Questions About A Few USB DACs

[XacTactX]

WM8740 DIR9001 AKA Burr-Brown Carrier 24/96

PCM2706 CS4398 AKA Cirrus Logic CS4398 (Xonar DX/1, X-Fi Elite Pro, E-MU something)

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How good are these for driving headphones in general? I have a pair of ATH-AD500, but I want to begin sampling headphones for fun, and want to drive them well . I'll add a few more as I find the ones worth mentioning. I want to learn to appreciate a neutral tone that does not color the music.

How do these compare to current sound cards?

 

[jeremyshaw]

WM8740 - heard of this chip, a nice, neutral DAC

 

[ShinyFalcon]

Really depends on what opamp they have at the output stage. The PCM2706, the chip that handles USB audio, does not have direct Windows volume control (volume is pretty much always maxed), so you have to control the volume using software (using the volume bar in foobar2000 for example). To get around this you should pair these DACs with a headphone amplifier. Also, if these have output capacitors, they need to be valued high enough so that they don't have bass rolloff when paired with low impedance headphones. The amp will also take care of the bass rolloff.

The WM8740 has potential for hardware digital volume attenuation but it doesn't look like it's configured so in that DAC. The DIR9001 has no mention of volume control.

 

[XacTactX]

Really depends on what opamp they have at the output stage. The PCM2706, the chip that handles USB audio, does not have direct Windows volume control (volume is pretty much always maxed), so you have to control the volume using software (using the volume bar in foobar2000 for example). To get around this you should pair these DACs with a headphone amplifier. Also, if these have output capacitors, they need to be valued high enough so that they don't have bass rolloff when paired with low impedance headphones. The amp will also take care of the bass rolloff.

The WM8740 has potential for hardware digital volume attenuation but it doesn't look like it's configured so in that DAC. The DIR9001 has no mention of volume control.

That's really lame . I'd want a headphone amp that can have its own volume attenuator, having to all the volume adjustments with only software would suck, too loud. There goes that idea. I guess I'll just make myself one if I ever decide to take the plunge.

 

[Drudenhaus]

That's really lame . I'd want a headphone amp that can have its own volume attenuator, having to all the volume adjustments with only software would suck, too loud. There goes that idea. I guess I'll just make myself one if I ever decide to take the plunge.

You said it yourself, you'd want an amp. These are DACs and it's not uncommon that there is no volume management as they're usually paired with an amp.

 

[XacTactX]

You said it yourself, you'd want an amp. These are DACs and it's not uncommon that there is no volume management as they're usually paired with an amp.

So the ones I listed in the OP don't have an amplifier? I'm so confused about the stages of processing that you need to have to have a complete setup to drive headphones. It's OK, I'll learn it little by little.

EDIT: Oh, I see, the two I listed have a digital to I2S converter and a DAC, but no amp, is that right?

 

[Spooony]

Depends how serious you are about your sound. If you want quality sound your going to have to spend a bit. There's no cheap quality audio to be honest. Cheap soundcards are a waste of money. You might aswell use a onboard then coz your not going to hear the difference between a 50usd soundcard and a onboard with computer speakers or a avg set of cans.
But you are going to hear the difference hooking one of these
1. Beyers DT880
2. Senn HD800
4. Ultrasone 2500 pro
3. ATH- AD700

With the Auzentech Forte or a STX. People will think your cheating in games with the sound you get out of these. You can hear the footsteps from any direction and every sound you can tune in.