Is better audio quality even in my reach?

[Sky_Over_void]

This is going to be my first post on this forum so excuse me if I have made it in a wrong section.

In recent days I have started doing some research on some entry level options for DACs in my financial reach as a way of upgrading my current listening experience. Basically something in price range of up to 100 dollars or slightly over. However the more I read about these entry level options I saw more and more opinions stating that these devices might not give me much better sound quality than my current on-board motherboard "sound card" (I'm not sure of it's proper categorization).

Even though I was skeptical due to overall conclusion that "any DAC will be better then on-board" it got me thinking. "Did I ever complained about what I experienced up to now?". I never complained about the sound I was getting. The music I hear is clean with little to no noise in it. But that is all I can say as I'm rather unfamiliar with the more nuanced technical aspects of sound in such equipment and I have never listened to anything more hi-end. Nor is my vocabulary enough to describe these nuances here even if I was able to name in my language them*.

Vast majority of my listening to music and watching movies is happening through my headphones which are Superlux HD669. And my motherboard is Asus Z170-A of which technical aspect can be summarized with a quote from a it's review: "ASUS is using the Realtek ALC892 audio codec instead of the ALC1150 along with some Nichicon Gold Series capacitors and an RC4580 dual amplifier from Texas Instruments. There is a PCB divide to separate the audio PCB area from the rest of the motherboard, and there are three LEDs on the back of the board that try to illuminate the divide." I have already spotted 3 devices that caught my eye, and these are: E10K, SMSL M3 and FX-Audio DAC-X6.

I now it will be a hard question to answer but is it a good idea for me to invest in any of these devices? And if yes, should I start of with something cheaper or invest more at the start?

*PS. I'm sorry for any errors that might have gotten into this post but English is not my native language.

 

[pozz]

Hi and welcome @Sky_Over_void

The answer is yes. When it comes to a headphone system, outside of the headphones themselves, there are basically four main considerations: low distortion, noise, output impedance and high power. (This is assuming you aren't looking for specific features.)

You can easily hit a technically excellent level of quality by spending just a few hundred dollars.

 

[majingotan]

Have you played around with software DSP such as parametric EQ? IMO, I'd only get an external SPDIF DAC if you hear interference/noise on your speakers or if the output impedance of your motherboard is so high that your headphone sounds "tinny" and has no bass impact

 

[pozz]

Have you played around with software DSP such as parametric EQ?

This is a really good idea as well.

 

[twsecrest]

This is going to be my first post on this forum so excuse me if I have made it in a wrong section.
In recent days I have started doing some research on some entry level options for DACs in my financial reach as a way of upgrading my current listening experience. Basically something in price range of up to 100 dollars or slightly over. However the more I read about these entry level options I saw more and more opinions stating that these devices might not give me much better sound quality than my current on-board motherboard "sound card" (I'm not sure of it's proper categorization).
Vast majority of my listening to music and watching movies is happening through my headphones which are Superlux HD669. And my motherboard is Asus Z170-A .
I now it will be a hard question to answer but is it a good idea for me to invest in any of these devices? And if yes, should I start of with something cheaper or invest more at the start?
*PS. I'm sorry for any errors that might have gotten into this post but English is not my native language.

Your Z170-A comes with the Realtek ALC892 audio processor, about equal to a $20 sound card.
While Superlux headphones are great bang for the buck, I would say your first upgrade should be with the headphones, then later on get a DAC/amp or add-on sound card.
Check out the Soundmagic HP151 (or HP200) headphones.

 

[Berwhale]

My upgrade journey to on-board sound went like this:

1. Fiio K3 DAC/Amp (upgraded version E10K). Subjectively, I think this was a worthwhile upgrade, I attribute most of the improvement to the better headphone amp in the K3.

2. JDS Labs Atom headphone amp (retaining the K3 as a DAC). This was another worthwhile upgrade and as you've probably read the Atom is powerful enough to drive pretty much any headphone you plug into it.

3. Topping D50s DAC - I bought this because I wanted an audibly transparent setup, I liked the industrial design and the extra features (remote & Bluetooth). Can I tell the difference between the D50s and the DAC in the K3? No, I can't, but I don't regret buying it

 

[bigx5murf]

A motherboard in general is a terrible place to integrate audio components, the possible sources of interference are never ending.

My first usb DAC was a $20 USB/phono behringer, which I got primarily to do needle drops. The more I compared it with my onboard the more I noticed how much clearer it sounded. I'd never noticed before the behringer, that my onboard would pass on low clicks when there was a lot of hard drive activity for example. What finally sold me on it was, hooked up to onboard, turning the volume on my Klipsch promedias created very audible white noise at just 1/2 volume. But when hooked up to the behringer it took full volume to reach comparable levels of white noise. After that, I bought a smsl optical DAC, and I was able to turn full volume, and get near silence.

I believe it's very easy to get used to poor SQ, and feel you're not missing anything. My dad for example was always fine with built in TV speakers. I gave him some spare equipment I had (90s SONY ES receiver + monitor audio silver bookshelf speakers). At first he said it didn't sound any better, and just made using his TV more complicated. A couple months later, he asked if I had a similar system for his bedroom. Because his words "going from the living room tv to the bedroom tv, feels like switching to phone speakers now".

 

[M00ndancer]

I now it will be a hard question to answer but is it a good idea for me to invest in any of these devices? And if yes, should I start of with something cheaper or invest more at the start?

As many have said already, depending on the implementation of the sound on your mb, you might already have a good sound.
But you mentioned:

The music I hear is clean with little to no noise in it

That might indicate that the soundcard is not up to par. I was in a similar place, some 7 years ago.
So to improve sound you should save your money for an "end game" solution like the D10 or a khadas board and the Atom.
My solution was a HAD-1, an "ok" amp and dac with the features I needed.
But, and this is also really important: Sound improvements are to be had in this order from least important to most important:

DAC -> AMP -> Headphone

So, to get a real improvement get a better headset. If your motherboard don't have enough power you might need an amp.

 

[Sky_Over_void]

As many have said already, depending on the implementation of the sound on your mb, you might already have a good sound.
But you mentioned:
That might indicate that the soundcard is not up to par. I was in a similar place, some 7 years ago.
So to improve sound you should save your money for an "end game" solution like the D10 or a khadas board and the Atom.
My solution was a HAD-1, an "ok" amp and dac with the features I needed.
But, and this is also really important: Sound improvements are to be had in this order from least important to most important:

DAC -> AMP -> Headphone

So, to get a real improvement get a better headset. If your motherboard don't have enough power you might need an amp.

To be fair, I never had a problem with volume with my current headphones. As of right now I usually have them on 25% for casual listening and I bump the output to about 50% when I want to focus on listening to some song or movie. And it gets unpleasant to listen at over 60%.

And about the implementation of sound in my motherboard. I looked around and found only this in regards to sound.

From what I saw on this site (in terms of measuring the performance of different devices) I know it's not much information but can someone decipher any useful information about the performance of my on-board? Hell, can this provide anything useful in determining anything?

 

[Cahudson42]

An inexpensive way to 'get your feet wet' with an external DAC compared to your existing motherboard is a $9 Apple Dongle (and most likely a usb-c adapter for your PC).

Read Amir's review here at ASR and you will see why.

You might also consider a JDS Atom to follow it with, assuming that whatever higher performance DAC you might later get, you will match it with an external amp anyway.

I have no knowledge of your Superlux HP, but remember the 'transducer' is 'always the weakest link'.

With limited $$, your next best purchase after the Apple Dongle and Atom might be new headphones..

 

[bigx5murf]

To be fair, I never had a problem with volume with my current headphones. As of right now I usually have them on 25% for casual listening and I bump the output to about 50% when I want to focus on listening to some song or movie. And it gets unpleasant to listen at over 60%.

And about the implementation of sound in my motherboard. I looked around and found only this in regards to sound.

View attachment 41970

From what I saw on this site (in terms of measuring the performance of different devices) I know it's not much information but can someone decipher any useful information about the performance of my on-board? Hell, can this provide anything useful in determining anything?

Those specs are all very suspect, aside from not being 3rd party verified. The Frequency response specs stop at 15khz, when it's the norm to stop at 20khz. This likely means it has an early high frequency roll off. Noise, dynamic range, and THD specs are all A weighted, which inflates them by a few db as well.

 

[Berwhale]

Hell, can this provide anything useful in determining anything?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/

 

[JJB70]

For headphone listening you really don't have to spend that much to access really excellent sound which is well past the point of diminishing returns. The JDS Atom is an excellent product with more power than you will ever need if you don't want to go deaf and superb performance. There are other very affordable and excellent headphone amps. For DACs, there are dongles with very good performance if you're worried about your on-board DAC. And for headphones you don't have to spend that much to get really good headphones, especially if you consider prices they're offered for sale rather than nominal SRP. There are plenty of offers, B stock, open box etc bargains and you can find really first rate models like the Sennheiser HD650 with pretty steep discounts without having to look too hard.