this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
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Would DAC/AMP combo be worth it for me? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/pcmasterrace
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hi Everyone,

First time poster here. I was wondering if the sound quality of my PC can go to the next level with some minor purchases.

My current setup: Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk Headphones: Philips Fidelio X1S

I was looking to get an external DAC/AMP combo, but wasn’t sure if it’s worth it.

Thank you to everyone in advance

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[–] PeachMan 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nope. Your audio quality is already very good, the only reason to upgrade would be if your mobo's audio out can't power your headphones properly (meaning they don't get loud enough).

There is no "minor purchase" that will make your audio better. You would have to spend several hundred dollars (at least) for a sound quality improvement that's so imperceptible to the average listener that it's probably just the placebo effect.

Having said that, if you fancy yourself a real audiophile and think you can tell the difference between 320 kbps and lossless audio, go nuts. Some people (maybe 1% of the population or less) might actually be sensitive to this type of stuff. But it won't be cheap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you so much, I’m really glad to hear that. I’m no audiophile, so I’ll skip on the bigger stuff too.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Given that those are 30 ohm headphones it looks like, I don't think you need an amp. A DAC upgrade isn't needed much these days, onboard DACs are pretty good.

Overall you should get good quality sound without needing to buy any more stuff. I doubt a DAC/AMP upgrade would be very noticeable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Perfect, that’s what I love to hear. I was itching for some minor upgrades for my PC and my mind went to audio, but that’s the area I have no knowledge of.

[–] Bondrewd 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fidelio X1s is not a headphone. Fidelio X1 is.

Its not the most basic chip on your mobo, but one that higher budget mobos get. You will be fine with it. You almost surely dont need an external AMP for that headphone.

Buy a new set of headphones on that price, that might tickle your balls.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unless I got some kind of knockoff, it says X1S on the sides. It is about 6 years old now though.

Thank you for the insight on the motherboard, I’m a complete beginner when it comes to that and just recalled hearing that motherboards usually cause some kind of interference, so DAC/AMP combo is recommended. It’s possible that I heard that too long ago. Makes sense that the motherboard can handle better audio by this point.

[–] Bondrewd 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I barely found x1s (more of OG X1) for some reason, my bad. It is indeed a headphone that exists xd. I mostly seen X2HR reviews and most users are relatively satisfied. I think the 2 main caveats are that:

  1. Detail is not that good.
  2. Bass is boomy.

So if you are looking for tighter bass or more detailed sound, no, you wont really get that much more out of it with better equipment. It is an old headphone and the driver is low impedance, this is most they could bring out of it in those days.

Want better sound? You absolutely can get multitudes of better sound quality with your current DAC/AMP and newer headphones. You can get any kind of not too hard to drive piece of hardware and it will keep scaling without extra equipment. Yes you can get even better with a better DAC, but even I kept myself out of buying one even though I have audiophile equipment.

Im using a chinese 50 dollar motherboard that is for e5 v3 CPU. Even that is kind of acceptable though not preferred. And a headphone jack.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So just getting new headphones alone could be much better for me? I have been eyeing Sennheisers 6xx/650 because I see them for sale in my price range quite a bit.

And yes, detail is what I was looking for.

[–] Bondrewd 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Now buying a headphone is a big topic, but HD6xx/650 is a safe choice for sure. Only thing you might lose is the wide soundstage your headphone has.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So I went back to the drawing board and looked into it more. My headphones are 30ohm, that’s why they won’t really gain anything from amp/dac to begin with. Like you said, new headphones are a different topic, those Sennheisers are 300ohm. I think I’ll just stick with my current setup lol

[–] Bondrewd 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Even that might work. Higher end boards are often made for up to 600ohm headphones. If in doubt, search for your specific board/chip whether it has the power.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Will do, thank you very much, you have been a great help

[–] Bondrewd 1 points 1 year ago

<3

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

What about using an optical out (I know the B550 Gaming Edge has it, which is similar to the Tomahawk) to feed digital audio to a conventional hi-fi amplifier?

  1. Used stereo kit deprecates very badly; for the $100-200 you'll pay for a nice headphone DAC/Amp, you could get a trunk full of (originally $500-1000) AV receivers that have been obsoleted due to HDMI or whatever 32-channel format Dolby invented this week. Check any Goodwill.
  1. It's gonna give you more flexibility-- if you decide you want more sources, or to move up to speakers, or even just FM, you can go there easily; a decent reciever bristles with inputs