Soundcard to AMP/DAC Difference ?

[Dicehunter]

I sold my Asus Phoebus as it wasn't any better than the onboard audio on the Maximus VII Formula but I was wondering, How much better will the quality be on a proper dedicated external DAC/AMP like the Aune T1 MK2 using Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro's ? Would it actually be worth the outlay ?

[GodSpoon]

I sold my Asus Phoebus as it wasn't any better than the onboard audio on the Maximus VII Formula but I was wondering, How much better will the quality be on a proper dedicated external DAC/AMP like the Aune T1 MK2 using Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro's ? Would it actually be worth the outlay ?

 

If I could read your question it would be a tad easier to answer

 

 

The answer is yes, its better, but to untrained ears its negligible.

The onboard audio of the Maximus VII is good, but unless your doing studio work or you really really like your FLACs and your a top notch audiophile, the reproduction quality of an expensive external DAC/Amp solution isn't worth the money in my opinion 

[CalebTheEternal]

All I know is a DAC will remove more sounds, like buzzing and stuff that comes from inside the PC, since it is on the outside. TBH I just purchased something and I have NO IDEA what I got... Not sure if it's a DAC, external sound card, or just a waste of money... 

[Dicehunter]

If I could read your question it would be a tad easier to answer

 

 

The answer is yes, its better, but to untrained ears its negligible.

The onboard audio of the Maximus VII is good, but unless your doing studio work or you really really like your FLACs and your a top notch audiophile, the reproduction quality of an expensive external DAC/Amp solution isn't worth the money in my opinion 

 

Fixed, No clue what happened there but thanks for your reply   

 

 

All I know is a DAC will remove more sounds, like buzzing and stuff that comes from inside the PC, since it is on the outside. TBH I just purchased something and I have NO IDEA what I got... Not sure if it's a DAC, external sound card, or just a waste of money... 

 

 

Well removing buzzing sounds is a good thing   

[SSL]

The answer is yes, its better, but to untrained ears its negligible.

 

How trained do one's ears have to be? Where can I get trained? Is there a class?

[Donk Quixote]

Trained ears couldn't tell the difference in a double blind test between a $2 motherboard DAC and a $2000 amp+DAC+magic fairy dust set up.

[Skeletonfish]

How trained do one's ears have to be? Where can I get trained? Is there a class?

all I did to train my ears when I started doing live sound is I would listen to my favorite bands and just try to pick out the different instruments 

[KaminKevCrew]

all I did to train my ears when I started doing live sound is I would listen to my favorite bands and just try to pick out the different instruments

The sarcasm in SSL's post was real.

[Skeletonfish]

The sarcasm in SSL's post was real.

wow i derp

[GodSpoon]

How trained do one's ears have to be? Where can I get trained? Is there a class?

 

Sarcasm I sense possibly? Maybe? Just maybe?

 

Well regardless, lets say you just sit and listen in a room where there is music playing, say a band through a small theatre PA.

You can literally start to try to pick out sounds you like, and dislike, and start to "train your ears"

Its more of a mind thing I think honestly, you learn to perceive subtle changes and such in a song and in a PA, and often times you can notice more with higher quality hardware

I suppose "To the Trained Ear" is more a saying of learning to perceive more sounds and frequencies in music and audio in general

Its not all bullshit and fairy dust, you can have an ear for it

But I'm just the sound guy I don't know anything  and this is just my opinion I suppose

 

You may disagree, but I know I've learned to notice things more in audio like that

 

Blowing cash on a studio DAC and headset or reference monitors, possibly eliminating some electrical buzz or to get the flattest frequency response he can, isn't necessarily going to be worth it if he's just playing fallout 4 (hype) 

If he's doing studio work in his DAW for a record label and he gets a faint buzzing in his headset that messes his mix up, from his balls onboard audio controller,

Yes, it might worth it 

 

But hey, I don't know anything, just a guy on the internet

At least I try to be helpful, instead of just bashing

[Dicehunter]

Sarcasm I sense possibly? Maybe? Just maybe?

 

Well regardless, lets say you just sit an listen in a room where there is music playing, say a band through a small theatre PA.

You can literally start to try to pick out sounds you like, and dislike, and start to "train your ears"

Its more of a mind thing I think honestly, you learn to perceive subtle changes and such in a song and in a PA, and you can notice more with higher quality hardware

I suppose "To the Trained Ear" is more a saying of learning to perceive more sounds and frequencies in music and audio in general

But I'm just the sound guy I don't know anything  and this is just my opinion I suppose

 

You may disagree, but I know I've learned to notice things more in audio like that

 

Blowing cash on a studio DAC and headset or reference monitors, possibly eliminating some electrical buzz or to get the flattest frequency response he can, isn't necessarily going to be worth it if he's just playing fallout 4 (hype) 

If he's doing studio work in his DAW for a record label and he gets a faint buzzing in his headset that messes his mix up, from his balls onboard audio controller,

Yes, it might worth it 

 

But hey, I don't know anything, just a guy on the internet

At least I try to be helpful, instead of just bashing

 

Thanks for the reply it's appreciated   

 

I like to listen to music about an hour every evening as I find it nice and relaxing but so far with the onboard audio on the Asus Maximus VII Formula even when playing high quality FLACS I can hear buzz's or electrical noise of sorts that I know wouldn't be there with a dedicated audio solution.

 

What are peoples opinion of the Asus Xonar Essence STX II as a shop local to me is selling one for a mark down price due to a big sale going on right now.

 

I know it's internal and that is usually a no go zone in the sound arena but any input would be appreciated 

[SSL]

Sarcasm I sense possibly? Maybe? Just maybe?

 

It was sarcasm. I've been pretty invovled with music for most of my life.

 

The sarcasm was due to the fact that I don't agree with the whole "trained ears" canard. Audible improvement is audible to most people if they just pay attention. Inaudible improvement is, well... just that.

[cragger89]

If it is all working adequately, you're not going to gain much of a difference between on board and an off board audio solution.

 

My ASRock Z97M Pro4 board has quite a noisy output if I use the front panel headers, other than that, it sounds just as good as when it's connected with an optical lead to the DAC in my hifi in the lounge.

[spwath]

It was sarcasm. I've been pretty invovled with music for most of my life.

The sarcasm was due to the fact that I don't agree with the whole "trained ears" canard. Audible improvement is audible to most people if they just pay attention. Inaudible improvement is, well... just that.

But there is the fact that a lot of people won't care about the difference between 20$ headphones and 200$ headphones

But that might not be not hearing the differences, it's more likely not caring.

[SSL]

But there is the fact that a lot of people won't care about the difference between 20$ headphones and 200$ headphones

But that might not be not hearing the differences, it's more likely not caring.

 

I think part of it is it is difficult to know what you are missing with audio, whereas with HD video it is easy to imagine "clear, sharper, more vibrant". I've found it's hard to imagine better audio until you hear it. Thus hi-fi is tougher to market, which is a big part of the reason why people care about anything.

[Dicehunter]

I think part of it is it is difficult to know what you are missing with audio, whereas with HD video it is easy to imagine "clear, sharper, more vibrant". I've found it's hard to imagine better audio until you hear it. Thus hi-fi is tougher to market, which is a big part of the reason why people care about anything.

 

My uncle has a pair of Sennheiser HD800's and some sort of AMP/DAC setup, I haven't a clue what it is all I know is that is was very expensive but I listened to some music and I swear my ear canals got an erection  :lol: 

 

Although going from onboard to something fairly cheap like the Aune Ti MK2 is something I have no experience with as I have personally only owned an X-Fi Titanium fatal1ty Pro, Creative ZX which sucked and then the aforementioned Phoebus which wasn't any better than the onboard audio on the Maximus VII Formula albeit the onboard is a tad quieter.

[SSL]

My uncle has a pair of Sennheiser HD800's and some sort of AMP/DAC setup, I haven't a clue what it is all I know is that is was very expensive but I listened to some music and I swear my ear canals got an erection  :lol: 

 

Although going from onboard to something fairly cheap like the Aune Ti MK2 is something I have no experience with as I have personally only owned an X-Fi Titanium fatal1ty Pro, Creative ZX which sucked and then the aforementioned Phoebus which wasn't any better than the onboard audio on the Maximus VII Formula albeit the onboard is a tad quieter.

 

Sure. I think people mostly buy the Aune T1 in order to tube roll; so you may get a different, "tube sound" out of it. No way to predict whether you'll find it an improvement or not.

[LeeWonky]

Sarcasm I sense possibly? Maybe? Just maybe?

I thought the only training needed was to give maybe 1-10% more concentration. The moment I did that, it gave me an idea on what I wanted in a headphone or in an amp, which (for the headphone) was to fill out what I am asking for in terms of sound quality and (for the amp) to have the lowest noise floor for the money.

[sobe]

When it comes to audio I'd say it's 95% subjective. Everyones' ears are different, just because you may not be able to pick out certain things or nuances, doesn't mean someone else can't. I've been able to notice slight differences in higher quality headphones, but there are some things I simply can't pick out that others can pick up on. Part of it may be my tinnitus, part of it may be the concussion I had when in service that affected me a bit, either way, you just have to find what YOU enjoy. There's a lot I want to try and a lot I also want to own, but I recently downsized my own collection with what I've been listening to the most as of late.

 

For the price of the Aune, you could also pick up a used Schiit stack with tubes (Modi/Vali).