Question about DAC/Amp, ASIO, Gaming and General Use and Not Increased Performance

[Lawndart78]

Bit of an odd question here. I got back into music creation using FL Studio. It's a hobby. I also game, listen to music, stream crap, do stuff with friends on Discord, etc. I've been perfectly happy with my onboard audio. I've also been perfectly happy with the FL ASIO driver. ASIO4ALL takes over my computer, and nothing but FL can get a word in, while the FL ASIO doesn't get all snotty with me if I want to tinker with a drum beat while I listen to a podcast, follow along with a tutorial on YouTube, or show something to a friend in a Discord stream. I'm not looking for an audio interface with better latency or performance (if I get this is a side effect, I'm okay with that). I don't need MIDI ins or outs. I don't need a row of XLR inputs. I use a USB MIDI controller and all of my instruments are plugins. This is why I think an interface might be a bit overkill, but I also don't know how a gaming DAC would behave with FL Studio and what I'd like with it. I'm not driving anything bigger than a Philips SHP-9500/BoomPro combo, ATH-M20x, or Fiio FT1. I'm trying to stay in the $100 - $150 range, have a simple mic/phones input so I don't have to deal with adapters and additional cables, and I'd like it to work mostly how it does now. I'd looked at the Creative G6 and G8, but had someone tell me the Creative ASIO driver is uncooperative. The same person said their MOTU M4 works the way I want, but that's a bit overkill. I've also looked at the Douk Q2Pro, Fosi K5 & K7, and Schiit Fulla, mostly because these DAC/Amps have the input/output config I'm looking for. I've also read good things about the Fiio K11 and some iFi products, but I don't know what kind of pain is involved in using on-board sound for the Boom Pro and all output to the external DAC and I don't know if any of these or other options are going to play nice (allow system wide audio freedom rather than only FL when in use) with either the FL ASIO driver or their own ASIO driver. I also don't know if it's a mistake to look at any of the gaming DAC/Amps from the standpoint of neutral sound. I'd assume that they have neutral sound, but with my luck I'll order something with a special "audiophile gamer" sound signature. I guess it's a bit of a weird help request, I'm not begging for better latency or performance. I'm just looking to keep the same general useability, but shifted from a Realtek chipset to what might be a bit better quality and bit more amp power. Any input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Lawn

 

[twsecrest]

If you need headphone surround sound for gaming, that a USB gaming sound card (Creative G6, G8, etc) can provide, then get a USB sound card.
Otherwise a USB DAC/amp is what I would get.

 

[weesch]

hi just take a look on aliexpress
write "asio" and make a search
there many cheapiest asio sound card

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