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USB DAC vs. Sound Card

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lust

lust

Member
​
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Hey Guys,

Not sure if I'm in the right section for this but I was wondering what would be the better route to go with?
I'm debating between getting either a USB DAC or a PCIe soundcard.
I do some competitive gaming but I also want to be able to enjoy clean audio when I listen to music or watch movies.
If anyone can give me the pros and cons of both and give me a firm answer on which one would give me the best solution that would be outstanding. Thanks!
 
If you purchased a USB DAC you would need an amp to attach the DAC to. Of course there are other options with combination DAC/AMP such as the JDS Objective2, Woo Audio WA7, Matrix M-Stage HPA2 USB, and many others to choose from.

As for motherboard audio, if you have plans for sound card or buying a dedicated dac/amp anyway, don't even think about motherboard audio. Onboard audio has come a long way from what it once was, but a quality sound card will outperform it in every way.

For something quality and cheap, I would recommend the Schiit Modi and Schiit Vali stack, the Modi goes for $99 and the Vali for $119 via Schiit.com. Excellent performing DAC and AMP combo. As far as gaming they will do fine for running your games, but they will lack any additional positional cues that would be found running a Titanium HD, Sound Blaster Z/Zx/ZxR, or Phoebus. The cards I listed offer both quality DAC with a decent amp and would be better overall if you were doing more competitive gaming. If your gaming is casual, you should have NO issue running the Modi/Vali stack.

That being said, what headphones are you using? Buying this equipment for a cheap headset from Logitech, Plantronics, Turtle Beach, Razer, etc. would be a bit pointless.
 
Just get a S/PDIF DAC and plug it into the onboard S/PDIF output. If it doesn't have a built in amp, you can save a lot by learning how to build one. You can build a very good one for under $30 of parts.
 
i currently have the creative soundblaster Z with audio technica ad700x
 
In that case, I would highly recommend a good DAC/AMP set OR simply an amp then if you are looking for "more", as your Z should handle as a decent DAC just fine. This way you can save a little. My recommendation is still towards the Modi/Magni or Modi/Vali stack though, for $198 and $218 respectively.

I would also look at headphone upgrade options for down the road if you do pick up a dac/amp to fully take advantage of having the amp.


If you have some money to blow and are the DIY type, the Bottlehead Crack is DAMN good, and even better with the Speedball Upgrade Kit.
 
Your sound card already has a good built in amp. Adding an external one will not have much effect on quality.
 
Before getting upgrades to your sound card, make sure you have a quality audio set up before going into it. A nice pair of headsets will make anything sound better (and I dont mean the 40$ pair of sony or koss either). Plugging a 15$ set of headphones into a nice sound card is like putting 5000$ rims on 600$ car, wont really do much for you.


I may being presumptuous on this end, but what are you using for headphones/stereo?


That said, I do some mild studio work at home, but I like to consider myself an audiophile of sorts. I use a preamp that is both a input for mic/instruments, as well as being a DAC. It's pretty solid. From there it goes to an onkyo receiver where I can eq it to my tastes. Its a great setup, and I've had no need for a sound card of any kind.
 
NiHaoMike said:
Your sound card already has a good built in amp. Adding an external one will not have much effect on quality.
Click to expand...

He's already looking to upgrade, and the fact that his Z is not the ZxR that uses the TI based amp, but instead the lower end Maxim, he is wanting to get more judging from his post. If sound cards were just as good as dedicated equipment, we would not have the choices in dedicated gear that we do have, and places like Head-Fi would not exist.

Amping is not about making them louder, its about supplying them with enough power so they sound correctly. Without sufficient power, the headphones certainly won't be able to reproduce their full range and precision to the level they're capable of. That's what amping is all about. Sure, you can get sound feeding strained power into any can, even orthos, but the amount of power needed to fire the drivers with precise control and start and stop the driver "on a dime" is different than the amount of power needed to move it at all. And every amp will power headphones differently, a Schiit Asgard will sound different or bring out less than say a Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies.

The AKG 70x series would be a good example of this due to being low on the efficiency scaling as compared to say Senn HD600/650. Not to say that bad efficiency is a bad thing, it just means they don't take much voltage swing but need more current to move the magnets in the driver.


Of course, realistically I am basing this on assessment of his post and assumption that he wants to upgrade down the road to better headphones, etc.
 
The USB DAC will tax your CPU mroe than a sound card or onboard sound. It could potentially have a tiny effect on keyboard or mouse latency, if it starts to saturate the USB hub.
 
The Maxim chip is very good at 112dB SNR and is designed to drive both 32 ohm and 600 ohm. It might not be quite as good as TI or Analog Devices, but at that end, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/7138

If you do get an external DAC, get one with S/PDIF input. For an amp, learn some electronics and build your own.
 
sobe said:
He's already looking to upgrade, and the fact that his Z is not the ZxR that uses the TI based amp, but instead the lower end Maxim, he is wanting to get more judging from his post. If sound cards were just as good as dedicated equipment, we would not have the choices in dedicated gear that we do have, and places like Head-Fi would not exist.

Amping is not about making them louder, its about supplying them with enough power so they sound correctly. Without sufficient power, the headphones certainly won't be able to reproduce their full range and precision to the level they're capable of. That's what amping is all about. Sure, you can get sound feeding strained power into any can, even orthos, but the amount of power needed to fire the drivers with precise control and start and stop the driver "on a dime" is different than the amount of power needed to move it at all. And every amp will power headphones differently, a Schiit Asgard will sound different or bring out less than say a Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies.

The AKG 70x series would be a good example of this due to being low on the efficiency scaling as compared to say Senn HD600/650. Not to say that bad efficiency is a bad thing, it just means they don't take much voltage swing but need more current to move the magnets in the driver.


Of course, realistically I am basing this on assessment of his post and assumption that he wants to upgrade down the road to better headphones, etc.
Click to expand...

essentially im just trying to figure out what the best setup would be in terms of having the BEST audio quality for music and having the positional audio for competitive games.

i was considering getting the senn hd650 since my friend enjoys them very much and pairing that with the asus xonar essence stx. but i just wasnt sure if id get better quality from a usb dac + amp since it would not be connected to any other electrical components inside the case.
 
Go with a S/PDIF DAC since fiber is the best choice for stopping EMI. (If you need to use it with a laptop or something else that has USB but not S/PDIF, USB to S/PDIF converters are cheap.) You'll also want to use an instrumentation grade PSU or batteries since those cheap (and most not so cheap) wall warts are far worse than any good PC PSU.
 
lust said:
essentially im just trying to figure out what the best setup would be in terms of having the BEST audio quality for music and having the positional audio for competitive games.

i was considering getting the senn hd650 since my friend enjoys them very much and pairing that with the asus xonar essence stx. but i just wasnt sure if id get better quality from a usb dac + amp since it would not be connected to any other electrical components inside the case.
Click to expand...

Best for music would be the setup I mentioned earlier as far as DAC/AMP, and if you are serious about HD650 then even more-so. As for Z vs STX, I would recommend keeping the Z and not worrying about the STX. The STX will sound better with music, but the Z will sound better when gaming, your Z should be a decent all-rounder though.

If you have serious interest in the HD650, keep in mind they do take advantage of good gear (dac/amp) and really come to life with the better as well.


To sum up, if you want best quality overall, USB DAC/AMP will offer exactly that as per your inquiry. If you were looking at the STX though, positional cues aren't the best on the STX and would react about the same as going for a DAC and AMP anyway.
 
What does work well, is an external SPDIF DAC. I was using a TurtleBeach one for a while which was great as it used USB for the power source so it turned off when the system was turned off. Can't remember the model.

I prefer to use either SPDIF or HDMI for audio with my HTPC, but use a separate soundcard like the Asus Xonar DX with headphones for gaming purposes. Each solution has different strengths and weaknesses.
 
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