What DAC/Headphone Amp combo or separate DAC and Headphone Amp should I get?

[Thunder]

I'll be using it/them with my gaming PC and a pair of Edifier Studio R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers and Sennheisers HD 600

First I'd like to know if it's better to get a DAC/Headphone Amp combo or separate ones. I don't use my headphones pretty much for comfortabilty reasons, I always use my speakers.

I was thinking about something like the Topping DX7 Pro, is it a right choice?

If I don't use my headphones pretty much, is it worth it to get a headphone amp too?

Also, I wouldn't benefit of a speaker amp, right? Because as one member told me on one of my other posts, my Edifiers already have an integrated speaker amp on them.

My budget is about $700 I don't want to go higher than that.

Thank you, I'll wait for your answers.

 

[maverickronin]

It looks like those Edifier's only have RCA and 3.5mm inputs so you probably don't need to spend extra money on a DAC with balanced outputs. Did it have some other feature you were looking for?

If you rarely use the headphones you could just skip the amp and get a Topping E30 or SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II.

For a DAC with a built in headamp the Topping DX3 Pro is a good bet.

 

[Thunder]

It looks like those Edifier's only have RCA and 3.5mm inputs so you probably don't need to spend extra money on a DAC with balanced outputs. Did it have some other feature you were looking for?

If you rarely use the headphones you could just skip the amp and get a Topping E30 or SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II.

For a DAC with a built in headamp the Topping DX3 Pro is a good bet.

So, for my speakers it's not worth it to invest in a DAC, is that right?

They also have an optical input which allows to transfer digital audio through SPDIF-Out and it states that it allows bit-to-bit streaming of up to 2 channel, 24 bit, 96 kHz PCMdata signals without processing. Which should be a lower audio quality than the one obtained via RCA which is of 32 bit, 384 kHz, right? Or is it higher quality?

I'm currently using a Sound BlasterX AE-5 dedicated sound card which seems to be pretty good but I wanted to get rid of the software it uses, and I'm not sure if the program is needed to be running in order to get the best sound quality.

 

[frogmeat69]

So, for my speakers it's not worth it to invest in a DAC, is that right?

You don't need a DAC with balanced outputs for your speakers, since they only have RCA and 3.5mm inputs, but you need a Dac if you want to ditch the sound card or onboard audio. And I see that those speakers have a remote for the volume, so you could get away with a Topping D10 or SMSL M100 for a cheap DAC that works great. If you want a headphone amp too, the Topping DX3 Pro would work like @maverickronin mentioned for your speakers and headphones.
You also wouldn't go wrong with the DX7 Pro if you want top shelf in measurements and performance , except on your wallet.

 

[maverickronin]

So, for my speakers it's not worth it to invest in a DAC, is that right?

Going by the current Amazon prices, I'd say a DAC 6 times more expensive than your speakers is not the best way to spend your money if you want to optimize sound quality. The DX7 Pro does have great specs, but part of its price is also in the balanced output which your current speakers can't accept as well as near TOTL DAC performance which is basically just for bragging rights.

If you just want to get rid of the Creative bloatware and not sacrifice any quality then you can do so without shelling out for a nearly TOTL DAC. The DX3 Pro if you plan on continuing to use your Sennheisers. The Topping D10, D30, or SMSL M100 will do if you'll only be using those Edifier's with their own remote. The Topping E30 and SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II have their own remotes which may be useful if you add other sources or change speakers in the future.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket and you want to make a big jump in sound quality you could get an SMSL SU-8 (an inexpensive balanced DAC with good performance) and a pair studio monitors (a fancy name for powered speakers) which typically take balanced input.

They also have an optical input which allows to transfer digital audio through SPDIF-Out and it states that it allows bit-to-bit streaming of up to 2 channel, 24 bit, 96 kHz PCMdata signals without processing. Which should be a lower audio quality than the one obtained via RCA which is of 32 bit, 384 kHz, right? Or is it higher quality?

S/PDIF is basically just a data format for PCM data. The data itself can be transferred either optically or electrically. Optical connections are generally limited to 24/96. The RCA coaxial can go quite a lot higher, but in practice it doesn't matter. It's pretty much a marketing game so they can just put bigger numbers on stuff. The audibility of anything higher than 16/44 (the rates used on CDs) is very debatable and anything past24/96 is beyond overkill.

Also, you will usually get better performance (at least if you measured it. It will be inaudible 99% of the time.) from USB than either optical or coax since modern USB DAC implementations can use their own internal clock instead of syncing to the clock of whatever is sending the S/PDIF signal over optical or coax

 

[Thunder]

Going by the current Amazon prices, I'd say a DAC 6 times more expensive than your speakers is not the best way to spend your money if you want to optimize sound quality. The DX7 Pro does have great specs, but part of its price is also in the balanced output which your current speakers can't accept as well as near TOTL DAC performance which is basically just for bragging rights.

If you just want to get rid of the Creative bloatware and not sacrifice any quality then you can do so without shelling out for a nearly TOTL DAC. The DX3 Pro if you plan on continuing to use your Sennheisers. The Topping D10, D30, or SMSL M100 will do if you'll only be using those Edifier's with their own remote. The Topping E30 and SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II have their own remotes which may be useful if you add other sources or change speakers in the future.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket and you want to make a big jump in sound quality you could get an SMSL SU-8 (an inexpensive balanced DAC with good performance) and a pair studio monitors (a fancy name for powered speakers) which typically take balanced input.



S/PDIF is basically just a data format for PCM data. The data itself can be transferred either optically or electrically. Optical connections are generally limited to 24/96. The RCA coaxial can go quite a lot higher, but in practice it doesn't matter. It's pretty much a marketing game so they can just put bigger numbers on stuff. The audibility of anything higher than 16/44 (the rates used on CDs) is very debatable and anything past24/96 is beyond overkill.

Also, you will usually get better performance (at least if you measured it. It will be inaudible 99% of the time.) from USB than either optical or coax since modern USB DAC implementations can use their own internal clock instead of syncing to the clock of whatever is sending the S/PDIF signal over optical or coax

Crystal clear and perfectly explained.

Knowing all this now I think it's not worth it for me to get anything for the moment, I'm a bit noob and I thought that if I'd replace my DAC I'd get a big jump in quality but I see that it's not as easy as I thought, haha.

I'll keep using my Sound BlasterX which everybody seems to agree that's it's a pretty good device.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[Thunder]

Going by the current Amazon prices, I'd say a DAC 6 times more expensive than your speakers is not the best way to spend your money if you want to optimize sound quality. The DX7 Pro does have great specs, but part of its price is also in the balanced output which your current speakers can't accept as well as near TOTL DAC performance which is basically just for bragging rights.

If you just want to get rid of the Creative bloatware and not sacrifice any quality then you can do so without shelling out for a nearly TOTL DAC. The DX3 Pro if you plan on continuing to use your Sennheisers. The Topping D10, D30, or SMSL M100 will do if you'll only be using those Edifier's with their own remote. The Topping E30 and SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II have their own remotes which may be useful if you add other sources or change speakers in the future.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket and you want to make a big jump in sound quality you could get an SMSL SU-8 (an inexpensive balanced DAC with good performance) and a pair studio monitors (a fancy name for powered speakers) which typically take balanced input.



S/PDIF is basically just a data format for PCM data. The data itself can be transferred either optically or electrically. Optical connections are generally limited to 24/96. The RCA coaxial can go quite a lot higher, but in practice it doesn't matter. It's pretty much a marketing game so they can just put bigger numbers on stuff. The audibility of anything higher than 16/44 (the rates used on CDs) is very debatable and anything past24/96 is beyond overkill.

Also, you will usually get better performance (at least if you measured it. It will be inaudible 99% of the time.) from USB than either optical or coax since modern USB DAC implementations can use their own internal clock instead of syncing to the clock of whatever is sending the S/PDIF signal over optical or coax

Hey!

I finally ordered the SMSL SU-8 and a pair of studio monitors!

Do you recommend me any headphone amp?

Edit: I already ordered the JDS Labs Atom

 

[maverickronin]

Hey!

I finally ordered the SMSL SU-8 and a pair of studio monitors!

Do you recommend me any headphone amp?

Edit: I already ordered the JDS Labs Atom

The Atom's a great choice. What monitors did you get?

 

[Thunder]

The Atom's a great choice. What monitors did you get?

I ordered the bestselling studio monitors on Amazon right now, the Presonus Eris E3.5

Do you know if they are any good?

 

[maverickronin]

I ordered the bestselling studio monitors on Amazon right now, the Presonus Eris E3.5

Do you know if they are any good?

I have not heard those one or seen measurements so I couldn't say for sure. I don't have measurements of the Edifier either, but that "baby" Presonus is probably more of a sidegrade.

I probably should have been a little more specific, but since you said you a $700 budget I was thinking of pairing the SU-8 with something like the JBL 305 MKII Or Kali LP-6. (Also, most studio monitors are sold individually so you would need to buy 2 of either those to make a stereo pair).

I mostly use headphones, but I have a pair of the JBLs and think they are very good for the price. I've heard people say the Kali was better though. The JBL 305 used to cost the same but it's on sale all the time now.

 

[Thunder]

I have not heard those one or seen measurements so I couldn't say for sure. I don't have measurements of the Edifier either, but that "baby" Presonus is probably more of a sidegrade.

I probably should have been a little more specific, but since you said you a $700 budget I was thinking of pairing the SU-8 with something like the JBL 305 MKII Or Kali LP-6. (Also, most studio monitors are sold individually so you would need to buy 2 of either those to make a stereo pair).

I mostly use headphones, but I have a pair of the JBLs and think they are very good for the price. I've heard people say the Kali was better though. The JBL 305 used to cost the same but it's on sale all the time now.

Ok, I see, thank you. I canceled the order for the Presonus, no problem, they weren't even in the shipping process.

 

[maverickronin]

If you're interested in a different pair of monitors you may want to start another thread since I'm not as well versed in all the options. There are probably other good choices in that price range as well.

 

[Thunder]

If you're interested in a different pair of monitors you may want to start another thread since I'm not as well versed in all the options. There are probably other good choices in that price range as well.

Don't worry, I trust you, hehe.

I'm looking at the JBLs and the Kalis you mentioned but the problem is the availability here in my country (Spain), they're available but I don't trust 100% the sellers, they don't have the best ratings/reputation, even the ones in Amazon.

 

[maverickronin]

Don't worry, I trust you, hehe.

I'm looking at the JBLs and the Kalis you mentioned but the problem is the availability here in my country (Spain), they're available but I don't trust 100% the sellers, they don't have the best reputation, even the ones in Amazon.

Those brands are based in the US and others here have mentioned that availability is spotty and prices are higher in Europe so I'm really out of my element recommending monitors with Eurpoean availability.

Neumann and Genelec are two well regarded, but expensive, Eurepon brands. Their cheapest models are out of your original budget, at least by their US prices.

 

[Berwhale]

I bought the JBL 305p MKII's recently, but sent them back because the hiss from the tweaters was too loud and annoying for me. Being a 5" monitor, they were also a little on the large size for my limited desk space. I bought some Tannoy Reveal 402 and i'm very happy with them. You can see my setup here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-desktop-audio-setup.12057/page-3#post-362912

*Edit* Thomann are a German company, but have a Spanish store with a good range of monitors...

https://www.thomann.de/es/monitores_activos_de_campo_cercano.html

 

[Thunder]

This is the best rated seller from Amazon.es I can find for the JBLs, they sell the 306p MKII instead of the 305p MKII

https://www.amazon.es/sp?_encoding=...derID=&seller=A1JJTXDWWD8O8K&tab=&vasStoreID=

They haven't got such bad reputation, do they? 93% positive out of 100%

 

[Thunder]

I bought the JBL 305p MKII's recently, but sent them back because the hiss from the tweaters was too loud and annoying for me. Being a 5" monitor, they were also a little on the large size for my limited desk space. I bought some Tannoy Reveal 402 and i'm very happy with them. You can see my setup here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-desktop-audio-setup.12057/page-3#post-362912

*Edit* Thomann are a German company, but have a Spanish store with a good range of monitors...

https://www.thomann.de/es/monitores_activos_de_campo_cercano.html

I've read from two other Amazon customers the same you mention about the hissing but for the Kalis LP-6

I'm pretty undecided to be honest. There's always seem to be something wrong, haha.

 

[Berwhale]

118€ each from Thomman: https://www.thomann.de/es/jbl_lsr_305p_mkii.htm

The Presonus Eris E5 XT are also excellent: https://www.thomann.de/es/presonus_eris_e5_xt.htm

And the Adam T5V: https://www.thomann.de/es/adam_t5v.htm

 

[Thunder]

118€ each from Thomman: https://www.thomann.de/es/jbl_lsr_305p_mkii.htm

The Presonus Eris E5 XT are also excellent: https://www.thomann.de/es/presonus_eris_e5_xt.htm

And the Adam T5V: https://www.thomann.de/es/adam_t5v.htm

Which ones would you get in my situation?

I've also contemplated the Yamaha HS

 

[Berwhale]

I have only heard the 305p's and cannot recommend them due to the hiss. Both the other models are often recommended on ASR by people who own or have heard them. Personally, I would buy the Presonus because I like the look of them, but a lot of people also like the look, and the sound, of the ribbon tweater in the Adam