Quiz
Gawd
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2010
- Messages
- 666
What's the difference between a sound card and a USB DAC? Would both be the same when it comes to gaming or would a sound card be preferred in this case?
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For me, once one gets to non-manure quality in the rest of audio equipment, I greatly prefer a usb DAC. The reason is that I've yet to encounter an internal sound card where all those electromagnetic wave thingies inside the computer don't cause some audible hiss.What's the difference between a sound card and a USB DAC? Would both be the same when it comes to gaming or would a sound card be preferred in this case?
A little background on my situation:
I had a desktop PC with a Sound Blaster AE-9 connected to 2 x JBL LSR305 monitors + 1 x JBL LSR310S subwoofer. I sold the desktop PC but still have the AE-9 and JBL speakers/subwoofer. I now have a MacBook and want to get a USB DAC (probably the Chord Qutest) to use with the JBL speakers and subwoofer.
I just want to know that if I get another desktop PC in the future, should I put the AE-9 back in or use the Qutest instead?
What if I replace the LSR305 with the JBL 705P?WAIT WUT... you wanna buy a $1600~ Dac for $200~ powered studio speakers???? ummmm.... no you would be much better served to spend the money on speaker upgrades.. I mean the LSR305 are supposedly "pretty good" I haven't really listened to them... but getting a $1600 DAC for them is actual lunacy.
If it was my money and I was intent on spending it, I would personally buy $1500~ speakers and a $80 SMSL SU-1 DAC (I have this DAC) hooked up to a vintage Sony TA-E77ESD/TA-N77ES (200WPC stereo amp) with vintage Yamaha NS-344 10" 3-way speakers... it is a good dac in my case due to being stupidly lucky buying vintage gear the Sony ES stack (also tape / CD /tuner/a 2nd N110 Amp and a digital surround processor) cost $75 and the speakers $50 in fact the god **** SMSL dac is the most expensive part of this set up coming in at $80~
What if I replace the LSR305 with the JBL 705P?
Oh yea, don't forget the importance of spending well over $1k on a 3ft set of those 8 gauge, uber-shielded, quadruple twisted, RFI-protected pure copper cables with those 24K pure gold anti-ghosting banana plug connectors with omega particle non-resonating coating, hehehe /sCables
Topping E70 VelvetWhat about the Schiit Bifrost 2/64? Costs about half as much as the Qutest.
https://www.schiit.com/products/bifrost
So it is absolutely your money and do what makes you happy but if you are spending this much for a dac then you amp and speakers should be in the many thousands of dollars... it just isn't going to be worth it (imho) for powered monitors like these.What if I replace the LSR305 with the JBL 705P?
Thanks.So it is absolutely your money and do what makes you happy but if you are spending this much for a dac then you amp and speakers should be in the many thousands of dollars... it just isn't going to be worth it (imho) for powered monitors like these.
However my advice remains the same as before if you really wanna improve your audio experience / spend money.. you're better off getting higher end speakers / amps..
higher end amps / speakers / or powered speakers are going to make more difference then a new dac unless you old dac is just broken?
What do you guys think of Genelec speakers?
Genelec speakers are active/powered. All of them.Seem to be the speakers to have, but be warned that they are passive. So they are even more expensive than they seem since you have to add amps.
Genelec speakers are active/powered. All of them.
I have a Bifrost 2/64 and it's really good.Very realistic - life like sound. It's really good for the price. USB output is probably the best around.What about the Schiit Bifrost 2/64? Costs about half as much as the Qutest.
https://www.schiit.com/products/bifrost
Genelec makes some of the best studio monitor speakers. Can't really think of a better brand.Thanks for the recommendation.
What do you guys think of Genelec speakers?
I just learned that the Bifrost clicks between tracks/songs. Is this true? If so, is it annoying?I have a Bifrost 2/64 and it's really good.Very realistic - life like sound. It's really good for the price. USB output is probably the best around.
yeah it does have click sound when it changes bitrate/sampling rates. It's barely noticeable. I find it helpful when listening in exclusive mode in Windows. I know it's playing the correct bit-rate and sample rate of the song I'm listening too. If you have headphones on you may not notice it. The other thing about Bifrost 2/64 is that it's a R2R style DAC and you never want to turn it off. R2R multi-bit DACs need warm up time to get most performance out of it.I just learned that the Bifrost clicks between tracks/songs. Is this true? If so, is it annoying?
The Topping DX3 Pro+ is another good all-in-one option for $200. Not as good as seperates but small and portable.Topping D10s small, very good.
I'll be using it with a MacBook. Is there anything I need to know that might be specifically true when using it with a Mac vs. a PC?yeah it does have click sound when it changes bitrate/sampling rates. It's barely noticeable. I find it helpful when listening in exclusive mode in Windows. I know it's playing the correct bit-rate and sample rate of the song I'm listening too. If you have headphones on you may not notice it. The other thing about Bifrost 2/64 is that it's a R2R style DAC and you never want to turn it off. R2R multi-bit DACs need warm up time to get most performance out of it.
I'll be using it with a MacBook. Is there anything I need to know that might be specifically true when using it with a Mac vs. a PC?
The EM shielding on my AE-5 is good enough that I have never noticed any hissing or other artifacts. I think Creative have done well with the EM shielding since the Z-series. Prior to that it seemed like it was more for looks than actually shielding the components from EM radiation.For me, once one gets to non-manure quality in the rest of audio equipment, I greatly prefer a usb DAC. The reason is that I've yet to encounter an internal sound card where all those electromagnetic wave thingies inside the computer don't cause some audible hiss.
I'm currently using a fairly heftily priced fostex hp-a3, but when I am honest I can't really say I hear the difference between it and an elcheapo pc100usb by the same brand. To my ears, connecting to a higher powered amp delivers a far more cost effective improvement to the sound quality.
Yes, I game with it. There are no latency issues. The Bifrost 2/64 uses schiit's own usb controller unison and it has like little to no jitter. The Bifrost 2/64 has isolation setup on it's usb port. I was using a $5 walmart usb cable and it sounded pretty good. I switched to a monolith cable. In the manual says not to use a cable longer than 2m. I have not had any USB issues.How is the latency with the Bifrost 2/64? CyberJunk, do you game with it? If yes, is the latency acceptable?
I have not experienced anything like that with Bifrost 2/64 or the Modius I had before that.Long usb cables won't cause degraded sound. It's digital.
If there is interference, you may notice drop outs, pauses or such while sync is being dropped and re-established. I use a 5m USB extension for my UPS for that reason - if it drops out and takes a second for it to re-establish it's not the end of the world.
My point is you don’t need a fancy cable. If you don’t have those issues, then the cable you are using is fine.I have not experienced anything like that with Bifrost 2/64 or the Modius I had before that.
I paid $10 for monolith cable on amazon. Monolith USB Type B cableMy point is you don’t need a fancy cable. If you don’t have those issues, then the cable you are using is fine.
I can't tell a difference between the 1m vs 2m versions of the cable. FYI.I paid $10 for monolith cable on amazon. Monolith USB Type B cable
My base recommendation is a topping d10s, they have very high quality components, and the sound out of them is very good, if not excellent. They need an amp or amped speakers.Trying to get a feel on how to up my computer audio. I've usually used low/medium end sound cards with fair success. It seems medium end computer speakers are more limited by the sound card than anything most often, but i need to completely redo my setup, including some legit headphones with a microphone attached. I'm inclined to lean towards the USB dac route but was looking to see if anyone had experience.