Need help choosing a DAC

[Yakitawa]

Updated once again! TL;DR has been added to the bottom!

Hello everyone!

 

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 and an Antlion 4.0 microphone which has given me much joy, rainbows and happiness for some time now on my desktop PC - onboard audio! This has been very satisfying, and I would say that I probably don't need anything that is better (This is just to inform you of my current standard and expectation of quality I want from my audio setup). So what's the problem...?

 

I have exchanged my desktop for a laptop, Lenovo Y50, and to my big surprise: There was only one analogue audio port -> A combined headphone and microphone port! I have been through hell trying different splitters, software and "tips'n'tricks" with the purpose of making the combo-port behave properly. I hate it. I disgust it. I give up.

 

So... Now I am in the search of a suitable DAC/soundcard that can love and be loved in return by the company of me and my setup. So far I came up with two options which have almost the same price:

 

Asus Xonar U3:

Bitrate: 16 bit

Sample: 48hz

Is a vendor/manufactuer/etc. that I trust and have never had a problem with.

 

StarTech USB Stereo Audio Adapter bla.bla...:

Bitrate: 24 bit

Sample: 96hz

(Almost) never heard of.... Is actually a bit cheaper.

 

I'm not a total newbie in the field of audio, but I really want to know what you guys are thinking: Are any of these choices sensible?

I was not able to find reviews for the StartTech option, and the Xonar U3 reviews were a bit disappointing.

Other suggestions would be nice too: I might go as high as 100 USD for a DAC if the extra money makes a difference.

 

Note: I live in Europe and I am not very good at soldering -> DIY from America/Canada might not be an option.

Also, if you know how to "really fix" a combo-port, I would love to hear it -> The problem is, that the microphone frequently drops out and I have to re-plug them everytime I restart the PC.

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT :

Sorry! I should probably also tell, that my audio is important for my music experience. I like a flat signature. It could be fun to have the option of EQ for boomy explosions in movies and games, but it is not a must.

 

TL;DR :

Cans: HD 598

Mic: Antlion 4.0

Suggest a USB and/or SPDIF soundcard that has seperate headphone and microphone jacks

If it is better than onboard(Realtek ALC887), then I'll take it!

Edited July 29, 2015 by Yakitawa

[Masada02]

If you don't mind I'm going to propose a couple other choices. Mainly because I don't know much about the two you have picked out.

 

Have a look at the Schiit Fulla and FiiO E07k. I haven't personally listened to either of these, but I've had fantastic experience with Schiit products and started out on a FiiO dac/amp that I enjoyed as well. I've heard really great things about both of these and both should be able to drive your headphones well. I'd personally buy the Fulla, but the E07k has built in EQ functions if you are looking for something like that.

 

I know these are a little above the prices of what you had chosen, but the ~$40 jump should be worth it to get into entry level audiophile gear.

[SSL]

Schiit fulla. Definitely the most compact of the compact USB amp+DAC units. I would avoid Fiio in general if possible.

[Yakitawa]

If you don't mind I'm going to propose a couple other choices. Mainly because I don't know much about the two you have picked out.

 

Have a look at the Schiit Fulla and FiiO E07k. I haven't personally listened to either of these, but I've had fantastic experience with Schiit products and started out on a FiiO dac/amp that I enjoyed as well. I've heard really great things about both of these and both should be able to drive your headphones well. I'd personally buy the Fulla, but the E07k has built in EQ functions if you are looking for something like that.

 

I know these are a little above the prices of what you had chosen, but the ~$40 jump should be worth it to get into entry level audiophile gear.

 

Thanks for a quick response!

 

Schiit Fulla has an acceptable price, but it is headphone only and I need the DAC to accept microphone as well. I'll take a look at the other Schiit products though!

FiiO looks gorgeous and have very nice reviews, but it doesn't accept microphone.

 

About "driving" my headphones... They don't have any extraordinary impedence(I recall it's merely 30 ohm), så I'm not too worried about that in the given price range

 

Perhaps I've been a little vague with the term "DAC"... What I really need is a sound card with seperate microphone and headphone jacks and using either SPDIF or USB as interface.

 

 

Schiit fulla. Definitely the most compact of the compact USB amp+DAC units. I would avoid Fiio in general if possible.

Thanks for the response!

 

Why should I avoid FiiO? I have only heard good about them.

[SSL]

Why should I avoid FiiO? I have only heard good about them.

 

Their quality control is suspect, as they mostly concentrate on getting new products to market rather than actually engineering things properly. If you can get one of the alternatives out there in the price range (such as the Schiit), do so.

[Masada02]

Is there the possibility to use the standard mic input on the laptop and use something like the Fulla for just your headphones? Trying to have both headphone and mic on a quality external dac/amp is really going to limit choices.

[Yakitawa]

Is there the possibility to use the standard mic input on the laptop and use something like the Fulla for just your headphones? Trying to have both headphone and mic on a quality external dac/amp is really going to limit choices.

Thee is no microphone input... Only combo-jack

 

As far as I am concerned the problem with a combo-jack is the microphone part... It's located on the tip of the jack(should appearantly be harder to achieve contact) and there are either problems with isolating the two different signals or the onboard soundcard is somehow(I don't think it is true) not getting enough power according to some folks.

 

The combo-jack is designed to utilize headphone jacks as default when 3 polar jacksticks are used, so in order to use a microphone, I would still need a 4 polar jackstick to have the soundcard recognize the microphone. And a 4 polar jackstick practically serves the same conditions as any analogue "headset-splitters" out there.

 

But really... It only has to be about the same quality as an Realtek ALC887

[Masada02]

What about using something like this?

 

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ

 

I guess you wouldn't need an external dac/amp (assuming that cable works), but you should get one anyway 

[Yakitawa]

What about using something like this?

 

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ

 

I guess you wouldn't need an external dac/amp (assuming that cable works), but you should get one anyway 

That would be my optimal solution, but I have not found any working adapters.. I've tried no-name, homemade, cheap(Like the one in your link) and premium(Sennheiser for about 20$). And I have also tried it on 3 different computers and an iPad(The iPad was actually most stable).

 

Right now I use the Sennheiser option, but it is not flawless... As mentioned before, the microphone drops out from time to time, and I've got the impression that I am not the only one with this kind of problem - There just doesn't seem to be a valid solution for this problem.That's why I want a USB soundcard

[Masada02]

That would be my optimal solution, but I have not found any working adapters.. I've tried no-name, homemade, cheap(Like the one in your link) and premium(Sennheiser for about 20$). And I have also tried it on 3 different computers and an iPad(The iPad was actually most stable).

 

Right now I use the Sennheiser option, but it is not flawless... As mentioned before, the microphone drops out from time to time, and I've got the impression that I am not the only one with this kind of problem - There just doesn't seem to be a valid solution for this problem.That's why I want a USB soundcard

I guess I missed that point in your original post.

 

I really don't know what would be best. There's not much info out there for this situation, haha. It might be best to just pick one of your original choices and see how it goes.

[Yakitawa]

I guess I missed that point in your original post.

 

I really don't know what would be best. There's not much info out there for this situation, haha. It might be best to just pick one of your original choices and see how it goes.

Argh! Thanks for giving it a try

 

A shout out to the rest of the community.... Anybody out there with the knowledge to help me? Thanks!

[Squall]

I was in the same boat as you and what I did was, buy a AudioQuest Dragonfly 1.2 amp+dac connect it to the back of my case to a USB port and the headphones to it (AKG K702 65th Anniversary) and connected the modmic to the mic port from the onboard sound, also in the back of the case. 

 

I'm now pretty happy with this setup after going through multiples ones like Astro Mixamp, Asus soundcards (D2X and ROG Phoebus), etc.

[Yakitawa]

Thank you for the response Squall!

 

I did not look further into the Dragonfly because I decided to try the StarTech Audio Adapter...

 

 

 

Just an update to my problem and if anyone else goes through the same trouble:

 

The StarTech Adapter works perfectly! Sound is clear, distinctive and crispy. It can play significantly louder than my onboard audio. It has three different EQ modes: Bass, Direct and Treble. The difference between the EQ settings are modest but noticable. Microphone works perfectly too with a bit more noise than the onboard solution. However, I believe it is because it is being amplified, as it is also a lot louder.

 

The unit almost works out of the box. StarTechs audio driver is needed for the unit to recognize inputs without having to replug things after windows startup (Windows 10)... To be more clear... Plug in your stuff and it works, but if you restart Windows without the driver, you have to replug your stuff.

 

Subjectively, I'd say this is better than the onboard sound card and objectively it is one of the cheapest solution I could find on the market in my country.

 

Some bad stuff: I think there is a dedicated amp which kicks in when the volume dial reaches a certain point(Very high volume. It hurts my ears  when playing at this volume) - After this point there is audible noise and the headphones gives a loud and annoying "kicking noise" when starting to play music.