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DAC vs amp?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 21895
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Deleted member 21895

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Hi, im pretty new to headphones and that form of audio.. but whats the difference between a DAC and an amp? The amp would power it... does the dac just convert it more flawlessly? Im a bit confused.. any help?

let me clear it up a little (not sure if i explained myself perfectly) an external DAC since im guessing most sound cards have a primitive version built in or something?

So theoretically would the best thing to do have a sound card > Amp > Dac > headphones??

Or would the amp somehow cut the dac out? heh im lost, enlighten me someone please :)
 
let me clear it up a little (not sure if i explained myself perfectly) an external DAC since im guessing most sound cards have a primitive version built in or something?
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Actully most modern sound cards have prtty nice DAC's.
The problem's come from them being inside one of the worst possible environments for a dac and there are also problems related to the crappy power supplies computers use.

So theoretically would the best thing to do have a sound card > Amp > Dac > headphones??
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Sound Card-----> cable------> DAC------>cable------> Amp------>cable------> CanZ------> Ears------> Brain. :D
 
okay so lets say I had something like a 0404 or an audigy 2 zs, how much would a DAC help it? And at what point (like a $100 dac, a $500)?

Or would it be best to go with the chaintech av-710 and just get a nice dac?

Also what about an external sound card? Like a usb one..

I guess my question is, how important is it?
 
With the Audigy cards, A DAC will help but the major problems the card has will still be there (resampling).
With my 1212M I still like my DAC a little better but it is a close call.
With the AV-710 the DAC was a nightmare ... the card could not supply a steady audio stream to the DAC and it constantly reset it's self (flashing the firmware didn't help much).... this happened with three different DAC's and 5 different AV-710s (there were two reformats in there as well).

For the most part all of the USB sound card's I have used all fell into the crap catagory.
Even the overhyped Sonica get's it's ass handed to it by by the AV-710's analog output ;)
 
n00b question.... what exactly is a DAC?

I am slowly trying to learn more about audio so bare with me. :p
 
Well it stands for digital/analog converter, there is tons of info on what they do and why they are so important on the internet. Just search google for tons of good reading. :)
 
MP3s, CDs, DVDs, etc. all are digital audio. You've heard the marketing for years and years, right? Well, the audio that you actually hear is analog. So, what's the difference?

Digital audio uses strings of binary numbers to describe audio. Each string of numbers changes at a set interval denoted by the sampling rate. Now take analog. Analog can use an infinite amount of numbers to describe audio, and it samples an infinite amount of times per second.

So in order to go from digital to analog, you need a kind of circuit to fill in the gaps between samples. That's what a DAC does. There is a certain degree of interpretation involved in filling those gaps. This interpretation follows a formula created by the DAC manufacturer. This formula is implemented in a usually very complicated circuit. The closer this formula is to representing what the ears think is right, the better the DAC sounds, in the opinion of the listener.

It now becomes very obvious what the difference between a DAC and an amplifier is. Whether or not you buy a special DAC, the DAC, wherever it may be, is a necessary step in converting from digital audio to a listenable analog signal. The amplifier takes that analog signal and boosts it up to audible levels, making sure that the entire frequency spectrum of interest is represented equally, with minimal distortion or undesirable harmonics.
 
Mister X said:
With the Audigy cards, A DAC will help but the major problems the card has will still be there (resampling).
With my 1212M I still like my DAC a little better but it is a close call.
With the AV-710 the DAC was a nightmare ... the card could not supply a steady audio stream to the DAC and it constantly reset it's self (flashing the firmware didn't help much).... this happened with three different DAC's and 5 different AV-710s (there were two reformats in there as well).

For the most part all of the USB sound card's I have used all fell into the crap catagory.
Even the overhyped Sonica get's it's ass handed to it by by the AV-710's analog output ;)
Click to expand...

ah, that helps a lot thanks...

so for purely analog output and just for listening to music (no need for surround sound) would you recommend something from the EMU line? like the 0404, the 1212 or the 1820m's?
 
I certainly would. There are few soundcards better than E-Mu's lineup.
 
xonik said:
I certainly would. There are few soundcards better than E-Mu's lineup.
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such as? Remember the sole purpose i'd be using this video card for is to listen to music through headphones.. thats it, nothing more..
 
heh, looking in the $100-$200 range... (for example, emu's 1212M but the 1820 would be out of the picture..)
 
sniper991122 said:
such as? Remember the sole purpose i'd be using this video card for is to listen to music through headphones.. thats it, nothing more..
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Such as the Lynx Studio LynxONE and LynxTWO. Arguably, the Terratec Hammerfall series.
 
The emu1212 is very highly regarded for music playback. I'd look into that model first (sounds like you already know about it). I've also heard that the emu 0404 is no worse in sound quality, but has a different presentation (more upfront, slightly less detailed in the high end).
 
I'd go for the EMU 1212m. I own one and it was quite an upgrade from my older but still highly regarded Revolution 7.1. I have not heard the EMU 0404 yet but I have read opinions that reflect what Talonz has said about it. Not really much worse in sound quality, just different in how it presents the sound.
 
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