NOT using an onboard audio makes a DIFFERENCE.

[Mogwai]

Woah, I was joking about the power conditioners earlier.

Well I do believe that the quality of electricity being supplied is important and a lot of power conditioners can protect against power surges. 

Though power conditioners are pretty much glorified power strips, they do serve importance to some extent.

 

A friend's band have a small home studio and power conditioners have saved them big time before.

But for the average person with a desktop amp and a pair of headphones not so much.

 

Sort of subjective in my eyes.

[coen113]

Yes, but first i would upgrade your headset.

i currently use my cx 150 sennheiser in ears, and i dont really have the money to buy 50e headphones

[M-ursu]

i currently use my cx 150 sennheiser in ears, and i dont really have the money to buy 50e headphones

You will hear difference if you buy soundcard

[mr moose]

So I have a laptop with one of the better onboard audio that comes with laptops.

My headphone is ATH-M50 and I thought the detail was so good and was loving the sh*t out of it.

Though, I did notice some *sssshhhhzzzztttttt* noise slightly when the music was going thru soft part or a relatively quiet part and I was getting sick of it, so I took out an external dac&amp that would normally be literally tethered to my consoles (Astro Mixamp) and connected it to my computer so it would carry out digital signal thru USB and do the analog conversion at the much better external amp. 

I can HEAR details that have not been previously hearable or have been bland, very clearly.

Low, mids & highs all sound x100 better. I'm not kidding. Hell, now i'm actually appreciate the little details the musicians put in their music!

I guess this is what Fiio Olympia is supposed to do but my point is, whatever it is, ext. device that calculates your soundwaves makes a HUGE difference to listening... I am so flipping out right now - that's why I'm writing this even though this obviously has no clear topic

 

Edit: and sorry for terrible grammar... I'm really tired atm.

 

 

This is exactely why a Fiio is recommended over a soundcard but not always over onboard in a desktop,  Laptops are notoriously poor audio performers and the Fiio is not only cheaper than most soundcards it is also much less likey to suffer interferance and can be used on laptops and macs and linux and just about anything with usb. 

 

 

Haha well put, I already said this earlier today but

Headphones > amp > dac > power management > files > environment > cables

 

I read that to mean power managment as in, don't let your power cables wrap around unsheilded audio cables.

[Mogwai]

This is exactely why a Fiio is recommended over a soundcard and not alweays over onboard in a desktop,  Laptops are notoriously poor audio performers and the Fiio is not only cheaper than most soundcards it is also much less likey to suffer interferance and can be used on laptops and macs and linux and just about anything with usb. 

 

 

 

I read that to mean power managment as in, don't let your power cables wrap around unsheilded audio cables.

Well that as well, when I said power management I meant quality of electricity supplied, power conditioners/filters, power cables, etc.

I just touched on the only first hand experience I have with power conditioners.

[mr moose]

Well that as well, when I said power management I meant quality of electricity supplied, power conditioners/filters, power cables, etc.

I just touched on the only first hand experience I have with power conditioners.

I must admit I have had noise come through the soundcard from a nasty cheap $25 PSU.  I just assume with the price of tech now no-one skimps on a PSU, with companies like silverstone, antec and TT making decent $65 units.

[Mogwai]

I must admit I have had noise come through the soundcard from a nasty cheap $25 PSU.  I just assume with the price of tech now no-one skimps on a PSU, with companies like silverstone, antec and TT making decent $65 units.

Yeah true, clean power is pretty essential to good sound reproduction.

[ShearMe]

Well I do believe that the quality of electricity being supplied is important and a lot of power conditioners can protect against power surges. 

Though power conditioners are pretty much glorified power strips, they do serve importance to some extent.

 

A friend's band have a small home studio and power conditioners have saved them big time before.

But for the average person with a desktop amp and a pair of headphones not so much.

 

Sort of subjective in my eyes.

 

Ah, but that doesn't touch on the mythical substance audiophiles claim they add, nor the price required to obtain one. There's other methods of getting clean safe power outside of buying an audio "power conditioner"

[Mogwai]

Ah, but that doesn't touch on the mythical substance audiophiles claim they add, nor the price required to obtain one. There's other methods of getting clean safe power outside of buying an audio "power conditioner"

Haha, let's not get into that, almost as bad as the cable debate. There are some folks on head-fi that spend hundreds or even thousands on power cords... and then thousands more on cables. 

Also they are crazy expensive very very true. Eh are there benefits? sure. Would I buy one for my personal use? nope.

I would love to continue this discussion but I got work in the morning at it's past 3 am.

[mr moose]

Ah, but that doesn't touch on the mythical substance audiophiles claim they add, nor the price required to obtain one. There's other methods of getting clean safe power outside of buying an audio "power conditioner"

 

I have a special power cord for you to use with your tube amp. It is made from pure frandelium, it naturally resists interferance because the dirty photons produced by nearby power cables are repulsed by the very clean frandelium.  It is also coated in a patented redomium based plastic that prevents parasitic RF interference. It is only $500 a metre and we recommend one for each cable in your power cord, so one for active, one for neutral and one for the earth.  If you combine this with my pure porcelan speaker cable stands you will get the purest signal to your speakers you have ever heard.

[ShearMe]

I have a special power cord for you to use with your tube amp. It is made from pure frandelium, it naturally resists interferance because the dirty photons produced by nearby power cables are repulsed by the very clean frandelium.  It is also coated in a patented redomium based plastic that prevents parasitic RF interference. It is only $500 a metre and we recommend one for each cable in your power cord, so one for active, one for neutral and one for the earth.  If you combine this with my pure porcelan speaker cable stands you will get the purest signal to your speakers you have ever heard.

 

I'LL BUY TEN

[MayflowerElectronics]

I'LL BUY TEN

 

I immediately thought of the episode where Patrick says "I'll take 20"

[James_AJ]

As @James_AJ said, I heard a bit of buzzing in the sound output. It also sounded more tinny. Of course it could all be bias but... one thing is for sure. When I blast my music in my headphones, I can hear every single bit of sound coming from the file. Every single detail. When I do the same with onboard audio, it sounded different with less detail. It's much more apparent when listening to the acoustic versions.

yes, buzzing. Thanks, that's the word. And thanks for explaining how I can hear the clear difference (no pun intended) better than I could!

[h264]

 

My point is about the overall major increase in the quality of DESKTOP onboard.  Laptop onboard is all over the place.  The Asus EEE PCs had excellent onboard audio (remember those?!?!).  My old laptop has noticable hiss in it's headphone jack when the hard drive is in motion.  Interference and hiss heard that's FROM THE POWER SUPPLY, if true, is an indication of a BAD AMP, not bad power.  Bad power would involve power which fluctuated in voltage and current, not in "cleanness" or w/e the audio salons call it these days.  Power does not need to be perfect for a good amp to deal well with it.  Onboard audio is not a wit inferior to most modern soundcards.  In some ways, it's even superior in some cases.

 

 

Ah, but that doesn't touch on the mythical substance audiophiles claim they add, nor the price required to obtain one. There's other methods of getting clean safe power outside of buying an audio "power conditioner"

 

A UPC works fine for the sane world if you're really worried, and it's a pretty good idea to protect your computer with one anyways.  A surge suppressor/power strip is even fine, and a good idea anyways.

 

 

Woah, I was joking about the power conditioners earlier.

 

Yes, my thoughts are in the FAQ, as I'm still subscribing to the HydrogenAudio order of operations:

 

files > headphones >>>> amp >>>>>>>>>>>>>> DAC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> anything else

 

Honestly, if I pretty much KNEW everybody had a least modern iTunes tracks it would be:

 

headphones >>>> amp >>>>>>>>>>>>>> DAC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>files>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> anything else

 

but I feel I should still press the point that old Napster mp3s are BAADDDD

 

 

yes, buzzing. Thanks, that's the word. And thanks for explaining how I can hear the clear difference (no pun intended) better than I could!

 

If I can give one piece of advice about not getting screwed in the audio world, it's that there's not always a difference, and to try to not expect one.  You'll approach things much more objectively that way.  Volume is often the only actual difference.

[mr moose]

but I feel I should still press the point that old Napster mp3s are BAADDDD

 

 

 

And what about Jasen Newstead?

 

[h264]

And what about Jasen Newstead?

 

 

Oh the nostalgia.  One year later, and nobody knew who those guys were anymore.  That's what happens when you insult your own fans.

[ShearMe]

Interference and hiss heard that's FROM THE POWER SUPPLY, if true, is an indication of a BAD AMP, not bad power.  

 

I have this annoying buzz + clicking that occasionally comes through both my Little Dot tube amp and FiiO E10. It happens when the volume is turned off, and even when the tube amp is disconnected from everything. EXPLAIN THAT

[h264]

I have this annoying buzz + clicking that occasionally comes through both my Little Dot tube amp and FiiO E10. It happens when the volume is turned off, and even when the tube amp is disconnected from everything. EXPLAIN THAT

 

That would be your wool coat rubbing on the cord

[mr moose]

I have this annoying buzz + clicking that occasionally comes through both my Little Dot tube amp and FiiO E10. It happens when the volume is turned off, and even when the tube amp is disconnected from everything. EXPLAIN THAT

Thats because you aren't using my frandelium power cords on it yet.

[Ando]

Haha well put, I already said this earlier today but

Headphones > amp > dac > power management > files > environment > cables

Sorry if this is a super noob question, but is the FiiO E10 both an amp and a DAC?

[MayflowerElectronics]

Sorry if this is a super noob question, but is the FiiO E10 both an amp and a DAC?

 

Yessir.

[Mogwai]

Sorry if this is a super noob question, but is the FiiO E10 both an amp and a DAC?

Yes dad, yes it is.

[Ando]

Yes dad, yes it is.

lol thanks. i think i'll be getting it since it is a cheap upgrade to onboard audio.

 

and for the record, im pretty sure im younger than most of you here

[James_AJ]

Damn, some of the stuffs you guys are saying is just blowing my mind/incomprehensible...

So apparently there's more to it than I thought (duh)

[Turkatron]

So I have a laptop with one of the better onboard audio that comes with laptops.

My headphone is ATH-M50 and I thought the detail was so good and was loving the sh*t out of it.

Though, I did notice some *sssshhhhzzzztttttt* noise slightly when the music was going thru soft part or a relatively quiet part and I was getting sick of it, so I took out an external dac&amp that would normally be literally tethered to my consoles (Astro Mixamp) and connected it to my computer so it would carry out digital signal thru USB and do the analog conversion at the much better external amp. 

I can HEAR details that have not been previously hearable or have been bland, very clearly.

Low, mids & highs all sound x100 better. I'm not kidding. Hell, now i'm actually appreciate the little details the musicians put in their music!

I guess this is what Fiio Olympia is supposed to do but my point is, whatever it is, ext. device that calculates your soundwaves makes a HUGE difference to listening... I am so flipping out right now - that's why I'm writing this even though this obviously has no clear topic

 

Edit: and sorry for terrible grammar... I'm really tired atm.

 

Update: I have noticed some noticeable crackles and 'inaccurate' sound with this particular headphone amp/dac as it probably has a half-assed capacitors (as I hear those faults only when the music is literally climaxing or changes suddenly in terms of loudness, especially when I have volume cranked up pretty loud)

 

Update 2: damn, I can actually hear difference between lossless, 320, 160 and 128... this is amazing/unprecedented...

i'm glad you noticed this I love you.