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Computer Audio for Under $100

R

RCGA

n00b
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
28
I'm only concerned with music quality (flac/mp3) as I don't game.

Given my budget is $100 or less, what should I do? Buy a EMU 0202 (or something similar, Fubar II maybe) or a PCI soundcard?

One of the primary reasons why I'd like something external is the ease in connecting a pair of headphones into it vs in the back of my case.

Would sound quality be that much different in either case? If not I plan on going with something external.

Oh, the headphones I plan on buying will be in the $100-$150 range
 
Sorry, are we talking DACs & sound cards? Or complete solutions including source through speakers? I'm inferring you want "everything up to the place I plug in my headphones" for $100 or less, correct me if that's not the case.

If you want something an E-MU can do, it's very good. The 0404 is better of course, but you also pay more. The amp built into both is kinda crap though...I'd get it if you were also getting a separate headphone amp. An 0202 + amp would be ~$200, so would an Essence STX. For $100...I might get the 0202 and deal with the ~okay amplification provided I wasn't getting something greedy for the phones themselves, and worry about maybe adding an amp later. The E-MUs make very good DAC stages for the budget.

The Zero is probably the best DAC + headphone amp near that range.
 
Basically what I'm asking is should I buy a EMU 0202 USB or other external USB DAC or a PCI soundcard

Computer ---> EMU 0202 USB --->HP

or

Computer ----> PCI soundcard --->HP

My concern is that, where I'm not buying $400+ headphones, I might not be able to hear the difference between a more expensive DAC or soundcard, thus wasting money.
 
I'd get an 0202 USB over a similarly-priced sound card, yes.

Headphones can be WELL ahead of the quality curve, provided they're well-chosen. Of course, there are $400 headphones that are still fairly crappy...but the good ones at even $100 will show improvement from a good source. The first thing that usually annoys the tar out of me is the noise floor, followed closely by high-frequency artifacts. A good source will do a lot to prevent those sorts of issues, and will often bring out more detail in the music (assuming it's there to start with).

Since "EMU 0202 USB" and "PCI soundcard" are both $100...I'd take the one with better quality whether you can expect to hear it or not. Choosing the one that you know is worse because you're not sure if the one that's better will show up on your current headphones...well, it seems a little odd.

I might still go for a Zero though. What headphones are you looking at? If it's something relatively amp-independent like an A900, then go with the 0202...if it's relatively amp-dependent, spending a little more for the Zero could help a lot. I'm fairly sure the DAC on the 0202 is better (without spending $200 on mods for the Zero, at least), but the amp is not.
 
I was thinking the A700's or a pair of Sony V700/900

I'm reading through headfi, but I find a lot of people overhype a small number of products (A700/900, K701 or D1000 for example), which makes it very hard to get a real since of what's good or not due to all the "flavor of the month" hype
 
A700/A900s are pretty damn good, especially for the budget.

The K701 needs a high-current amp.

The D2000 is very nice, and was running at $200 when it's normally at least 50% more new for a while. Obvious reason for why it had a good run.
 
Could you recommend me two full sized headphones?

I listen to:

40% Hiphop/R&B
35% Jack Johnson, surf rock-ish, David Gray, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer
25% Alternative (RHCP-ish)

So it's a fairly even mix between all genres
 
For $100? AD700s if open isn't a problem followed by A700s if you need closed.
 
Never had them but I've read that A(D)500 are close enough to the A700 that the extra money isn't really worth it.
 
I hear the same thing about the A900's and the A700's...in fact, some people like the A700's more

I hate buying this sorta stuff blind :(
 
Could always go for the HA-RX700/900. Big thread on them here. Great headphones, amazing price, If you don't want to wreck the wallet much while experimenting.

But since you want headphones in the $100-150 might as well stretch if you like. Seems like the 'most' preferred in that price range is the AD700
 
ashmedai said:
That's because they're forged from pure awesome in the heart of a dwarf star.
Click to expand...

Lol, I got the RX700s so I won't buy those but I hear they're really great. I know the RX700's aren't as good, but even if I got a knockoff I think it's good enough :p.

You know.. considering the AD700's in Canada are easily over $250 here with conversion rates, duties, customs, etc. I was about to buy it before but hated all this. I would've bought them if it wasn't for this :(
 
^Amazon doesn't ship to Canada. And it's really almost non-existent to have a site naively ship to Canada that has those Audio Technica's.

I was about to buy them straight from Amazon one day. It went all the way through, so I'm like okay, I'll buy tomorrow.

My luck, the person who had them in stock for shipping availability in Canada left Amazon over night :|.

But it's alright, I'm no longer looking for them, bought HA-RX700.
 
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