Soubdcard VS dac

[henkbouman]

Hey guys,

So, I'm about to buy the AKG q701 or Philips Fidelio x2 but I want to get the full out of them so I was wondering what do I need to get? A soubdcard or a dac. I usually play csgo, listening to music etc. Surround sound is a must! I have heard that surround sound is all about software but I have also heard that a sound card is better for gaming? Any suggestions?

[Fluffinator]

Hey guys,

So, I'm about to buy the AKG q701 or Philips Fidelio x2 but I want to get the full out of them so I was wondering what do I need to get? A soubdcard or a dac. I usually play csgo, listening to music etc. Surround sound is a must! I have heard that surround sound is all about software but I have also heard that a sound card is better for gaming? Any suggestions?

DAC would be better since it's outside the computer, sound card surround is a gimic, you could download razer surround and it does the same thing. I got a sound card because I needed the extra outputs and tried out the "surround sound" and it really sucked, did the same thing as Razer surround. You could get a DAC/AMP and it would give you a better experience, not sure if you would really need it though. TLDR dedicated DAC/AMP better and soundcard isn't better for gaming unless your into that gimicy stuff.

[Volbet]

A soundcard is a DAC. ´DAC´ just means Digital-to-Analog Converter, and all soundcards contains that.

if you ask if it should be internal or external, then I would recommend getting an external USB DAC rather than an internal soundcard.

There will no problem with drivers that way.

Also, didn't you already do a topic like this: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/369062-dac-vs-soundcard/

 

As far as I can tell, you got a pretty good answer in that thread. The Schiit Fulla or a Schiit Magni/Modi combo is a pretty good choice.

The Mayflower O2/ODAC combo is not a bad choice either.

Also, the FILO E10K is also quite good.

 

What I would recommend is, that you buy the headphones first and try to use them with your onboard audio. 

if that doesn't give you the audio quality you want, then invest in a amp/DAC combo. 

 

All of the above mentioned solutions should work with virtual surround, like Razer Surround.

Personally, I find 7.1 surround to be a bit of a gimmick. Since you are already looking into a pair of quality headphone, I would just leave the games in stereo headphone mode.

[pas008]

DAC would be better since it's outside the computer, sound card surround is a gimic, you could download razer surround and it does the same thing. I got a sound card because I needed the extra outputs and tried out the "surround sound" and it really sucked, did the same thing as Razer surround. You could get a DAC/AMP and it would give you a better experience, not sure if you would really need it though. TLDR dedicated DAC/AMP better and soundcard isn't better for gaming unless your into that gimicy stuff.

razer surround isnt even close to cmss3d, sbx by far better

 

[Guest]

razer surround isnt even close to cmss3d, sbx by far better

 

Ear dependent, any of the surround technologies could work for someone.

 

Good to see the daily "soundcard vs DAC" threads are already rolling in :rolleyes:

[pas008]

Ear dependent, any of the surround technologies could work for someone.

 

Good to see the daily "soundcard vs DAC" threads are already rolling in :rolleyes:

on video above which do you prefer?

[BoredErica]

on video above which do you prefer?

Can't it also vary from game to game?

[pas008]

Can't it also vary from game to game?

sbx been pretty consistent for me,

 

also in settings you have a surround slider along with crystalizer, bass(and crossover), dialog and smart volume sliders

[Fluffinator]

sbx been pretty consistent for me,

 

also in settings you have a surround slider along with crystalizer, bass(and crossover), dialog and smart volume sliders

All of the options in that suck too, I have a SBX card and it's a total gimic (had to get a soundcard for more outputs).

[pas008]

All of the options in that suck too, I have a SBX card and it's a total gimic (had to get a soundcard for more outputs).

so that video is wrong?

 

lol, did you setup right, like windows config to 5.1 while on headphones switch on otherwise surround shit doesnt matter? are you using your dt770s lol?

 

you know it was thx studios pro before? sound blaster is now majority holder

[Guest]

on video above which do you prefer?

 

Frankly I don't care which is best, if any, since I don't engage in competitive footstep listening.

[pas008]

Frankly I don't care which is best, if any, since I don't engage in competitive footstep listening.

its not about footsteps only, its about being immersed into a game by all sound effects

 

by the way thats scout mode, with that active you lose sbx studios

[creatip123]

Frankly I don't care which is best, if any, since I don't engage in competitive footstep listening.

 

And the winner goes to......SSL, for correctly answering the distances, polar coordinates, and sexes of all 10 different footsteps.....

[Majestic]

Frankly, for headphones all soundcards are shit, they all have atleast 10-13 ohms of output impedance and thus offer no step-up from an onboard. As far as you can really "step-up" from onboard anymore anyway.

[Fluffinator]

Frankly, for headphones all soundcards are shit, they all have atleast 10-13 ohms of output impedance

Wait what? That's so wrong it ain't even funny.. There's a lot more then just output impedance and almost every audio chip on the planet has 10-13 olms, can't judge something on that alone. I agree with the second part in some areas that they arn't needed most of the time, but there may be a reason why you need a soundcard so to say they all suck because they all have 10-13 olm impedance is silly, I needed one for the extra outputs for example.

[pas008]

Wait what? That's so wrong it ain't even funny..

do you even know what that does?

[Fluffinator]

do you even know what that does?

Yes, do you?

[pas008]

Yes, do you? Seems as thought you don't..

yes I do, now plz explain what you just googled

[Fluffinator]

yes I do, now plz explain what you just googled

I have first hand experience no need to google.

[pas008]

I have first hand experience no need to google.

lol, yeah your first hand experience with dt770s/m50s having great positional sound

 

will say you do have nice rig though have any pics of that?

[xtroria]

Frankly, for headphones all soundcards are shit, they all have atleast 10-13 ohms of output impedance and thus offer no step-up from an onboard. As far as you can really "step-up" from onboard anymore anyway.

10-13 ohm output impedance is bad when you're plugging any transducer with impedance below 80 or 100 ohm into it, other than that there's not a lot of problem.

 

lol, yeah your first hand experience with dt770s/m50s having great positional sound

 

will say you do have nice rig though have any pics of that?

Oh and what's your audio gear? I expect you to have HD800 at least to look down at other headphone's imaging

[pas008]

10-13 ohm output impedance is bad when you're plugging any transducer with impedance below 80 or 100 ohm into it, other than that there's not a lot of problem.

 

Oh and what's your audio gear? I expect you to have HD800 at least to look down at other headphone's imaging

not looking down on someones imaging

 

 

hd 558, hd600, hd280s(@work), dt770, xpt100, cals, xb600, q701, shp9500,  668b, 681(@bros), t400, m50s, ad700s(basement apart), some others I cant think of

 

numark c3 mixer, o2 combo, 2xfiios,cmoy, bravo(@Friend trying as preamp experiment), zxr, 4x receivers(yamaha,pioneer,denon,rando just for amp)

 

have owned and sampled alot more,like a buddy's dragonfly dac the other day what a waste

 

posted a crappy potato pic in another thread of some

 

gave up car audio few yrs ago doesnt attract me anymore also if damaged in accident its a hassle with insurance

[xtroria]

not looking down on someones imaging

 

 

hd 558, hd600, hd280s(@work), dt770, xpt100, cals, xb600, q701, shp9500,  668b, 681(@bros), t400, m50s, ad700s(basement apart), some others I cant think of

 

numark c3 mixer, o2 combo, 2xfiios,cmoy, bravo(@Friend trying as preamp experiment), zxr, 4x receivers(yamaha,pioneer,denon,rando just for amp)

 

have owned and sampled alot more,like a buddy's dragonfly dac the other day what a waste

 

posted a crappy potato pic in another thread of some

 

gave up car audio few yrs ago doesnt attract me anymore also if damaged in accident its a hassle with insurance

Are those the headphones you owned or ones you've sampled? So the highest end headphone I saw from the list is HD600 which is good but lacks the subbass and Q701 which has good soundstage but again, lacks the bass too

[pas008]

Are those the headphones you owned or ones you've sampled? So the highest end headphone I saw from the list is HD600 which is good but lacks the subbass and Q701 which has good soundstage but again, lacks the bass too

own plus some just cant remember all the names

 

I like to fiddle around with them plus a few I have owned more than once, I like to have extra bargaining chips to help get old pc stuff out the door

[Fluffinator]

lol, yeah your first hand experience with dt770s/m50s having great positional sound

 

will say you do have nice rig though have any pics of that?