Has Anyone Tried an 'Audiophile' DAC/Amp with a DAW?

[zebra-f]

I'm using the term 'audiophile' to differentiate it from an audio interface with mic inputs and similar features.

I have an old E-mu 0204, which has always been terrible for a DAW (either with dedicated drivers or ASIO4ALL), producing a lot of crackling and popping noises. Meanwhile, the built-in Realtek audio card on my motherboard worked flawlessly.

Currently, I have no good way to test an audiophile external headphone DAC/amp combo with a DAW, especially with larger projects—let's say 32-64GB of sample libraries. Therefore, I would love to hear whether it works well, if there are any quirks, and most importantly, what the latency is like.

I'm interested in purchasing something in the Fiio K5 Pro price range with line outs for active monitors.
Not sure what to look for; maybe there are some specific DAC chips that I should consider or avoid, or maybe it won't work at all.

 

[DVDdoug]

I'm not really an expert but I understand a little about it. It's usually related to multitasking and interrupts. Your operating system is always multitasking & interrupting, even if you're only running one application and that's why you need buffers.

producing a lot of crackling and popping noises.

Usually that's buffer underflow (DAC) or buffer overflow (ADC). It's usually not the hardware, although ASIO was designed for low-latency and hardware with true ASIO drivers MAY work better than ASIO4ALL.

Something "hogs" the system for a few milliseconds too long and you get buffer underflow and a glitch. It could be some other application or a background operation, or it could be something in the DAW itself (lots of effects or lots of virtual instruments, etc.).

A larger buffer should help but a buffer is also a delay and the latency can be a problem with real-time processing, or if you are monitoring yourself while recording.

And of course, a faster computer can help because it can finish-up whatever it's doing and get-back to the buffers before you get a glitch.

There is a free online book about optimizing Windows for audio called Glitch Free.

Meanwhile, the built-in Realtek audio card on my motherboard worked flawlessly.

Maybe you should use it!

 

[Steve Dallas]

In a word, yes.

When mixing, I often use a Schiit Modius into a Peachtree Nova 300 into headphones or speakers. It works flawlessly. You should experience the same with any decent DAC/amp into headphones.

Not sure why you would care about latency if you are not monitoring any analog input signals or gaming or working with video production.

 

[zebra-f]

Not sure why you would care about latency if you are not monitoring any analog input signals or gaming or working with video production.

MIDI Keyboard (/other peripherals).

I'm not really an expert but I understand a little about it. It's usually related to multitasking and interrupts. Your operating system is always multitasking & interrupting, even if you're only running one application and that's why you need buffers.


Usually that's buffer underflow (DAC) or buffer overflow (ADC). It's usually not the hardware, although ASIO was designed for low-latency and hardware with true ASIO drivers MAY work better than ASIO4ALL.

Something "hogs" the system for a few milliseconds too long and you get buffer underflow and a glitch. It could be some other application or a background operation, or it could be something in the DAW itself (lots of effects or lots of virtual instruments, etc.).

A larger buffer should help but a buffer is also a delay and the latency can be a problem with real-time processing, or if you are monitoring yourself while recording.

And of course, a faster computer can help because it can finish-up whatever it's doing and get-back to the buffers before you get a glitch.

There is a free online book about optimizing Windows for audio called Glitch Free.


Maybe you should use it!

Thanks for the explanation, I understand that somewhat as I have done some research but this audio interface has well known/unsolvable problems, not to mention that it was unnecessary purchase over my budget and I have some trust issues since then.

 

[Steve Dallas]

MIDI Keyboard (/other peripherals).

Thanks for the explanation, I understand that somewhat as I have done some research but this audio interface has well known/unsolvable problems, not to mention that it was unnecessary purchase over my budget and I have some trust issues since then.

In that case, your best solution to this problem is a MOTU M2 or M4. MOTU has rock solid drivers and builds very reliable and performant interfaces at very reasonable prices.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I've used most of my DACs at one time or another with a DAW. Some have ASIO drivers and some don't. Haven't had issues either way. You sometimes have various ways of connecting the DAW output to the DAC. By that I mean by using ASIO or other Windows modes like WASAPI. Unless I found out otherwise I would expect most devices to be usable without problems this way. I know you are trying to find out without purchasing something. So maybe someone with the device you have in mind can chime in.

 

[kemmler3D]

I've used the Topping DX5 with my DAW and haven't had any serious issues, but also haven't used it a lot.

+1 for MOTU M2/4, have the M2 also and it's nice.

Not sure what to look for; maybe there are some specific DAC chips that I should consider or avoid, or maybe it won't work at all.

You'll probably want a DAC with ASIO support, for one.

 

[MrWiggles]

I am one of the few producers making music using mostly headphones (with some monitors thrown in). 80% of my work is on headphones, including some mixing and even mastering (I usually use a couple different studio monitors in the mix and master).

My normal chain is this:

I use the Toppings E70 velvet and A70 amp. My main headphones are Audeze LCD-Xs.

My production chain is generally Ableton as the DAW with a few headphone specific utilities on the Main. I like the SoundID Reference plugin to flatten my output as much as possible. I really like how easy it is to do this with headphones, and the LCD-Xs get wonderfully flat. Next in the chain I use Ghz CanOpener Studion 3. This does a great job emulating spacial audio.

I've gotten to the point where I can have good confidence that my finished product with 100% headphones is very close to what I'd get in a dedicated studio space.

 

[Vamp898]

I use my Moondrop DAWN PRO because my IEM are too Sensitive for my Digital Interface. As an Linux User, i do not need any exotic drivers or features for ASIO/WASAPI/Whatever, i can just use whatever i want, with realtime audio, with bit-perfect output and so on. Works perfectly fine.

Most Digital Interfaces have very good inputs, but only rather so-so headphone outputs. I have no issues with my Sennheiser, but the IEM output audible static when connecting to the DI