Really interested in getting a DAC - coming from xonar ST
Hello, I'm really just looking for advice on what exactly would be classed as better than the xonar ST in terms of noise levels and crackles as I'm getting a slight crackle in the tweeters on some detailed stuff and other sources don't do this. I'd like to separate the audio signal from the dirty power inside my pc as it's a gaming pc pushing nearly 1200watt around whilst gaming and I'd like to get pure clean crisp audio from my flac files via usb.
I'd like to know the kind of money I'd need to spend to achieve this as I'd like to get back to enjoying my music without this power noise and crackles I get with this source only.
Also usb cables for DACs is there a specific brand of cable anyone would recommend from experience to have eliminated any power sounds through usb also?
I'm really fussy about this type of thing and need to get the entire solution for more money than the ST cost but less money than £400
Help would be really appreciated as the world of DACs for computers is new and rapidly expanding by maybe 50 new dacs a month.
the yulong actually looks fantastic and I think it would be an upgrade to isolate my music from that static trouble caused likely by the ssds or graphics cards or maybe due to the overclocking running near the limits.
I do require a headphone amp I should have said because I do like to buy decent headphones from time to time with q701s being my next idea.
Thanks for the advice!
You're welcome, glad I could be useful. After writing that about the Yulong I finally pulled the trigger on one myself, just couldn't wait any longer. I did remember another combined DAC/amp that sounded very interesting but it was a bit over your budget. The 'Matrix Quattro DAC' (£450) and although it hasn't been out very long there seems to be quite a buzz about it in the DAC circles. Not that I am trying to talk you out of the D100, good luck with whatever you decide and please report back with what you find.
I do require a headphone amp I should have said because I do like to buy decent headphones from time to time with q701s being my next idea.
Thanks for the advice!
Are you willing to buy a separate amp for the Akg's, or looking for a dac/amp combo?
Asus do an external Xonar Essence One External DAC which has got some good reviews. The price is around £325. The DAC features replaceable op-amps if you want to tweak in future, and build quality is said to be very impressive. Sound quality rates highly (according to reviews) - one of the reviewers does a comparison against a Burson DAC.
http://uk.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Essence_One/
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It's interesting to hear about the issues you are getting with the ST as I was interested in that card to replace an external DAC for simplicity on one of my computers... not so interested now so thanks for the info. Your sound glitches could be caused by any number of things in your PC, especially since you say its such a powerful gaming rig. I would think that any external DAC could fix yoru problem regardless of cables so try default (cheep as chip) USB data cables to start with.
I assume that you want just a DAC for your system rather than one with a built in headphone amplifier / pre-amp or would that be of interest as well? If it's just a DAC you need have a look at the Arcam rDAC or the HRT Music Streamer II+. Both of which are around £300 and get good reviews. I'm sure there are more and newer more exotic models in that range but DACs without headphone amps are not my strong point. This budget would also give you some extra money to spend on a USB cable if you feel the need.
I am trying to find somewhere to test USB cables at the moment because people swear to me it makes a difference, even if scientifically there shouldn't be any but I want to keep an open mind. The one I am being recommended to try is a Nordost but their USB cables are about £180 which I cannot see myself getting unless it made a huge difference. A 2m Wireworld Ultraviolet or Furutech Formula 2 can be got for about £60 and should be fairly easy to find in a hi-fi shop for testing.
You can see by the previous post that I am looking at a Yulong D100 which is a very highly rated Chinese DAC + Headphone Amplifier. It gives the two above DAC's a good run for their money, it can be bought for about £300 (eBay) and would give you a nice hi-fi seperate sized unit with a very good headphone amplifier, a nice display and balanced XLR outputs. As well as giving - 24bit/96khz over Asynchronous USB, 32bit/192khz over S/PDIF or coax, SNR=120dB, Dynamic Range=115dB, THD+N= <0.0005% @ 1khz. But hey screw the techy stuff, check out some reviews online. I will be getting one of these very soon but if you are interested too then make sure to pick up the mkII version as it's just been upgraded.
PC>JRiver> DAC/amps: Fiio, Audinst, Yulong, Arcam, Fostex, Audiolab, Schiit, Oppo, Ifi ●
Headphones: D7000, Q701, M80, M100, DT770, DT880, HP100, HP200, Mad Dog, HD650 ●