How many people use DACS instead of soundcards?

I use a Total Bithead USB DAC from Headroom, run my Razer and Goldring (or Senns when they're not being borrowed) direct from there.
Can generate a little noise if turned up too high or the gain set wrongly with sensitive phones, but ultimately pretty good and exceedingly portable and compatible.
I may well look into a desktop full sized DAC and AMP for higher quality than a combined unit if I go back to desktop PC, but for versatility, I'm very happy with the TB.

Got it as a requested Christmas present, and gotta say I'm glad I have it. Its very much nicer than onboard sound. Can run it off batteries too for a little more punch in the bottom of the bass register, but I prefer to leave batteries out of it!
 
Khaaan! said:
What is the comparison here?

I just don't see how a DAC would provide me with a new experience over my Essence STX connected to my NAD C325BEE which in turn drives either the HD555 cans or Mordaunt-Short Avant floorstanders? Especially in gaming performance!
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Theres 2 factors here...firstly the source, the onboard DACs on soundcards will be totally out shined by a dedicated DAC like Cambridge Audio's DacMagic or something from Beresford or Musical Fidelity. Yes they have 24 Bit processing in the Essence, but the quality of componants just wont hold it against a dedicated Dac.

2nd, the output stage...Yes you should keep the Nad for driving the floorstanders, no question, but the quality of the headphone amp inside the Nad and other integrated amps is very sceptical. They are generally of very poor quality compared to a dedicated headphone amp.

Now of course it depends really what you want most. Headphone Amp/Dedicated DAC/Good headphones will give you audio bliss compared to what you have at the moment. You could sell your Essence and use a digital out on you Mobo straight into a Dac then use the outputs to go to your Nad, and a second set to drive a headphone amp, like a Graham Slee Nova

This scenario is exactly what im proposing to do myself.
 
robnut said:
I use a Aune hifidie DAC/amp. its use and cost me £99 and i think its brilliant.
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I use one of these as well, it's been great. I use it with the coaxial out of my motherboard and everything works straight out the box. Plug my DT770's into it and then pass through the DAC to my Marantz amp. I don't use the USB input as I get the occasional pop/hiss for some reason.

Only issue I've had is with Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre not outputting through SPDIF for some reason. It worked fine through the SPDIF out on my Xonar DX, however.
 
Yjani said:
Theres 2 factors here...firstly the source, the onboard DACs on soundcards will be totally out shined by a dedicated DAC like Cambridge Audio's DacMagic or something from Beresford or Musical Fidelity. Yes they have 24 Bit processing in the Essence, but the quality of componants just wont hold it against a dedicated Dac.

2nd, the output stage...Yes you should keep the Nad for driving the floorstanders, no question, but the quality of the headphone amp inside the Nad and other integrated amps is very sceptical. They are generally of very poor quality compared to a dedicated headphone amp.

Now of course it depends really what you want most. Headphone Amp/Dedicated DAC/Good headphones will give you audio bliss compared to what you have at the moment. You could sell your Essence and use a digital out on you Mobo straight into a Dac then use the outputs to go to your Nad, and a second set to drive a headphone amp, like a Graham Slee Nova

This scenario is exactly what im proposing to do myself.
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The headphone out aspect is one area that does sound interesting but having had a look around in this area in the past (hence my choice in Nad amps to begin with!) gave me the impression that Nads have good headphone out in their stereo amps!

Bearing in mind I have a pair of HD555s with the intention of getting at around HD600 class headphone down the line would it still be an option to get a headphone amp in there too?

I guess the only way is to borrow a HA off someone to compare side by side and go from there.

The quality I'm getting currently I'm just not convinced I'll get that additional "wow" factor worth +£100 the HA would cost as it's already pretty much there to start with if you see what I mean!
 
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The only real way would be to trust your own ears. Some people have better ears for audio quality than others, so other then borrowing a decent headphone amp off someone, id take your phones and amp to a local dealer and test them yourself along side a good quality headphone amp.

There are lots to choose from and would certainly take a while to list them. The HD600's are awesome cans, but they run at 300 ohms impedance, so will require a very good power source to get the best out of them. Your 555's i believe only have a nominal 50 ohms (from memory), so will require a lot less to drive them. Remember headphones are only as good as the source and power that are feeding them.
 
I'll keep an ear out I think (!) because lugging my Nad around is going to be a bit messy and tedious, it's huge!
 
They are bulky, my Nad 320BEE weighs a ton too :) But yes keep your ears open, and if you can, try and listen to a properly run in sample, or you will be decieved
 
I've had a look at some of the DAC's recommended and I have a question.

Most of them have standard RCA ouputs, as well as SPDIF and Toslink, how would you connect a set of headphones that come with a standard 3.5mm phono plug?

If you use a Y cable to convert the 2 RCA outputs to a female 3.5mm plug, will there be any loss in sound quality? Or does that depend on the quality of the Y cable used?

Thanks
 
I use a grubDAC that I built and it sounds great.

So far my modded china noodle DAC was the best, until I wasn't paying attention and blew it up...

Sound cards can be good too though, I had a modded Xonar and TBH thought it was not that great at all compared to my modded XFI xtrememusic. For around 20-25 quid 2nd hand, I think the XFI is one of the best bang/buck computing sound solutions you can get.
 
I've used a few DACs over the years, first was a Beresford 7210? MK2, next was a ZeroDAC (using Opamp OPA2604), then ZeroDAC (Upgraded version, using opamp OPA627), next up was a Cambridge Audio DACMagic and at present I am using an Audio-GD DAC-19MK3.

From the ZeroDAC onwards I have used each DAC with a SqeezeBox Classic (3) amp + speakers, I used the Beresford via coaxial from a soundcard, didn't really think much of the Beresford, didn't seem to improve my listening experience at all. Have had the DAC-19MK3 for almost a year now and more than happy with it, a really nice improvement in the sound quality with the Squeezebox....
 
Sorry been away haven't replied till now.

Yjani said:
A friend of mine just bought a Musical Fidelty V-Dac and i must say it sound superb, very tempted to up and sell my Xonar STX and get one along with a Graham Slee Nova. The difference i heard was quite astonishing
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Yes I found the same :D thats why I will never go back to soundcards.

mrdbristol said:
What DAC would you recommend to replace a Zonar DX ?

Mobo s'pdif out > DAC ? > Creek OBH 11 Headphone amp > Headphones

Anything around for say £100 ?

Cheers.
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Quite a few around my personal preference is the Music Fidelity VDac.

I am glad that or hope this thread might raise the profile of DACS and how they can replace sound cards. Offering to my ears far better sound and no interference.
 
TALON1973 said:
got the same dac myself mate ... have the sennhieser hd600 with a nad c315 bee amp ... ive had a lot higher end in the past but kept the odd old bit of kit .. still got my mission 780 se speaker for the nad .. wil get a dedicated hedphone amp at soem point .. but atm this is abig improvement over my old yam av amp for headphones .. let alone stereo use
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A dedicated headphone amp helps a lot as someone as pointed out in this thread a home hifi amp normally doesn't have a good sounding output. The Graham Slee is great so I have heard. I had Niam Headamp a while back, but sold it because I bought a home made one from ebay for same cost and when I compared the home made one was better.

Mind you the builder was well know for modding Meridian equipment. I would love to try a tube amp though.
 
Hifi amps not sounding as good as headphone amps is typically is a big myth. Some do use a separate circuit for the headphone output which can be pretty poor unless it's one where they advertise a separate amp. But for most amps the headphone output is stepped down from the main circuit so there's plenty of power.
 
I have a Denon AVCA1 and the headphone out is poor in comparision to my headphone amp. Enough power but doesn't sound as good although the headphones I know I use have a higher impedance.
 
personaly i like to use the onboard 7.1 audio card plugged into a sherwood RVD amp then out to front, rear, side, centre and sub with an extra set rear speakers through a HiFi. This setup works really well especially cause i got the amp and speakers free :)

my advice would be to get whatever you can but most importantly think if you really need it before you buy it...
 
For listening to music on my Senns 650's - I currently have the front speaker line out on my X-Fi plugged into my Graham Slee SRG II headphone amp. I'm connecting them via a pair of QED Signature Audio S RCA interconnects. As the X-Fi has no rca inputs, I'm using an Audioquest 3.5mm to 2 RCA female adaptor. For gaming, I just have the optical output of the X-Fi going into a Sony home theatre setup.

I'm considering a DAC instead of the X-Fi if I can get better quality sound over my 650's. And just use the X-Fi for gaming as it was intended.

What would you recommend to do justice to my 650's and SRGII's ? Musical Fidelity V-Dac ? The HRT Music Streamer II is also an option and supports asynchronous mode usb audio unlike the v-dac.
 
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Flanno said:
For listening to music on my Senns 650's - I currently have the front speaker line out on my X-Fi plugged into my Graham Slee SRG II headphone amp. I'm connecting them via a pair of QED Signature Audio S RCA interconnects. As the X-Fi has no rca inputs, I'm using an Audioquest 3.5mm to 2 RCA female adaptor. For gaming, I just have the optical output of the X-Fi going into a Sony home theatre setup.

I'm considering a DAC instead of the X-Fi if I can get better quality sound over my 650's. And just use the X-Fi for gaming as it was intended.

What would you recommend to do justice to my 650's and SRGII's ? Musical Fidelity V-Dac ? The HRT Music Streamer II is also an option and supports asynchronous mode usb audio unlike the v-dac.
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Honestly go for the VDAC and try without the XFI. I have had XFI gamer and Azuetech Forte. I play games now with the VDAC mainly as I cant stand the internal noise sound cards generate. I think you will like the VDAC it's one of the best things I have bought along with Senn HD650's.
 
Will definitley consider it and also the HRT. I like the HRT as it's reviewed as well and sometimes better then the V-Dac, does asynch. usb, is slimline, and is usb powered. On the other hand it only has usb inputs. No optical.
 
jbloggs said:
I've used a few DACs over the years, first was a Beresford 7210? MK2, next was a ZeroDAC (using Opamp OPA2604), then ZeroDAC (Upgraded version, using opamp OPA627), next up was a Cambridge Audio DACMagic and at present I am using an Audio-GD DAC-19MK3.

From the ZeroDAC onwards I have used each DAC with a SqeezeBox Classic (3) amp + speakers, I used the Beresford via coaxial from a soundcard, didn't really think much of the Beresford, didn't seem to improve my listening experience at all. Have had the DAC-19MK3 for almost a year now and more than happy with it, a really nice improvement in the sound quality with the Squeezebox....
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I almost ended up buying the Audio GD Reference Seven but decided to sell my preamp and go the Meridian route, which proved a good decision in the end for both HT and 2 channel purposes.

I'd still like to hear that Audio GD one day though, his designs are getting a lot more aesthetically pleasing too.
 
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