Do I need a DAC/AMP?

[CobbleWalker]

Hello LTT Community, 

 

After watching the "How to Choose a Headphone Amp and DAC" Techquickie video I am unsure as to whether or not I should purchase a DAC or amp.

 

This is the scenario I am in atm: I have a Asrock Faral1ty z97 Motherboard and a pair of Sennheiser 518's (got them on sale for $50). Before I installed my GPU, everything was fine, and sound was good. However, once I installed my R9 380, I got horrendous amounts of static and crackling. This noise spiked whenever I moved the mouse. I have since moved my audio connection to my monitor audio output. This works fine, but sometimes I wonder if I would notice a difference with a DAC/AMP. I am new to the world of audio so please forgive any misconceptions I may have. 

 

Thanks,

CobbleWalker

[DXMember]

if you don't have like crazy high impedance headphones then you don't really need an amp

you'll be just fine with the onboard sound

[CobbleWalker]

1 minute ago, DXMember said:

if you don't have like crazy high impedance headphones then you don't really need an amp

you'll be just fine with the onboard sound

Ok, thanks.

 

[DXMember]

2 minutes ago, CobbleWalker said:

Ok, thanks.

 

you need AMP when you can't hear your headphones because it's too quiet

that's what AMPs do - they amplify the signal - for sound it makes it louder

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, DXMember said:

if you don't have like crazy high impedance headphones then you don't really need an amp

 

I have 45 ohm headphones. Would I benefit from an amp? Y or N

[DXMember]

Just now, SSL said:

 

I have 45 ohm headphones. Would I benefit from an amp? Y or N

 

12 minutes ago, DXMember said:

you need AMP when you can't hear your headphones because it's too quiet

that's what AMPs do - they amplify the signal - for sound it makes it louder

 

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, DXMember said:

if you don't have like crazy high impedance headphones then you don't really need an amp

 

So can you explain this statement, then? It's pretty confusing.

[DXMember]

2 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

So can you explain this statement, then? It's pretty confusing.

high impedance headphones get very quiet or too quiet with onboard sound and then to make it louder or loud enough you need to amplify the signal

 

[Guest]

Just now, DXMember said:

high impedance headphones get very quiet or too quiet with onboard sound

 

Do they, though? What if I ran a headphone peaking at 1000 ohms from my motherboard?

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

Do they, though? What if I ran a headphone peaking at 1000 ohms from my motherboard?

I'm no audio pro, but I assume you'd barely hear them.

[DXMember]

6 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

I'm no audio pro, but I assume you'd barely hear them.

I'm no audio pro, but I'd have to agree with you

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

I'm no audio pro, but I assume you'd barely hear them.

 

3 minutes ago, DXMember said:

I'm no audio pro, but I'd have to agree with you

 

You make me sad. Beyerdynamic T1.2 straight from my motherboard. Plenty loud.

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

 

You make me sad. Beyerdynamic T1.2 straight from my motherboard. Plenty loud.

Interesting.

[Dackzy]

Let me make this as simple as I can

Ohm matters 5%

how sensitive the drivers are matters 95%

 

 

[Unhelpful]

12 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

I'm no audio pro, but I assume you'd barely hear them.

 

5 minutes ago, DXMember said:

I'm no audio pro, but I'd have to agree with you

Guys... No. You're wrong.

[Spork829]

8 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Let me make this as simple as I can

Ohm matters 5%

how sensitive the drivers are matters 95%

 

 

Very interesting. I've always thought it had much more to do with the impedance number itself.

 

8 minutes ago, JoeyDM said:

 

Guys... No. You're wrong.

It would appear so.

[Dackzy]

Just now, Spork829 said:

Very interesting. I've always thought it had much more to do with the impedance number itself.

 

It would appear so.

common mistake  

[Unhelpful]

2 hours ago, Spork829 said:

Very interesting. I've always thought it had much more to do with the impedance number itself.

 

It would appear so.

Very common mistake that people here have been trying to squash.