Fubar II or Xonar DX?

[aaaaaaaaaaandy]

I've read quite a bit on the Fubar II lately, but I JUST ordered a Xonar DX. Any advice on which one I should actually go for? The Xonar has yet to be shipped so I can still cancel the order and spend a little bit more to get an external DAC. That way I wouldn't have to deal with drivers and all that. That would be kind of nice.

 

[UncleDavid218]

What're you going to be using this for?

 

[aaaaaaaaaaandy]

80% music, 10% movies, 10% games. The speakers and sub I have are in my sig but I might sell my D1080MKII soon and pick up the M200MKII. Most of my files are 328 kbps .mp3s, but I have a few flacs of my favorite albums. If the Fubar II isn't really ideal, any recommendations on good external DACs around $100 that would be comparable to the Xonar DX?

 

[Arkangyl]

Well, for starters the Fubar isn't amplified, so if you were going to use headphones you'd need to get an external amplifier too. Also you might want to get dedicated power supply for the Fubar (moreso for an amp though) as wall power isn't clean at all, PCI / PCI-E sound cards get the benefit of a computer PSU cleaning up the signal nicely.

Beyond that, well, here are the specs:
Fubar II, uses Burr-Brown PCM2702 DAC @ 16-bit and 44.1 / 48 KHz
Xonar DX, uses Cirrus-Logic CS4398 * @ 24-bit and up to 192 KHz

* Xonar uses the Cirrus-Logic CS4362A for the other outputs, if you're using a 2.0 system this is a non-issue

What those numbers mean:
- Music is 44.1 KHz so for your 80% music, both are fine. HD-video uses either 96 or 192 KHz though so you will be losing some potential there. Honestly this isn't a HUGE issue, especially with a 2.0 setup
- the 16 vs 24 bit delta, 'bit' refers to the number of levels the DAC can reproduce (2 ^ bit), however, again, this is a non-issue linky explaining
short version is bits = dynamic range, 16-bit = 96 dB range, 24-bit = 144 dB range. Music (generally) has about a 12 dB range, symphony stuff might do 60 dB, PLUS most speakers only support 88-92 dB of range, THUS the delta between 16-bit and 24-bit is moot.


Sooooo, short answer is both will be very good. Xonar gives you more options but Fubar II will be better for music and probably provide a better overall sound. Plus being external means it's shielded from all the icky electrical noise in your computer.

my vote: Fubar II

 

[EPS Sniper]

Very, very well put ^^^

I am in the same situation myself, but I think I will be going for the Fubar as well. The other DAC I was considering in that same price range is the Beresford 7510, but I've heard their business practices are sketchy.

 

[criccio]

I wouldn't part my Fubar II + M200MKII combo for anything.

 

[ashmedai]

external > internal

Okay, there are exceptions, but if we're talking at a given price point...not many.