DAC for Gaming with low impedance Headphones (IEM)

[WalderD]

Hello there,

I’m inquiring if there is a really good combination DAC/or special Chips (f.g. ES9038Q2M, CS43131) for optimal separation, directional audio, and soundstage, especially for (professional) gaming purposes.

I’ve heard that the Dragonfly Cobalt/Black is a good choice for gaming with low-impedance headphones (IEMs).
I’ve used this DAC and a cheaper Sharkoon Gaming DAC, which seems decent for separation, directional location, 360-degree perception, and soundstage, but it lacks in terms of noise/hiss.
- But are there better or alternative options? I'm asking if a special DAC can enhance that more than this devices/or a DAC with some filters, that enhances this

It’s essential that loudness equalization can be adjusted in Windows 11 (which regulates excessively loud volumes, such as gunfire).

I’m happy to hear your opinions!

Best regards,
Walder

 

[staticV3]

Hi @WalderD! Welcome to ASR.

There is no DAC/Amp special sauce that can make directional audio cues easier to hear, especially now that most games have opted for native HRTF processing and stereo output.

Even the $10 Apple headphone adapter can fully resolve all that the game of your choice is putting out. So I'd suggest you start there.

I’ve heard that the Dragonfly Cobalt/Black is a good choice for gaming with low-impedance headphones (IEMs).

The Dragonfly series is never a good choice, no matter for what purpose.

It's overpriced and underdeveloped. The only reason people have, and are still, talking about it is that AQ bought a bunch of positive "reviews" at launch and confirmation bias/sunk cost fallacy did the rest.

If you must buy something more expensive than the Apple dongle, consider the Topping DX1.

It’s essential that loudness equalization can be adjusted in Windows 11 (which regulates excessively loud volumes, such as gunfire).

AFAIK, the loudness equalization APO will not dynamically react to e.g. gunfire, but will only react to you manually changing the Windows volume.

If you're curious, this can be confirmed using Audacity Wasapi Loopback recording and Deltawave.

 

[nagster]

Hello there,

I’m inquiring if there is a really good combination DAC/or special Chips (f.g. ES9038Q2M, CS43131) for optimal separation, directional audio, and soundstage, especially for (professional) gaming purposes.

I’ve heard that the Dragonfly Cobalt/Black is a good choice for gaming with low-impedance headphones (IEMs).
I’ve used this DAC and a cheaper Sharkoon Gaming DAC, which seems decent for separation, directional location, 360-degree perception, and soundstage, but it lacks in terms of noise/hiss.
- But are there better or alternative options? I'm asking if a special DAC can enhance that more than this devices/or a DAC with some filters, that enhances this

It’s essential that loudness equalization can be adjusted in Windows 11 (which regulates excessively loud volumes, such as gunfire).

I’m happy to hear your opinions!

Best regards,
Walder

If you can't tolerate any delays in response, a wired headphone connection to the onboard analog output is one of the lowest latency combinations.
Perhaps a PCIe card such as the RME HDSPe AIO Pro can provide both transparency and low latency.
If you have a choice of filters, NOS or short delay types will give you low latency.

Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

For curiosity: do you know the audio latency of a modern mobo with integrated sound chip? I would not, but I reckon it varies, from card to card. The more processing there is the more delay there is. And as I mentioned before, there are hardware and software buffers deliberately implemented for...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[unpluggged]

If you can't tolerate any delays in response, a wired headphone connection to the onboard analog output is one of the lowest latency combinations.

Unless it has huge safety buffers that are hardcoded into the driver.

Perhaps a PCIe card such as the RME HDSPe AIO Pro can provide both transparency and low latency.

Properly executed USB interfaces give negligible latency that is lower than the input lag of most displays and input devices.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Onboard audio with e.g. a Topping L30 II certainly wouldn't be the worst option in terms of hiss and such... but considering that a lowly FiiO M3K DAP with its AK4376A can power IEMs without perceptible noise there's probably a cheaper option that would get the job done. A CS43131 or AK4377 based dongle should certainly be capable.... just maybe avoid ones known to break within weeks.

 

[fws]

Properly executed USB interfaces give negligible latency that is lower than the input lag of most displays and input devices.

The limited testing we have available shows both USB and PCI-e devices displaying increased latency when compared to I2S onboard (no USB onboard like ALC4080 compared). Below the vid with some measurements by Chris from Battle(non)sense channel, Chris set standards in measurements of input lag for competitive gaming, unfortunately he discontinued his hobby

I have tried to test it "manually" in a very inaccurate and certainly flawed way, just for giggles to see if any difference can actually be observed, and I've repeatedly got +30-50ms out of USB when compared to I2S ALC897. Ran FX-Audio DAC-X6 (I think SA9023 one), Creative G6, and some dongles (CX-Pro CX31993, Avani, and maybe Apple). I can't find my notes, but I think onboard was roughly around 90ms while USB devices in range (no less, no more) of 120-150ms. G6 was the one which was hitting past 140ms most of the time.

Onboard audio with e.g. a Topping L30 II certainly wouldn't be the worst option in terms of hiss and such... but considering that a lowly FiiO M3K DAP with its AK4376A can power IEMs without perceptible noise there's probably a cheaper option that would get the job done. A CS43131 or AK4377 based dongle should certainly be capable.... just maybe avoid ones known to break within weeks.

L30 II is exactly my idea for driving demanding headphones from onboards - 13Vrms output makes it usable even from currently most widely used 1Vrms ALC897, as the 2Vrms capable ALC1220 has became somewhat rare (Gigabyte has few among their most expensive ones). 2Vrms ALC4080 is supposedly running on USB, and no idea what are ESS based onboards running.

 

[Pictus]

If you can't tolerate any delays in response, a wired headphone connection to the onboard analog output is one of the lowest latency combinations.
Perhaps a PCIe card such as the RME HDSPe AIO Pro can provide both transparency and low latency.

Lower audio latency = RME, the PCIe HDSPe AIO Pro is king.
Lower Windows DPC(Deferred Procedure Call) = tweaks

RME uses custom driver and the rest most uses the generic Thesycon driver.

Audio Interface - Low Latency Performance Data Base - Gearspace.com

Hey All, I am sure all of us have seen posts over the years where end users have purchased a new audio interface and have experienced varying degrees o

gearspace.com

 

[TehMowat]

I just received my Fosi K7 DAC/headphone amp. I plan on putting in some hours gaming on it tonight. I also just got a set of Beyer DT 770 Pro X LE headphones. Ive had the headphones for over a month, using them straight out of my motherboard, and have been really impressed. I can't wait to see if the Fosi K7 improves on the experience. I spent an hour listening to music and watching some YouTube videos with the K7, and in limited action it has been pretty nice. The build quality is great, and seems easy to use. I have it connected via USB and have it running at max bit rate, 32/384.