System advice - DAC/AMP/Etc.

[That's_Corporate]

For my new rig I was considering a Xonar Essence STX to connect to my Logitech Z-5500's. I was going to ditch the optical cable I have running between my current card and speakers, and let the STX do the work and just run stereo cables to the computer speakers. I was told that would improve SQ.

Now I'm considering getting a DAC, AMP, and some bookshelf speakers.

If I go that route, will a 'quality' sound card even be required? I figured I would just run whatever 1's and 0's to the DAC, let it do it's thing, and that's that.

Ideas?

 

[L4d]

You have the right idea; a D.A.C. would do the "quality" work that would have been done by the card, so you could use a motherboard's sound device's digital output to a D.A.C. to an amplifier to speakers, so, if you get a quality sound card, a D.A.C. would most likely not be warranted.

 

[I3eyond]

For my new rig I was considering a Xonar Essence STX to connect to my Logitech Z-5500's. I was going to ditch the optical cable I have running between my current card and speakers, and let the STX do the work and just run stereo cables to the computer speakers. I was told that would improve SQ.

Now I'm considering getting a DAC, AMP, and some bookshelf speakers.

If I go that route, will a 'quality' sound card even be required? I figured I would just run whatever 1's and 0's to the DAC, let it do it's thing, and that's that.

Ideas?

Getting a DAC, amp and a set of bookshelf speakers is an amazing idea. The right equipment will trample your Z-5500s.

The question, however, is what is this for? Music, what?