GreeneDeux
Member
WARNING LONG AND VERY RAMBLY, lower your shields and await assimilation of many hours of your precious time
Not committing to anything yet but I'm thinking a source upgrade for my PC should be in order soon. Right now I've just got a StarTech USB sound card, ICUSBAUDIO2D, which I use for my headphones and mini-soundbar on my desktop, and I run the TOSLINK-out to my TV sound bar since it's in the same room (my desktop pulls double duty as an HTPC). That second part is a bit of a monkey wrench since I need TOSLINK-out on my source, I have it set up this way so I don't have to change the playback device in Windows whenever I want to use the TV, it's more convenient and in my experience some/a lot of software doesn't like suddenly being told that it has to send the audio somewhere else. More than a few embarrassing moments dealing with technical difficulties with company waiting on me!
Budget is tight, don't wanna spend big bucks here. Around $100 or so at most per component (USD). To be honest I'm not even sure I'll get a tangible upgrade over what I've already got within that budget, but surely a tiny little cheapo USB dongle that crackles whenever I change the volume isn't endgame???
There's a couple routes I'm thinking about going... just curious what you guys think/how you'd set things up. No idea what amp I'd pair this all with, maybe a Douk Audio U3 to keep things cheap, or an xDuoo MT-602 so I can go "oooooooo tuuuuubes" every time I switch it on (heard that's the best cheap tube hybrid)
Don't know if choice of DAC or DDC can really affect sound quality beyond taking higher bit depth and bitrate and otherwise not making it worse than source, but I'd want whatever gives me bigger soundstage and/or more accurate imaging for more immersive video game sound. I also want to avoid anything that needs special drivers to work right, which I gather is mercifully only a small minority of what's out there, and mostly limited to PCI-E sound cards.
1. Topping D10S into whatever. Keeps things simple. I like that it shows what quality of audio it's receiving so you know everything's set up ok, I like that the main plug is plain old USB-B (never seen a full-size USB-B fail), and I like that it's got optical out right on the back.
2. FiiO New K3 and nothing else. Now this would be VERY sleek, just about exactly the same footprint as my current StarTech dongle, question is would it actually sound better? I don't care about balanced output, don't like that it doesn't have a 1/4" headphone jack (I would've preferred the balanced 2.5mm be a 1/4" single-ended), and like USB-C less than USB-B. Digital-out means I'm not locked into using its amp, but I think have to use an external DAC as well if I want to do that since it has no RCA-out (unless line-out is for going from its internal DAC to an amp, in which case I'd need to get a 3.5mm to RCA splitter), which seems like it defeats the point of having a K3 then doesn't it? Unless...
3. Something with digital-out to any DAC with digital-in I fancy, maybe a Schiit Modi, or something else entirely? What would you guys use in this setup? I guess my prime candidate for a DDC source would be the StarTech dongle that I already have, though that limits me to 24-bit 96kHz, which is less than what the D10S and K3 can do. They could, themselves, be used for this purpose, but something about buying a DAC or complete DAC-amp combo just to use it as a DDC feels wrong... a quick check on Amazon reveals there's pure some USB-to-TOSLINK/coaxial dongles floating around out there but not sure I trust them. I saw a DSD TECH SH-AU01A that seemingly installs like an in-line component and outputs both TOSLINK and coaxial, which I like the sound of, but the best it can output is only 16-bit 48kHz! Well, "only"... truth be told I don't know if I could pick out the difference, given the most fancy and expensive headphones I've ever had is the less-than-$200 Sennheiser HD 579.
I'm also at a loss for what DAC I could get in the $100-or-less bracket that should sound better than a D10S or K3, mostly because I don't know much about what's out there. Survey says those two sound good and the Schiit Modi maybe sounds better, maybe doesn't, but it's made in the US of A which I just think is neat
What do you guys think? How would you go about this? Am I barking up the right tree, or just going slightly insane?
Also pre-emptive apologies to the mods if this is in the wrong subforum, feel free to move it and/or tell me I'm dumb if it shouldn't be.
Not committing to anything yet but I'm thinking a source upgrade for my PC should be in order soon. Right now I've just got a StarTech USB sound card, ICUSBAUDIO2D, which I use for my headphones and mini-soundbar on my desktop, and I run the TOSLINK-out to my TV sound bar since it's in the same room (my desktop pulls double duty as an HTPC). That second part is a bit of a monkey wrench since I need TOSLINK-out on my source, I have it set up this way so I don't have to change the playback device in Windows whenever I want to use the TV, it's more convenient and in my experience some/a lot of software doesn't like suddenly being told that it has to send the audio somewhere else. More than a few embarrassing moments dealing with technical difficulties with company waiting on me!
Budget is tight, don't wanna spend big bucks here. Around $100 or so at most per component (USD). To be honest I'm not even sure I'll get a tangible upgrade over what I've already got within that budget, but surely a tiny little cheapo USB dongle that crackles whenever I change the volume isn't endgame???
There's a couple routes I'm thinking about going... just curious what you guys think/how you'd set things up. No idea what amp I'd pair this all with, maybe a Douk Audio U3 to keep things cheap, or an xDuoo MT-602 so I can go "oooooooo tuuuuubes" every time I switch it on (heard that's the best cheap tube hybrid)
Don't know if choice of DAC or DDC can really affect sound quality beyond taking higher bit depth and bitrate and otherwise not making it worse than source, but I'd want whatever gives me bigger soundstage and/or more accurate imaging for more immersive video game sound. I also want to avoid anything that needs special drivers to work right, which I gather is mercifully only a small minority of what's out there, and mostly limited to PCI-E sound cards.
1. Topping D10S into whatever. Keeps things simple. I like that it shows what quality of audio it's receiving so you know everything's set up ok, I like that the main plug is plain old USB-B (never seen a full-size USB-B fail), and I like that it's got optical out right on the back.
2. FiiO New K3 and nothing else. Now this would be VERY sleek, just about exactly the same footprint as my current StarTech dongle, question is would it actually sound better? I don't care about balanced output, don't like that it doesn't have a 1/4" headphone jack (I would've preferred the balanced 2.5mm be a 1/4" single-ended), and like USB-C less than USB-B. Digital-out means I'm not locked into using its amp, but I think have to use an external DAC as well if I want to do that since it has no RCA-out (unless line-out is for going from its internal DAC to an amp, in which case I'd need to get a 3.5mm to RCA splitter), which seems like it defeats the point of having a K3 then doesn't it? Unless...
3. Something with digital-out to any DAC with digital-in I fancy, maybe a Schiit Modi, or something else entirely? What would you guys use in this setup? I guess my prime candidate for a DDC source would be the StarTech dongle that I already have, though that limits me to 24-bit 96kHz, which is less than what the D10S and K3 can do. They could, themselves, be used for this purpose, but something about buying a DAC or complete DAC-amp combo just to use it as a DDC feels wrong... a quick check on Amazon reveals there's pure some USB-to-TOSLINK/coaxial dongles floating around out there but not sure I trust them. I saw a DSD TECH SH-AU01A that seemingly installs like an in-line component and outputs both TOSLINK and coaxial, which I like the sound of, but the best it can output is only 16-bit 48kHz! Well, "only"... truth be told I don't know if I could pick out the difference, given the most fancy and expensive headphones I've ever had is the less-than-$200 Sennheiser HD 579.
I'm also at a loss for what DAC I could get in the $100-or-less bracket that should sound better than a D10S or K3, mostly because I don't know much about what's out there. Survey says those two sound good and the Schiit Modi maybe sounds better, maybe doesn't, but it's made in the US of A which I just think is neat
What do you guys think? How would you go about this? Am I barking up the right tree, or just going slightly insane?
Also pre-emptive apologies to the mods if this is in the wrong subforum, feel free to move it and/or tell me I'm dumb if it shouldn't be.
