Best DAC converter up to 150€

[CordisDia]

I would like to enchant my sound, vendor in Sennheiser store suggested me i should consider getting DAC converter .
Is there anything good at 150€ price range ?

[tacoshy]

Fiio E10K

[CordisDia]

Also, im not very well informed about this topic .
What is definition of quality DAC converter ?

[anrkyuk]

Postat inițial de DocGangrena:

Also, im not very well informed about this topic .
What is definition of quality DAC converter ?

https://www.whathifi.com/advice/dacs-everything-you-need-to-know

[tacoshy]

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

[Revelene]

Depends on what you need from the DAC.

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

A DAC and AMP are not the same thing. You can have them in the same package, however, not all DACs have amps, and not all amps and DACs.

[CordisDia]

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

Im owner of Sennheiser Game Zero, Logitech Z506 and soon, i might became owner of Bose Quietcomfort 35 ll or Sennheiser Momentum ...

Postat inițial de Revelene:

Depends on what you need from the DAC.

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

A DAC and AMP are not the same thing. You can have them in the same package, however, not all DACs have amps, and not all amps and DACs.

Everyday gaming and music listening while reading news and forums. When you said it "depends what i need from the DAC", what options did you have on mind ?

[tacoshy]

Postat inițial de Revelene:

Depends on what you need from the DAC.

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

A DAC and AMP are not the same thing. You can have them in the same package, however, not all DACs have amps, and not all amps and DACs.

thats true but most DAC's have a build in AmpUp. At least I have never touched a DAC without a build in Amp. Also I know no good DAC that doesnt have it.

Postat inițial de DocGangrena:

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

basically a DAC is an amplifier (AmpUp) to run high Ohm headphones and have an integrated soundcard.

How ever depending on the headphones you might wanna take a better pair of headphones befor going with a DAC.Some other expensive headphones have a special dedicated DAC just for that line like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

Im owner of Sennheiser Game Zero, Logitech Z506 and soon, i might became owner of Bose Quietcomfort 35 ll or Sennheiser Momentum ...

Well Sennheiser game Zero arent bad but also nothing close where a DAC would amke sense IMO. Going for betetr ehadphones should have a bigger impact. Logitech has good headphones are way out of the league compared to quality brands like Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic or Audio-Technica which build betetr headphones for the same or cheaper price. Bose is laugth about in every HiFi forum I know while having a bad reputation as Beats Audio. Sennheiser Momentum is great tho.


Depending on your budget I would recommend to get betetr headphones first and then get a DAC with build in AmpUp like Fiio E10K which is a good entry level DAC within your price range.

[Revelene]

Postat inițial de DocGangrena:

Everyday gaming and music listening while reading news and forums. When you said it "depends what i need from the DAC", what options did you have on mind ?

Are you sure you even need a DAC?

What has made you believe you need a DAC? I want to know specifics. Not able to decode a specific file type natively? Not able to reach the bit rate you want? Tonal properties not to your liking? Etc, etc.

FYI, a DAC is basically an external sound card. It is a digital to analog converter.

Maybe you want amplification, too?

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

Postat inițial de Revelene:

A DAC and AMP are not the same thing. You can have them in the same package, however, not all DACs have amps, and not all amps and DACs.

thats true but most DAC's have a build in AmpUp. At least I have never touched a DAC without a build in Amp. Also I know no good DAC that doesnt have it.

I have touched many DACs without amps, and vice versa.

If you don't know any good DACs without an amp, then you haven't even scraped the surface of the audio world.

[CordisDia]

Postat inițial de Revelene:

Postat inițial de DocGangrena:

Everyday gaming and music listening while reading news and forums. When you said it "depends what i need from the DAC", what options did you have on mind ?

Are you sure you even need a DAC?

What has made you believe you need a DAC? I want to know specifics. Not able to decode a specific file type natively? Not able to reach the bit rate you want? Tonal properties not to your liking? Etc, etc.

FYI, a DAC is basically an external sound card. It is a digital to analog converter.

Maybe you want amplification, too?

Postat inițial de tacoshy:

thats true but most DAC's have a build in AmpUp. At least I have never touched a DAC without a build in Amp. Also I know no good DAC that doesnt have it.

I have touched many DACs without amps, and vice versa.

If you don't know any good DACs without an amp, then you haven't even scraped the surface of the audio world.

Well, im not audio engineer ,im kinda noobish when it comes to this sort of things.
If we look overall, i believe if i want "improved sound quality" at every aspect of time i spent on my PC, DAC is good investment.
Some other people on this server that are clever wrote DAC with equalizer is better than any sound card ( i've been also thinkin to get sound card, but i gave up on that).

[Revelene]

Postat inițial de DocGangrena:

Postat inițial de Revelene:

Are you sure you even need a DAC?

What has made you believe you need a DAC? I want to know specifics. Not able to decode a specific file type natively? Not able to reach the bit rate you want? Tonal properties not to your liking? Etc, etc.

FYI, a DAC is basically an external sound card. It is a digital to analog converter.

Maybe you want amplification, too?



I have touched many DACs without amps, and vice versa.

If you don't know any good DACs without an amp, then you haven't even scraped the surface of the audio world.

Well, im not audio engineer ,im kinda noobish when it comes to this sort of things.
If we look overall, i believe if i want "improved sound quality" at every aspect of time i spent on my PC, DAC is good investment.
Some other people on this server that are clever wrote DAC with equalizer is better than any sound card ( i've been also thinkin to get sound card, but i gave up on that).

Definitely would not look for a sound card, as they are all succeptable to interference from inside the PC. That, and they all are rather weak. Usually just made by gaming companies and focusing on gaming audio, making footsteps more pronounced (lol). Audiophiles who care about actual audio quality go for means outside of the PC. In fact, when I want true music quality, my PC isn't even part of the listening setup.

If you are looking for sound quality, don't bother with any equalizer, unless it is a hardware equalizer. Even then, it really should be left flat, as the natural response of your speakers cannot be changed no matter how much you change the EQ.

A DAC would be a good investment, if you actually need it. If you don't, then it is just extra hardware for the sake of extra hardware. Games don't go above 48khz/16bit format and most of your music streaming apps don't either. I doubt you need anything outside of the normal PCM formating, either. So, about the only benefit from a DAC you could get would be from different tonal properties of different chipsets and to get outside the natural interference of the PC case. Not much else outside of that.

However, an amp might do you well. Might not need it, but it can help in some instances. If you are lacking that "oomf" or kick from lower frequencies, you may just need a little more power. That is where an amp helps. Typically rated Power@Resistance, for example, 1.5W@32Ohms. This would be a fairly powerful amp.

For €150, you have a lot of great budget options.

DAC/AMP Combos

Schiit Fulla 2
Schiit Modi and Magni stack (slightly over budget)
iFi iDSD Nano (slightly over budget)
AudioQuest DragonFly Black (super portable, too)
FiiO E10K (Already suggested, for good reason)
FiiO E17K (A bit better than the E10K, with battery, additional input, line in/out port, and ability to be used with the FiiO K5 dock amp)
HiFiman EF2C (tube amp warm sound)
XDuoo TA-01 (another great tube amp)
SMSL M6

I could go on for days. Hope this gets you searching in the right direction, at least.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

The Creative SoundBlaster Omni is an external sound card with a built in amplifier. It provides Dolby Digital Live through TOS/Link Fiber cable...or up to 48KHz at 24bit audio PCM through the headphone jacks...Does really well with playing games and movies alike.

[Arya]

Assuming your headphones are powerful enough to benefit, I'd go with a Fiio E10K at that budget.

Schiit are better - particularly their build quality. But they're also a lot more expensive, too expensive to justify unless you're a true audiophile.

[Revelene]

Postat inițial de Wolfey 🔰:

Assuming your headphones are powerful enough to benefit, I'd go with a Fiio E10K at that budget.

Schiit are better - particularly their build quality. But they're also a lot more expensive, too expensive to justify unless you're a true audiophile.

E10K has pretty weak power, only outputting 200mW @ 32ohms, so really not too much benefit from amplification, but then again, this is not the device to get if you need amplification. You get it for the DAC chipset (TI PCM5102).

Not all of Schiit's products are expensive.

The Schiit Fulla 2 would be a step up from the E10K, but not much more in cost. More amplification (360mW @ 32ohms) and a better DAC chipset (AKM AK4490). It is also well within the OP's budget.

[Kaihekoa]

I recently got into the entry-level audio scene and would also recommend the Fulla 2 to the OP just to wet your beak in the high-end audio world without spending much money. Because you're new, you will probably immediately notice the lack of signal interference (crackles, pops, buzzing), which is the primary benefit of a DAC without getting into high-end audio sources. Beyond that, if you do direct comparisons with your existing audio solution on the same headphones, you should notice improved sound clarity and detail from the amp function.

Also, the higher quality headphones/speakers you have, the more potential benefit from a DAC/Amp you will gain. So if you try out a DAC/amp and want to get into even better sound, I would get a better pair of headphones first. Assuming you're using onboard audio now, you should notice an appreciable improvement on the Sennheiser Game Zeros, which are Sennheiser 558s. Note that the Fulla 2 only has a 1/4" jack for headphones, so you'll need a 3.5mm adapter to use it with your existing headset. Good luck with your foray into high-end sound.

[igloosfolly]

You see that high end stereo in the corner with a headphone plug thats your best bet. See if you can connect with a optical cable. Fiio is bottom of the barrel audio better suited to a phone amp. Look up RA1 amp and build your own with a Burr Brown for twenty bucks in a cigar box. If you have money to spend Schiit is pretty good stuff. http://diyaudioprojects.blogspot.com/2007/08/grado-ra1-headphone-amplifier.html