Recent content by Ecnob

Well, I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking. But what you're saying use a modern DAC like the soundcard or an external one, but then plug it just into the analog inputs of an AVR, so I'm getting the preamp/amp functionality of the AVR since older equipment still can be good in that department? I...

I've been into audio for a while, but always into desktop headphones/speakers since I haven't really had the opportunity to have a real sound system until now, so I don't know much about home theater audio. I'm also a PC enthusiast so I'd really like to setup a home theater system around a PC...

In this case it would be the difference between line out and rear speaker and c/sub. I'm more so speaking in general rather than this specific motherboard, but I'm using this one as an example.

Some motherboards, such as the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus @amirm reviewed, have dedicated speaker out and line out jacks. Others, such as my AsRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac only have a speaker out. I've done some googling and some sources say that line out and speaker out are the same on PC...

So, in regards to the DAC performance, how does this affect me as someone who has this connected to a headphone amp through the rca jacks? I see the measurements drop dramatically with a loud signal, but in terms of real world usage what does that translate to? Would it only come into play if...

Is there any chance of this review being updated to the current testing standards? I'd be interested to see how this DAC compares in the other tested categories, such as linearity. It would make it easier to compare to the other newer products. I did find in this thread some more...

I currently use the Sennheiser HD 558 which are driven fine by the UMC204HD, but I'd probably be upgrading either to the HD 600 or more likely the AKG K612/AKG K712 PRO as I think it's a more meaningful upgrade for my use case. I'm a heavy music listener/gamer so it seems like a good bet. I...

As of right now I'm using just the UMC204HD and I'm planning on pairing it with a headphone amp. I may use it with monitors in the future, but that's pretty unlikely. Since it seems like the UMC204HD has low output, I'm concerned that if I couple it with another amp in this price range (most...

Sorry, I'm still a little confused here. So, to be clear, is there any specific advantage of using an amp with balanced inputs over an amp with unbalanced inputs?

Looking through this thread again, I noticed a lot of discussion about this unit having a pretty low output, however on the first page Jinjuku said, "One thing to take away is that this is Pro-level output vs consumer. An amp with balanced inputs can be effectively driven to full power with...

I definitely agree with mindbomb. I'm looking for a good amp now that I've read some of your DAC reviews and I'd love to see what you can find.

So that's where I'm a little confused. If I use a one of the fixed outputs (meaning no volume control) I just plug it into the headphone/speaker amp with volume control. If I were to use the outputs controlled by a volume knob on the interface and plug those into a amp I would have volume...

I'm glad I ran into this site. I've been trying to get into the world of high end audio recently (mostly for headphones), but finding good products has been extremely difficult because of the lack of objectivity in reviews. I come primarily from a science and PC gaming background and the...