Sound card or DAC?

j4ska · 13 Mar 2023 at 11:08

Hi, finally managed to get set I wanted: Klipsch R51-M + Cambridge Audio CXA60 amp.

Amp has Bluetooth dongle but input lag putting me off.

My onboard audio on MSI x590a-pro is horrendous (low quality and not loud at all) and would need advice what to get to improve it.

On old PC I had Soundblaster Fatal1ty Gamers and it was great for both gaming and listening music.

What would you recommend guys? Something around £100 second hand. Internal/external soundcard or DAC?

Also what would be best method to connect to this amp:
* 3.5mm jack to RCA
* 3.5mm jack to mp3 link in front
* RCA to RCA ( if I'll find card with RCA output)
* Coaxial to Coaxial (if I'll find a card with coaxial output) (foslink is a big no no for this amp apparently)

Was looking at Asus Xonar Essence STX or Khadas Tone1 External Sound Card or Sound Blaster GC7 DAC

JasonM · 13 Mar 2023 at 18:40

j4ska said:
Was looking at Asus Xonar Essence STX or Khadas Tone1 External Sound Card or Sound Blaster GC7 DAC

The Essence cards are extremally good especially if your only concern is music, you can use the Essence cards for games but they don't have EAX like the Creative cards.

PapaLazaru · 13 Mar 2023 at 22:45

Shame the amp does not have USB input as it has its own DAC, would have been simple to connect but it is quite old now.

Music or gaming, or both? For your budget and if for mainly music I would be tempted by the new iFi Uno. Got RCA outputs on the back and if anything like their other products will be good value.

j4ska · 14 Mar 2023 at 08:38

PapaLazaru said:
Shame the amp does not have USB input as it has its own DAC, would have been simple to connect but it is quite old now.

Music or gaming, or both? For your budget and if for mainly music I would be tempted by the new iFi Uno. Got RCA outputs on the back and if anything like their other products will be good value.

I was looking at ifi products too, and yeah - when i was buying it i saw USB port at back and didn't checked it was only for Bluetooth.

And what about iFi ZEN DAC V2 ? I could possibly stretch my budget on this one, but then again, reading reviews of this one and gc7 - gc7 wins.

Ayahuasca · 14 Mar 2023 at 11:03

The GC7 is better if you want more control over your gaming audio on the fly.

The iFi ZEN DAC V2 is an excellent product and the analogue bass boost is very well done. I'd only go with this if your primary use is music or you don't need the specific on the fly controls the GC7 offers for your headphones and mic when gaming.

j4ska · 14 Mar 2023 at 11:12

This is something I can't make my mind up on lol.
I'm using speakers 95% for music, 5% for gaming.
I'm playing on Creative G Pro headphones which came with external sound card dongle so not sure how would this work on gc7 but I'd love to have those extra controls for gaming, ts/dc etc.

JollyJamma · 14 Mar 2023 at 16:15

Ayahuasca said:
The GC7 is better if you want more control over your gaming audio on the fly.

The iFi ZEN DAC V2 is an excellent product and the analogue bass boost is very well done. I'd only go with this if your primary use is music or you don't need the specific on the fly controls the GC7 offers for your headphones and mic when gaming.

+1 vote for the Ifi Zen v2

PCI-e audio cards use pci-e lanes up and the Ifi zen is brilliant.

PapaLazaru · 14 Mar 2023 at 17:37

Uno is £80
Zen2 is £150

Could meet in the middle and get the Zen Air for £100?

Looks internally pretty identical to the Zen2 apart from the headphone amp, which you don't really need anyway.

JasonM · 14 Mar 2023 at 23:53

I'll just mention the THD and SNR are both higher on the Asus Essence STX than the Zen 2 external DAC. The Zen does support far more audio formats such as DSD however, as it's released years later than the Asus Essence range of cards. Audio performance specs are the same for STX and STX II, second hand Asus Essence is still worth considering if you can get one good price and only use PCM audio format.

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j4ska · 15 Mar 2023 at 09:00

Another two to cause more confusion:
* STX has issues on Windows 11

* Connected Aux to Aux yesterday and sound was much better than through Aux to RCA and Bluetooth

I could potentially use Aux all the time but it's in front of amp...

Ayahuasca · 15 Mar 2023 at 09:52

There's really no need to overthink it. The most important equipment is the headphone and microphone. As above, choose the sound card or external DAC based off the features you must have.

j4ska · 15 Mar 2023 at 10:11

Agree with you that I'm overthinking, but just want to make most of it

JasonM · 15 Mar 2023 at 18:00

j4ska said:
Another two to cause more confusion:
* STX has issues on Windows 11

My STX II is working without issue with Asus drivers on AMD X570 Windows 11
I don't own a STX to try on Windows 11. Do own the ST (legacy PCI) but only used that on Windows 10.

EDIT. Just found this thread on STX II and Windows 11, people having issues, however i don't experience these issues.

ASUS audio cards not supported by Windows 11

I guess that you cannot install the full Asus software for your card due to some incompatibility with Windows 11. Have you tried to extract the driver files in a folder using WinRAR or similar utility? Then you can go to Device Manager and try to manually force the driver to the audio card.

www.elevenforum.com

JollyJamma · 16 Mar 2023 at 10:20

j4ska said:
Agree with you that I'm overthinking, but just want to make most of it

Honestly, a good audio purchase is rarely a waste of money.

USB DACS are more versatile as you can use them with a laptop or phone or ITX rig.

Either will be fine.

j4ska · 16 Mar 2023 at 10:43

ATM canceled all my STX soundcard bids mostly due incompatibility. Waiting for isoacoustics iso stands to be delivered and will see difference then. Maybe will just stay with AUX atm as I had HiBy R3 Pro of my mate for a day to test and it's worst than onboard audio.

mattyfez · 18 Mar 2023 at 01:11

Just buy a proper amp.. The Tangent 'ampster bt' is a nice little unit with very good sound.

mattyfez · 18 Mar 2023 at 01:17

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j4ska · 18 Mar 2023 at 10:32

Topping MX3 over Cambridge Audio amp? xD

JollyJamma · 18 Mar 2023 at 10:35

j4ska said:
Topping MX3 over Cambridge Audio amp? xD

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You are overthinking things.

j4ska · 18 Mar 2023 at 10:46

are you trying to say kia is better than merc?