DAC ?

[lorenzino]

Hey everyone ! I just boight a pair of h6pro a gaming headset. I saw that sennheiser used to sell these with a DAC.  So my question is : should i try to find a dac for these headphone or my jack from my desktop will do the job ? From the information that i have gather so far, i understood that dac could improve the sound quality of the headphone. But do i need to look for one that support surround sound or anythint lile that ? I'm new to the "sound world" so any info and explanation on how it works is welcomed !

[XenifyStudios]

Probably get a DAC but it’s not completely necessary. It boosts the audio quality which would be better than from your normal plug and play but it’s not necessary. 

Go for the DAC. They used to sell the headsets with these because it is so much better with one.

If you don’t want to, that’s okay. 

 

Let me know how it goes!

[ToboRobot]

Plug your headset into your computer, and see if it's good enough for you.

If you notice noise a DAC may help the signal.  But it costs you nothing to test your current setup, and make the choice to add components to improve the sound later.

You may be able connect your headset to your monitor and get the sound to the monitor via HDMI, and that can give you the audio benefits of an external DAC.

[lorenzino]

3 minutes ago, XenifyStudios said:

Probably get a DAC but it’s not completely necessary. It boosts the audio quality which would be better than from your normal plug and play but it’s not necessary. 

Go for the DAC. They used to sell the headsets with these because it is so much better with one.

If you don’t want to, that’s okay. 

 

Let me know how it goes!

I just saw the post on the audio that sums up everything you need to know about audio setup. Do i need to get an amp with a dac ? Or a dac alone will do the job juste fine ?

[lorenzino]

5 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

Plug your headset into your computer, and see if it's good enough for you.

If you notice noise a DAC may help the signal.  But it costs you nothing to test your current setup, and make the choice to add components to improve the sound later.

You may be able connect your headset to your monitor and get the sound to the monitor via HDMI, and that can give you the audio benefits of an external DAC.

What does noise sounds like ? Is it like white noise ? 

[ToboRobot]

13 minutes ago, lorenzino said:

What does noise sounds like ? Is it like white noise ? 

humming, buzzing, etc. 
 

 

[lorenzino]

57 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

humming, buzzing, etc. 
 

 

Thank you ! Do you have any recommandation maybe for a dac ? 

[Psittac]

A DAC is Not a solution for "noise".  It is used to improve sound quality.

 

Asking about a DAC is a misnomer because there is nothing a dac can do without an amp to power it.

 

Everything from the file type all the way to the ears can affect sound quality.  The sound file is digital and needs to be converted to analogue, this is what a DAC does however the signal from that is just a line signal that won't power anything, that's where you need to amplify the signal so that it can push the drivers on your headphones.  Everything that plays a digital file and produces sound has both a DAC and an amp, even the Apple dongle dac has a dac and amp in it.

 

If you don't listen to high resolution audio then a DAC will do basically nothing for you.  I did a budget round up of dac/amp solutions and as soon as I switched to heavily compressed youtube video music, all improvements or differences went away.

 

Some headphones are more "revealing" to the audio source you have, some are more opaque.  Meaning that something like the Sennheiser 6xx/600/650 will show you every last detail about improvements or losses in the quality of your solution, while something like the Rode NTH-100 can be plugged into a potato.

 

The actual DAC is usually the least impactful part of the setup,  I have rather expensive DAC's and there IS clarity and depth to be gained but again unless every other thing in the solution is up to the task, you aren't going to be noticing any improvements or minimal at best.

 

One thing you can do is get an affordable dongle dac just so you can experience what amount of impact it has, good or bad, on your listening and if you can notice a substantial change then think about putting some budget into a good dac and amp.

[Psittac]

7 minutes ago, lorenzino said:

Thank you ! Do you have any recommandation maybe for a dac ? 

The Sybasonic SD DAC is very affordable and is a minor upgrade to a PC's onboard audio, it is slightly better than top end onboard audio.

 

Beyond that save your money on anything short of a Schiit Fulla or better because the actual DAC is the most expensive part.  You can get a quality amp for very cheap but when you integrate a DAC into the situation that's where sub $100usd falls apart.

 

I would recommend spending around $10usd on an apple dongle dac and see if you can notice any difference, if you can then you know you can put some budget into it.  Remember that we are mush and bones and all of us are different, so testing it yourself is the best way to know one way or the other.

[ToboRobot]

35 minutes ago, lorenzino said:

Thank you ! Do you have any recommandation maybe for a dac ? 

You may be able connect your headset to your monitor and get the sound to the monitor via HDMI, and that can give you the audio benefits of an external DAC.

 

 

[lorenzino]

3 hours ago, Psittac said:

Awesome answer thanks ! I am going to play mostly game so no high res file i think. Dac and amp will be my solution if i see that i dont get what i want in term of sound quality. Thanks a lot for your time !

[ToboRobot]

3 hours ago, Psittac said:

A DAC is Not a solution for "noise".  It is used to improve sound quality.

 

Asking about a DAC is a misnomer because there is nothing a dac can do without an amp to power it.

 

Everything from the file type all the way to the ears can affect sound quality.  The sound file is digital and needs to be converted to analogue, this is what a DAC does however the signal from that is just a line signal that won't power anything, that's where you need to amplify the signal so that it can push the drivers on your headphones.  Everything that plays a digital file and produces sound has both a DAC and an amp, even the Apple dongle dac has a dac and amp in it.

 

If you don't listen to high resolution audio then a DAC will do basically nothing for you.  I did a budget round up of dac/amp solutions and as soon as I switched to heavily compressed youtube video music, all improvements or differences went away.

 

Some headphones are more "revealing" to the audio source you have, some are more opaque.  Meaning that something like the Sennheiser 6xx/600/650 will show you every last detail about improvements or losses in the quality of your solution, while something like the Rode NTH-100 can be plugged into a potato.

 

The actual DAC is usually the least impactful part of the setup,  I have rather expensive DAC's and there IS clarity and depth to be gained but again unless every other thing in the solution is up to the task, you aren't going to be noticing any improvements or minimal at best.

 

One thing you can do is get an affordable dongle dac just so you can experience what amount of impact it has, good or bad, on your listening and if you can notice a substantial change then think about putting some budget into a good dac and amp.

lol

[Psittac]

4 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

You may be able connect your headset to your monitor and get the sound to the monitor via HDMI, and that can give you the audio benefits of an external DAC.

 

 

You may want to try the monitor audio output to get a feel for what amount of impact a DAC may or may not have on your headphones.  Typically in a monitor a DAC is the last thing they take into consideration.  The  audio will be digital up to the monitor but they just put something in there so they can say they have it, with no consideration to sound quality.  That is unless monitors started advertising quality headphone outputs, I've never tried one I'm just going off logic that says if they were to put money into it they would advertise that.  Whether it's better or worse than your onboard audio it'll still be different which should give you an experience under your belt.

[lorenzino]

I am going to try my headset on my desktop. I just saw that my mobo should have a decent dac and amp in it (i dont know it its one but it is something that process sound) and then if i am not satisfied i will try to het a better pair of headphone. Are the beyerdynamics dt a great headphone ? I saw them recommended a few time. 

[Psittac]

13 hours ago, lorenzino said:

I am going to try my headset on my desktop. I just saw that my mobo should have a decent dac and amp in it (i dont know it its one but it is something that process sound) and then if i am not satisfied i will try to het a better pair of headphone. Are the beyerdynamics dt a great headphone ? I saw them recommended a few time. 

The DT-770 is great, dt-880 only sounds good with the 600ohm version I'm told and the dt-990 is supposed to be very "bright" or sharp in the  treble area.  I've heard the DT-770-80 and own the dt-880-600 and both are really good.  But honestly there is better stuff out now.  I would make a separate post when the time comes for suggestions because there isn't enough information here to go on and there are a lot of options to choose from.

[lorenzino]

12 hours ago, Psittac said:

The DT-770 is great, dt-880 only sounds good with the 600ohm version I'm told and the dt-990 is supposed to be very "bright" or sharp in the  treble area.  I've heard the DT-770-80 and own the dt-880-600 and both are really good.  But honestly there is better stuff out now.  I would make a separate post when the time comes for suggestions because there isn't enough information here to go on and there are a lot of options to choose from.

Thank you !