DAC/Pre-amp for JBL 305m MKIIs

[SK123]

Hi guys,

Could you please recommend DAC/Pre-amps for the above said active speakers and in the appropriate price range? I prefer if it doesn't have an amp (unless all DACs have built in headphone amps). It's important they provide balanced connection for the monitors.

Once I have the means, I'll go for the more expensive stuff including speakers, headphones etc, so would go for more higher end amps and DACs then. Thanks!!

Also, any links to previous discussions relating to my inquiry would be great as well.

 

[SK123]

I had been running these monitors unbalanced to Asus Stx II soundcard, and realized I were not supposed to connect them to other amps.

 

[matt3421]

SMSL SU-8
SONCOZ LA-QXD1

 

[SK123]

Thank you so much for the quick reply!!
SU-8 seems to have a lot of positive feedback.

 

[Chrispy]

Why not just use what you've been using? Is there something wrong?

 

[SK123]

Anybody has info on these: DROP + GRACE DESIGN STANDARD DAC BALANCED - $150
https://drop.com/buy/drop-grace-design-standard-dac-balanced

 

[SK123]

Why not just use what you've been using? Is there something wrong?

Its RCA connection, therefore lots of noise. Also, I imagined that the soundcard works as an amp, and you can't connect active speakers to another amp.

Also, cannot run any games, their's HUGE buzz and only goes off when you quit the game. Tried it with several games. Anybody has any idea what could be causing this? I contacted Asus and they refused to believe it's their soundcard and replied:

"recommendation of our engineers, please ground the electricity,,a good grounding will improve it.
There will also be improvements in trying not to plug fans into sockets used by computers/speakers
The other hiss comes mainly from speakers, not sound CARDS
You could change the speaker and listen to it."

I actually really like Dolby Virtual Speaker feature STX II provides, as well as the 8 channels. Makes it sound very spacious for music listening, but I'm also afraid I might damage my speakers for running through this soundcard. Please let me know if Stx II is still fine to run monitors?

 

[twsecrest]

Hi guys,
Could you please recommend DAC/Pre-amps for the above said active speakers and in the appropriate price range? I prefer if it doesn't have an amp (unless all DACs have built in headphone amps). It's important they provide balanced connection for the monitors.
Once I have the means, I'll go for the more expensive stuff including speakers, headphones, etc, so would go for more higher end amps and DACs then. Thanks!!
Also, any links to previous discussions relating to my inquiry would be great as well.

Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS?
Have you installed the Unified Xonar Drivers?
Tried moving the STX II card to a different slot?

 

[twsecrest]

I had been running these monitors unbalanced to Asus Stx II soundcard, and realized I were not supposed to connect them to other amps.

Budget?

 

[SK123]

Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS?
Have you installed the Unified Xonar Drivers?
Tried moving the STX II card to a different slot?

Hi twsecrest,
I re-installed the Asus Essence Stx II driver. Please verify for me once again if I still need to install Xonar drivers, because I thought these would be different products drivers?
Moving the card to different slot didn't fix.

Trying to figure out onboard audio in the bios was very tricky for me. I have gigabyte G1 sniper b7 mobo, and I was only able to find 'audio controller' under the Chipset, which I disable and that didn't help either.

Budget: I am hoping anything under ~$350. Cheaper the better if it can provide balanced outputs for the 305s. If DAC really improves the sound quality than I don't mind paying a bit more.

Also, I really like this current soundcard. If my gameplay audio issue can be fixed, I wont need a DAC, unless I shouldn't connect my monitors to the soundcard.

 

[twsecrest]

Hi twsecrest,
I re-installed the Asus Essence STX II driver. Please verify for me once again if I still need to install Xonar drivers, because I thought these would be different products drivers? Moving the card to different slot didn't fix.
Trying to figure out onboard audio in the bios was very tricky for me. I have gigabyte G1 sniper b7 mobo, and I was only able to find 'audio controller' under the Chipset, which I disable and that didn't help either.
Budget: I am hoping anything under ~$350. Cheaper the better if it can provide balanced outputs for the 305s. If DAC really improves the sound quality than I don't mind paying a bit more.
Also, I really like this current soundcard. If my gameplay audio issue can be fixed, I wont need a DAC, unless I shouldn't connect my monitors to the soundcard.

The Unified Xonar Drivers get the most resent updates (and a few custom tweaks).
Asus has to be more conservative for updates (it's more about stable drivers).
Suggesting Unified Xonar Drivers, to fix your issue, was more of a long shot.

"Audio Controller" is your on-board (built in) audio.

Can't see anything wrong with going with the Drop Grace DAC.

 

[SK123]

Thanks once again for your help!

 

[SK123]

Motu M2 interface is being said to have a nice DAC, I am more leaning toward that one. Do you guys think M2 would be a better choice than the following DACs:
SMSL SU-8
SONCOZ LA-QXD1
DROP + GRACE DESIGN STANDARD DAC BALANCED - $150?

Also, M2 seems to have TRS 1/4 out, while the DACs above have XLRs. Is their any quality difference or are they exactly same? Thanks.

 

[Chrispy]

Its RCA connection, therefore lots of noise. Also, I imagined that the soundcard works as an amp, and you can't connect active speakers to another amp.

Also, cannot run any games, their's HUGE buzz and only goes off when you quit the game. Tried it with several games. Anybody has any idea what could be causing this? I contacted Asus and they refused to believe it's their soundcard and replied:

"recommendation of our engineers, please ground the electricity,,a good grounding will improve it.
There will also be improvements in trying not to plug fans into sockets used by computers/speakers
The other hiss comes mainly from speakers, not sound CARDS
You could change the speaker and listen to it."

I actually really like Dolby Virtual Speaker feature STX II provides, as well as the 8 channels. Makes it sound very spacious for music listening, but I'm also afraid I might damage my speakers for running through this soundcard. Please let me know if Stx II is still fine to run monitors?

I don't use a sound card but I do use a pre-amp with only rca outputs, and it's fine noise-wise with my converter cable (rca to xlr). I glanced at your soundcard and don't see that it's an amp. You might review your output setup, tho.

 

[SK123]

Thanks Chris for your input. I also use same cables as you, but for some reason my games won't play on these speakers. I can handle the little distortion noise.

I have narrowed down my choices, waiting to see if somebody might have something to add, otherwise will be going with M2 interface.

 

[TimW]

Also, I imagined that the soundcard works as an amp, and you can't connect active speakers to another amp.

The soundcard may work as a headphone amp but not as a power amplifier (speaker amp). It is fine to use a headphone amp output to feed signal to powered speakers. You will not damage your speakers by using them with this soundcard.

Also, cannot run any games, their's HUGE buzz and only goes off when you quit the game. Tried it with several games. Anybody has any idea what could be causing this?

This could be caused by a nearby graphics card. This is a potential issue with having sensitive audio electronics inside of an electrically noisy computer. There are well designed soundcards that do fine but none that have been measured here were exceptional.

Budget: I am hoping anything under ~$350. Cheaper the better if it can provide balanced outputs for the 305s. If DAC really improves the sound quality than I don't mind paying a bit more.

Also, I really like this current soundcard. If my gameplay audio issue can be fixed, I wont need a DAC, unless I shouldn't connect my monitors to the soundcard.

Balanced connections are superior due to avoidance of ground loops, noise rejection, and the ability to have long runs. However single ended connections work just fine for short runs in most situations. What kind of cables are you using to connect your soundcard to your speakers?

You don't need to spend a lot on a DAC to get excellent performance. The new DAC suggestions people have given you so far are great low cost options that will probably sound identical to eachother. But there is the possibility that your soundcard just isn't working the way it should and a new DAC is unlikely to sound any different. Other than not producing a buzzing sound when you play games.

Motu M2 interface is being said to have a nice DAC, I am more leaning toward that one.

The Motu probably has perfectly adequate performance and if it has the features you want then go for it.

Also, M2 seems to have TRS 1/4 out, while the DACs above have XLRs. Is their any quality difference or are they exactly same?

XLR and 1/4" TRS balanced connections are exactly the same functionally. Your 305's have both input connector options.

 

[SK123]

Balanced connections are superior due to avoidance of ground loops, noise rejection, and the ability to have long runs. However single ended connections work just fine for short runs in most situations. What kind of cables are you using to connect your soundcard to your speakers?

Hi Tim,

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation.

I have dual XLR to RCA 10' connecting to my soundcard.

I read on this forum that Motu 2 performed better than SMSL SU8 and thats the only thing tempting me toward it.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...faces-headphone-amp-and-dac.13489/post-406905

That, and may be the volume control. I dont own any guitars etc yet so no recording at the moment.

It's mostly the DAC and balanced connections I'm interested in, and if M2 DAC is as good as the DACs mentioned above than will definitely go with the M2 since for the price range it's offering more.

 

[Chrispy]

Thanks Chris for your input. I also use same cables as you, but for some reason my games won't play on these speakers. I can handle the little distortion noise.

I have narrowed down my choices, waiting to see if somebody might have something to add, otherwise will be going with M2 interface.

Doubt you use the same cables, made my own Are you aware of the particulars of its construction....they can vary a bit.

 

[RickSanchez]

Motu M2 interface is being said to have a nice DAC, I am more leaning toward that one. Do you guys think M2 would be a better choice than the following DACs:
SMSL SU-8
SONCOZ LA-QXD1
DROP + GRACE DESIGN STANDARD DAC BALANCED - $150?

Also, M2 seems to have TRS 1/4 out, while the DACs above have XLRs. Is their any quality difference or are they exactly same? Thanks.

Measurements:

1. Grace SDAC Balanced
2. SMSL SU-8 (v2)
3. SONCOZ LA-QXD1

I don't think you're going to have issues with any of these DACs from a transparency perspective. You might want to take a look at features, build quality, warranty, aesthetics, return policy, etc. and determine which is best suited for your situation.

 

[TimW]

if he uses the Motu M2 won't he get ground loops with his speakers?

Why do you say that? He will be using a balanced connection so no he shouldn't get ground loops.