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Do you think its worth it for me to upgrade from my Xonar DG Sound Card?

john5220

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Nov 4, 2019
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I use a HD 58x and it works perfectly with the sound card, "Sound on the 58x sounds exactly like my HD 555 only every so slightly better barely noticeable" I can't use "exciter mode" which is the 150 ohm mode because then everything becomes too loud and hurts my ears and also the sound becomes somewhat distorted with that ohm setting.

But once I keep it on 32-64 ohm "gamer mode" everything sounds nice and dandy"

Why I considered upgrading this is because years ago I had a xonar DX a $78 card and it sounded noticeably better than this Xonar DG $40 card.

Will tube amps sound any good with this HD 58x jubilee? how about FX Audio X6?

I like dark laid back sound
 

Keelo117

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Nov 16, 2019
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Take it from me, I had many sound cards headsets e.t.c which then lead me down the path of high end headphones and dedicated amp dacs.

In my PC I have one of the most expensive sound cards you can buy the asus raid strix dlx 7.1. For the same if not slightly more the sound that comes from a DAC/AMP combo or a dedicated dac and a dedicated amp is night and day difference!


Do not go down the rabbit hole of more money equals more performance the rate of diminishing returns is very true in the audio scene. You have arguably one of the best headphones for your money!

Now go look on amirm reccomended list and see what fits your budget, either dac amp combo or seperate dac amp he has both.
 
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john5220

Active Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
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175
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Take it from me, I had many sound cards headsets e.t.c which then lead me down the path of high end headphones and dedicated amp dacs.

In my PC I have one of the most expensive sound cards you can buy the asus raid strix dlx 7.1. For the same if not slightly more the sound that comes from a DAC/AMP combo or a dedicated dac and a dedicated amp is night and day difference!


Do not go down the rabbit hole of more money equals more performance the rate of diminishing returns is very true in the audio scene. You have arguably one of the best headphones for your money!

Now go look on amirm reccomended list and see what fits your budget, either dac amp combo or seperate dac amp he has both.

ok yes I did that and ordered a Topping D30 and Liquid Spark Amp
 

Keelo117

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Nov 16, 2019
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My man!!

I got the dx3 pro and the smsl sp200 you have arguably one of the best setups for money well done! That amp will power most headphones even 600ohms and that dac is amazing quality
 
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john5220

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Nov 4, 2019
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My man!!

I got the dx3 pro and the smsl sp200 you have arguably one of the best setups for money well done! That amp will power most headphones even 600ohms and that dac is amazing quality

wow thanks

I hope I notice a difference over my xonar DG.

One thing I noticed about the Xonar DG is the headphone amp appears to be quite bad the reason i say this is because when I initially didn't notice any distortion I read online it is best to switch to line out mode and use headphones, even tho the output impedance will rise to 100 ohms it will still sound better than the built in head amp cause the headphone amp distorts.

I did that and it had a major improvement in clarity with my HD58x @ 150 ohms. So fingers crossed at this point I am expecting a decent upgrade in sound quality with the D30 and Liquid Spark.

For now I refuse to use the headphone amp in this xonar DG card, the line out speaker mode with headphones is just a million times better. Can't wait for this new setup!!! at first I was worried and sad I wasted my $208 on this Amp and DAC setup but then people here assured me it isn't a waste of money because it will be better than 98% of AMP and DAC on the market even ones costing far more.

This is the first time I ever spent this much money on sound, $208 for the AMP and DAC is way more than the $150 I paid for my HD58x and generally AMP AND DAC ussually have little effect on sound but really hoping for the best.

Plus the AMP And DAC are nice Aluminum finish and I get to put my PC Tower on the floor and run the DAC and AMP from it and have a nice volume knob to play with and much more space on my desk.
 
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john5220

Active Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Messages
175
Likes
97
My man!!

I got the dx3 pro and the smsl sp200 you have arguably one of the best setups for money well done! That amp will power most headphones even 600ohms and that dac is amazing quality

BTW I forgot to ask how does your new DAC and AMP setup sound compare to the Strix Sound Card?

Also is there an audible difference between the DX3 Pro and the Sp200??
 

Keelo117

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Nov 16, 2019
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What I like about the audio scene recently is the rise of BUDGET FRIENDLY/ VERY COMPETITIVE products WITHOUT NO COMPROMISES in QAULITY

it is truly a good time to be invested in this market I. E see amirm recent reviews on dacs and amps especially in the 200 to 400 dollar range.


Dx3pro as a dac is amazing as a headphone amp not so great. I chose this dac because of the features I. E inputs Bluetooth and as a standalone dac SQ was very good. Hence why the amp for me is useless said dac. With your setup you can connect to consoles or anything that excepts your dac input so much choice compared to your sound card which ONLY GOES IN PC

I am waiting on both to arrive however if this forum recommends any product especially from amir's list you will not be disappointed for e. g I ordered the aune x1s around a week ago based on amir's reviews I got that amp dac for around 220 around 70 more then my sound card. The sound difference was fucking amazing very clean but then the smsl amp came out and I thought for next to nothing more I can get a THX AMP so I sent the x1s back and now waiting for my new setup while still using my sound card.
 
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