Hi all
I have two somewhat related questions I hope you can help me with.
I use my PC sound mostly for listening to music from Tidal during the day, and occasionally for gaming. I have a pair of Mackie CR-4's hooked up which I use most of the time, but occasionally I plug in headphones. I recently purchased a pair of Beyerdynamic 770 Pro 80 ohm's to upgrade my headphone listening experience which are coming soon, and on a whim after coming across some raving reviews ordered the Philips SHP9500's from overseas so I could compare the two pairs and sell whichever I end up liking less.
All of this is being driven by my onboard motherboard sound. I hear many groans, but this is no ordinary onboard DAC, but rather the Purity 2 onboard sound chipset, with Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec and DTS Connect. These are the specs:
- 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec)
- Premium Blu-ray Audio support
- Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
- Supports Purity Sound? 2
- Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
- 115dB SNR DAC with differential amplifier
- TI? NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier (Supports up to 600 ohm headsets)
- Direct Drive Technology
- EMI shielding cover
- PCB isolate shielding
- Supports DTS Connect
Anyway, to cut a long story short - with all of this in mind - would I benefit from an external DAC/Amp combo or stand-alone units in terms of sound quality to my Mackie's and driving the headphones I mentioned above? Tidal in Hifi quality sounds fantastic already - but if I can further improve this with upgrades and/or benefit the new headphones, I'd like to know. If this is the case - any recommendations as far as hardware goes?
As far as my second question, a little simpler this time. I'm looking for an entry-level headphone DAC/Amp for my wife. I was looking at the Fiio series which seem to garner mostly high praise, but wasn't sure if there was something equally good that might be cheaper / more readily available?
Thanks in advance!
I have two somewhat related questions I hope you can help me with.
I use my PC sound mostly for listening to music from Tidal during the day, and occasionally for gaming. I have a pair of Mackie CR-4's hooked up which I use most of the time, but occasionally I plug in headphones. I recently purchased a pair of Beyerdynamic 770 Pro 80 ohm's to upgrade my headphone listening experience which are coming soon, and on a whim after coming across some raving reviews ordered the Philips SHP9500's from overseas so I could compare the two pairs and sell whichever I end up liking less.
All of this is being driven by my onboard motherboard sound. I hear many groans, but this is no ordinary onboard DAC, but rather the Purity 2 onboard sound chipset, with Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec and DTS Connect. These are the specs:
- 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec)
- Premium Blu-ray Audio support
- Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
- Supports Purity Sound? 2
- Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
- 115dB SNR DAC with differential amplifier
- TI? NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier (Supports up to 600 ohm headsets)
- Direct Drive Technology
- EMI shielding cover
- PCB isolate shielding
- Supports DTS Connect
Anyway, to cut a long story short - with all of this in mind - would I benefit from an external DAC/Amp combo or stand-alone units in terms of sound quality to my Mackie's and driving the headphones I mentioned above? Tidal in Hifi quality sounds fantastic already - but if I can further improve this with upgrades and/or benefit the new headphones, I'd like to know. If this is the case - any recommendations as far as hardware goes?
As far as my second question, a little simpler this time. I'm looking for an entry-level headphone DAC/Amp for my wife. I was looking at the Fiio series which seem to garner mostly high praise, but wasn't sure if there was something equally good that might be cheaper / more readily available?
Thanks in advance!
