Realtek HD Audio Manager necessary if using DAC/AMP

[Jz1]

I want to remove this program but I don't know if it will impact my audio quality. I use headphones that plug into my DAC/AMP Jack and there's a cord at the back of the unit that connects to the computer via USB.

[Guest]

Ideally you'd want to be using something that'll directly access the DAC and bypass windows/realtek anything anyway. Like Foobar & WASAPI, etc...

Edit: Note, I'm a newcomer to DACs/Amps for headphones, so a better answer may come.

[Max_Settings]

No it will not affect your quality if you remove it. If you want keep it, but under the properties of your DACs you should hit disable all sound enhancements so realtek doesn’t do anything to change the sound.