford it.

What do you think about the Sennheiser EPOS GSX 300 for $98?

[Tigerleon]

3 hours ago, onscreenname said:

What do you think about the Sennheiser EPOS GSX 300 for $98?

Probably a good DAC/amp. I like the software of creative's products tho.

[Universes]

13 hours ago, onscreenname said:

That's Schiit Fulla 3. The Fulla 2 got "Analog Input" port

You are correct. Fulla 2 does not have a microphone input. 

 

Here's a video that includes the EPOS GSX 300, as well as a bunch of other common products. 

 

[onscreenname]

5 hours ago, Universes said:

You are correct. Fulla 2 does not have a microphone input. 

 

Here's a video that includes the EPOS GSX 300, as well as a bunch of other common products. 

 

Thank you! But sadly most of them are unavaible for me. For now, I will keep my eyes on the Creative X3 and G6

[Universes]

Understandable. Generally, we are all restricted to what is available to purchase (unless you live in large markets) more than our personal budget or needs.

 

The video is great to get an idea of what to look for in terms of usability and quirks. 

[onscreenname]

I just found a cheap amp with optical port. Can I connect it to PC with optical cable then plug in my headset into the amp? Will that remove all the "noises"?

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-omni-surround-5-1

[thewill102]

If you need an extra on a guitar input and mic input, you can take a look at the Audient iD4 Mk2. I recentley purchased it and it works like a charm. It can drive almost any headphone and runs completely on USB-C.

 

The microphone input is XLR, though, but you can use a Chinch Cable for it too, as far as i know. The XLR-Jack is a combo port. 

[onscreenname]

8 minutes ago, thewill102 said:

If you need an extra on a guitar input and mic input, you can take a look at the Audient iD4 Mk2. I recentley purchased it and it works like a charm. It can drive almost any headphone and runs completely on USB-C. 

Thanks! But I don't think it fit me as I just need a simple way to get rid of the noises in my audio and my microphone.

[thewill102]

1 hour ago, onscreenname said:

I just found a cheap amp with optical port. Can I connect it to PC with optical cable then plug in my headset into the amp? Will that remove all the "noises"?

I think that it will work better, but you will still have some sound problems. The thing is that your DAC will still be on your Motherboard, so it should probably produce the same sound as the normal headphone connector. You should get a dedicated DAC, that will completely convert the sound outside of your PC. So something thats just plugged in vie USB. I cant give you any recommendations, but youre more looking into an interface, since you need a mic input.

[onscreenname]

16 minutes ago, thewill102 said:

I think that it will work better, but you will still have some sound problems. The thing is that your DAC will still be on your Motherboard, so it should probably produce the same sound as the normal headphone connector. You should get a dedicated DAC, that will completely convert the sound outside of your PC. So something thats just plugged in vie USB. I cant give you any recommendations, but youre more looking into an interface, since you need a mic input.

At first I was planning on buying Sennheiser HD579, a desktop microphone and Fiio E10K or Fiio K3 but the Game One was on sale for just $150 so I took it instead. And now I'm pulling my hair to find a DAC/AMP with micro port, karma isn't it . Anyway, right now I'm looking for the Astro Gaming MixAmp Pro TR because some one told me that it is a DAC/AMP not just an AMP.

[thewill102]

Ive looked around a bit, and i would go with a normal DAC/AMP combo, like the Audient iD4 MK2 that i recommended. You would have to get 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapters, so you can plug your headset and microphone in. It probably should work just fine, you have to set the gain on the microphone in the medium, and the volume in the lower or mids, since the headphones dont have much resistance. But other than that, it should work perfectly fine. I cannot guarantee it, though.

[onscreenname]

3 minutes ago, thewill102 said:

Ive looked around a bit, and i would go with a normal DAC/AMP combo, like the Audient iD4 MK2 that i recommended. You would have to get 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapters, so you can plug your headset and microphone in. It probably should work just fine, you have to set the gain on the microphone in the medium, and the volume in th elower or mids, since the headphones dont have much resistance. But other than that, it should work perfectly fine. I cannot guarantee it, though.

Thanks! For now I will keep on looking.

[thewill102]

2 minutes ago, onscreenname said:

Thanks! For now I will keep on looking.

Good luck, mate!

[H713]

On 4/30/2021 at 11:09 PM, Universes said:

What is available to you? 

 

How much is the Creative G5 for you? Because if $100USD is expensive, then you're not really going to get anything decent. Most decent DACs are around $70-100USD. 

If you need to save money, you just need a DAC and not an amp. An amp isn't necessary for the Sennheiser Game One's. 

The OP most certainly needs an amplifier of some form. The output of a DAC is a line-level output. While it very well may be a hot enough output (lots of DACs can do 2 Vrms without too much trouble), most line drivers aren't meant to source much current at all, and they typically have a pretty high output impedance (47 ohms is fairly common, or at least it used to be). 

 

I'm going to recommend looking at some form of audio interface. Behringer and M-audio make a few things for $50-$100 that are OK, if you can step up to the $100-$150 range there are a lot more options. Prices and availability will vary, of course.

[onscreenname]

On 5/4/2021 at 1:34 PM, H713 said:

The OP most certainly needs an amplifier of some form. The output of a DAC is a line-level output. While it very well may be a hot enough output (lots of DACs can do 2 Vrms without too much trouble), most line drivers aren't meant to source much current at all, and they typically have a pretty high output impedance (47 ohms is fairly common, or at least it used to be). 

 

I'm going to recommend looking at some form of audio interface. Behringer and M-audio make a few things for $50-$100 that are OK, if you can step up to the $100-$150 range there are a lot more options. Prices and availability will vary, of course.

I don't know much about those interface and I just found this cheap Creative USB DAC for $28. I'll give this a try

[H713]

7 hours ago, onscreenname said:

I don't know much about those interface and I just found this cheap Creative USB DAC for $28. I'll give this a try

You can try it, but I don't expect that it's going to perform very well at all, purely based on cost and form factor. I expect that the power will be very limited and the distortion performance will be pretty poor. You also don't get an analog volume control, which is a nice feature from a usability standpoint.