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Do I Need A DAC? (+ Suggestions)

AdvocateOfNyx
By AdvocateOfNyx
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3 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Here are some from amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465367&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-10

https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-Digital-Decoder-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07TW2JQNN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-Computer-Coaxial/dp/B09B35TCC7/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-7

 

These vary in price quite a bit but still around 100 dollars and they can certainly provide enough power for your headphones compared to onboard. The last one has support for balanced which the HE400se can do with the right cables.

I'm gonna go ahead and mark this topic as answered.  I spent a lot of time looking through Amazon and have seen all but one of these options, ended up deciding on the E10K because my old headphones had a knob and I kept reaching for it the whole time I've had these only to realize it doesn't do anything anymore.  Additionally, I really like the look and think I will be unable to notice a significant difference in DAC quality.  Thank you for the suggestions 🙂 

Posted

Yes, I have read the pinned post multiple times, but because this is my first pair of actually nice headphones, I have no idea if I'm suffering from the issues that they discuss.  Especially because these are open backs and I can hear everything like I don't even have headphones on, I have no idea how to detect noise.  The AC and my PC are both too loud.

 

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I recently picked up a pair of HifiMan HE400se headphones based on someone's suggestion on these forums.  I love them to be honest, compared to the headset I was using before and even my wireless Sony headphones they are incredible.  My ears still tingle when I take them off and it's great.  However, they just do not get loud enough for me from my PC's 2.5mm jack.  In my other post, it was suggested to me that if I had any issues with onboard audio, I should pick up a Meizu Hifi / Hifi Pro dongle.  However, these appear to be sold out everywhere that I see.  I was interested in this desktop combo from FiiO, but was told that it didn't have super great performance compared to the Meizu or even an Apple dongle which can be had for under $10. 

 

With that being said, does anyone have a suggestion for what I should get?  I definitely need an AMP, but do I need a DAC?  Whichever one I need, what should I get?  The options in the pinned post about recommendations seem to be outdated (in that it is difficult to find them still available) and they only give one or two recommendations at this price point.  Thank you!

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11 minutes ago, AdvocateOfNyx said:

Yes, I have read the pinned post multiple times, but because this is my first pair of actually nice headphones, I have no idea if I'm suffering from the issues that they discuss.  Especially because these are open backs and I can hear everything like I don't even have headphones on, I have no idea how to detect noise.  The AC and my PC are both too loud.

 

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I recently picked up a pair of HifiMan HE400se headphones based on someone's suggestion on these forums.  I love them to be honest, compared to the headset I was using before and even my wireless Sony headphones they are incredible.  My ears still tingle when I take them off and it's great.  However, they just do not get loud enough for me from my PC's 2.5mm jack.  In my other post, it was suggested to me that if I had any issues with onboard audio, I should pick up a Meizu Hifi / Hifi Pro dongle.  However, these appear to be sold out everywhere that I see.  I was interested in this desktop combo from FiiO, but was told that it didn't have super great performance compared to the Meizu or even an Apple dongle which can be had for under $10. 

 

With that being said, does anyone have a suggestion for what I should get?  I definitely need an AMP, but do I need a DAC?  Whichever one I need, what should I get?  The options in the pinned post about recommendations seem to be outdated (in that it is difficult to find them still available) and they only give one or two recommendations at this price point.  Thank you!

If you get an amp, you would need a dac, yes. They make amp/dac combo’s, but depending on budget and use case and needs maybe you want them separate. 
 

I only have experience with schiit products personally, and I have recommended the schiit stack to many people and they all have been extremely satisfied. If you can afford 200 bucks, the schiit stack is hard to beat for the money. 

Rig: i7 13700k - - Asus Z790-P Wifi - - RTX 4080 - - 4x16GB 6000MHz - - Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Boot + Main Programs - - Assorted SATA SSD's for Photo Work - - Corsair RM850x - - Sound BlasterX EA-5 - - Corsair XC8 JTC Edition - - Corsair GPU Full Cover GPU Block - - XT45 X-Flow 420 + UT60 280 rads - - EK XRES RGB PWM - - Fractal Define S2 - - Acer Predator X34 -- Logitech G502 - - Logitech G710+ - - Logitech Z5500 - - LTT Deskpad

 

Headphones/amp/dac: Schiit Lyr 3 - - Fostex TR-X00 - - Sennheiser HD 6xx

 

Homelab/ Media Server: Proxmox VE host - - 512 NVMe Samsung 980 RAID Z1 for VM's/Proxmox boot - - Xeon e5 2660 V4- - Supermicro X10SRF-i - - 128 GB ECC 2133 - - 10x4 TB WD Red RAID Z2 - - Corsair 750D - - Corsair RM650i - - Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA - - Intel RES2SC240 SAS Expander - - TreuNAS + many other VM’s

 

iPhone 14 Pro - 2018 MacBook Air

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1 hour ago, LIGISTX said:

If you get an amp, you would need a dac, yes. They make amp/dac combo’s, but depending on budget and use case and needs maybe you want them separate. 
 

I only have experience with schiit products personally, and I have recommended the schiit stack to many people and they all have been extremely satisfied. If you can afford 200 bucks, the schiit stack is hard to beat for the money. 

I was looking for something similar in price point to the one I linked, around $100 USD.  Got any suggestions in that price range?

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5 minutes ago, AdvocateOfNyx said:

I was looking for something similar in price point to the one I linked, around $100 USD.  Got any suggestions in that price range?

I don't. I just don't have enough experience or knowledge at that price point. There are so many options.... Id just do a bunch of googling to try and find the best option for the money.

Rig: i7 13700k - - Asus Z790-P Wifi - - RTX 4080 - - 4x16GB 6000MHz - - Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Boot + Main Programs - - Assorted SATA SSD's for Photo Work - - Corsair RM850x - - Sound BlasterX EA-5 - - Corsair XC8 JTC Edition - - Corsair GPU Full Cover GPU Block - - XT45 X-Flow 420 + UT60 280 rads - - EK XRES RGB PWM - - Fractal Define S2 - - Acer Predator X34 -- Logitech G502 - - Logitech G710+ - - Logitech Z5500 - - LTT Deskpad

 

Headphones/amp/dac: Schiit Lyr 3 - - Fostex TR-X00 - - Sennheiser HD 6xx

 

Homelab/ Media Server: Proxmox VE host - - 512 NVMe Samsung 980 RAID Z1 for VM's/Proxmox boot - - Xeon e5 2660 V4- - Supermicro X10SRF-i - - 128 GB ECC 2133 - - 10x4 TB WD Red RAID Z2 - - Corsair 750D - - Corsair RM650i - - Dell H310 6Gbps SAS HBA - - Intel RES2SC240 SAS Expander - - TreuNAS + many other VM’s

 

iPhone 14 Pro - 2018 MacBook Air

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1 minute ago, LIGISTX said:

I don't. I just don't have enough experience or knowledge at that price point. There are so many options.... Id just do a bunch of googling to try and find the best option for the money.

Alright, mad respect for being able to say you aren't sure!  Thank you for the suggestion, if I had a bit more money I'd definitely look in to that one.  Sadly I'm just trying to spend the gift card balance in my Amazon account; Christmas is expensive!

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3 hours ago, AdvocateOfNyx said:

Alright, mad respect for being able to say you aren't sure!  Thank you for the suggestion, if I had a bit more money I'd definitely look in to that one.  Sadly I'm just trying to spend the gift card balance in my Amazon account; Christmas is expensive!

Here are some from amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465367&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-10

https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-Digital-Decoder-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07TW2JQNN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-Computer-Coaxial/dp/B09B35TCC7/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-7

 

These vary in price quite a bit but still around 100 dollars and they can certainly provide enough power for your headphones compared to onboard. The last one has support for balanced which the HE400se can do with the right cables.

PM or DM me if you have any questions about audio.

▼My PC specs & audio gear▼

CPU > Intel core i7 14700K, GPU > RTX 4070 ProArt, RAM > Corsair Vengeance DDR5 2x16gb 5600mhz, Motherboard > Asus ROG Strix B760-F, Storage > 1TB M.2  & 500GB M.2 Kingston, Cooling > H150i Elite, PSU > MSI A850GL

🎧▼Current Audio Setup▼🎧

Beyerdynamic Tygr 300 R w/ Dekoni Velour as daily driver

Soundblaster AE-9 Soundcard

AKG P420 Mic

▼Other peripherals▼

Keyboard > SteelSeries Apex Pro

Mouse > Steelseries Aerox 3 wireless

Mousepad > Pulsar ParaSpeed XXL

VR > Valve index kit

Read this post if you want a "gaming" headset ;)

 

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3 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Here are some from amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465367&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-10

https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-Digital-Decoder-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07TW2JQNN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-Computer-Coaxial/dp/B09B35TCC7/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-7

 

These vary in price quite a bit but still around 100 dollars and they can certainly provide enough power for your headphones compared to onboard. The last one has support for balanced which the HE400se can do with the right cables.

I'm gonna go ahead and mark this topic as answered.  I spent a lot of time looking through Amazon and have seen all but one of these options, ended up deciding on the E10K because my old headphones had a knob and I kept reaching for it the whole time I've had these only to realize it doesn't do anything anymore.  Additionally, I really like the look and think I will be unable to notice a significant difference in DAC quality.  Thank you for the suggestions 🙂 

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3 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

Here are some from amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465367&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-10

https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-Digital-Decoder-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B07TW2JQNN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-Computer-Coaxial/dp/B09B35TCC7/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1GIPGWD11JNDU&keywords=headphone+amp%2Fdac+combo&qid=1640465474&sprefix=headphone+amp%2Fdac%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-7

 

These vary in price quite a bit but still around 100 dollars and they can certainly provide enough power for your headphones compared to onboard. The last one has support for balanced which the HE400se can do with the right cables.

I have that fosi and the sound quality is just not good, in any way, when I got it the price was like $30-40usd and that was pushing the value of it.  It put's out sound and is a dac and amp, but that's about it.  I'm pretty sure it's the dac that is the issue because I output to an amplifier and it was the same exact sound.  I wouldn't recommend it for hifi in any capacity.  For someone that just needs sound sure, but probably not at $60.

 

The other two I don't have any experience with

Open-Back - Sennheiser 6xx - Focal Elex - Phillips Fidelio X3 - Harmonicdyne Zeus -  Beyerdynamic DT1990 - *HiFi-man HE400i (2017) - *Phillips shp9500 - *SoundMAGIC HP200

Semi-Open - Beyerdynamic DT880-600 - Fostex T50RP - *AKG K240 studio

Closed-Back - Rode NTH-100 - Meze 99 Neo - AKG K361-BT - Blue Microphones Lola - *Beyerdynamic DT770-80 - *Meze 99 Noir - *Blon BL-B60 - *Hifiman R7dx

On-Ear - Koss KPH30iCL Grado - Koss KPH30iCL Yaxi - Koss KPH40 Yaxi

IEM - Tin HiFi T2 - MoonDrop Quarks - Tangzu Wan'er S.G - Moondrop Chu - QKZ x HBB - 7HZ Salnotes Zero

Headset Turtle Beach Stealth 700 V2 + xbox adapter - *Sennheiser Game One - *Razer Kraken Pro V2

DAC S.M.S.L SU-9

Class-D dac/amp Topping DX7 - Schiit Fulla E - Fosi Q4 - *Sybasonic SD-DAC63116

Class-D amp Topping A70

Class-A amp Emotiva A-100 - Xduoo MT-602 (hybrid tube)

Pure Tube amp Darkvoice 336SE - Little dot MKII - Nobsound Little Bear P7

Audio Interface Rode AI-1

Portable Amp Xduoo XP2-pro - *Truthear SHIO - *Fiio BTR3K BTR3Kpro 

Mic Rode NT1 - *Antlion Mod Mic - *Neego Boom Mic - *Vmoda Boom Mic

Pads ZMF - Dekoni - Brainwavz - Shure - Yaxi - Grado - Wicked Cushions

Cables Hart Audio Cables - Periapt Audio Cables

Speakers Kef Q950 - Micca RB42 - Jamo S803 - Crown XLi1500 (power amp class A)

 

*given as gift or out of commission

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1 hour ago, Psittac said:

I have that fosi and the sound quality is just not good, in any way, when I got it the price was like $30-40usd and that was pushing the value of it.  It put's out sound and is a dac and amp, but that's about it.  I'm pretty sure it's the dac that is the issue because I output to an amplifier and it was the same exact sound.  I wouldn't recommend it for hifi in any capacity.  For someone that just needs sound sure, but probably not at $60.

 

The other two I don't have any experience with

Glad that I didn't go with that one then for sure.

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