Soundcard Woes

[EvoKazz]

Hiya guys, I bought some new earphones for my MP3 Player (MusicalFidelity EB33's) and they arrived today, and are amazing, tried them on everything and they sound awesome, except on my PC, they sound tinny, and very analogue...if that makes sense. I predicted this after doing research, and already ordered a highly recommended sound card which also just arrived, an Asus Xonar DX. Just installed it all, and while the sound via speakers sounds better (albiet with a small background constant hiss, not sure what causes this) the headphone quality is just the same! I was expecting a jump in quality, at least on par with my MP3 Player, but it's exactly the same as before I fitted it, have I just wasted £55? Or am I doing something wrong, I have tried connecting directly to the card, and via the front panel which is hooked upto the sound card and the results are the same.

 

[MajorFubar]

Can I be honest, if you were looking to get the best stereo sound for your money I think you'd have been better off buying a decent 2-channel USB DAC than something like that. Too much of your budget has been spent on features you presumably don't want or need, leaving little for what you actually want. All the rave reviews I can find about it are from gamers not HiFi enthusiasts (so are all of the 'hate' reviews I've found about it, to be honest). That said, check the settings on your PC to make sure your computer itself isn't jiggery-pokering with the sound in some way.

 

[EvoKazz]

Thanks for the reply, I was going to send the sound card back to Amazon and get a DAC instead, but to be honest the improvement over my Cambridge Soundworks is enough to justify keeping it, I may just by a DAC purely for headphones and have the best of both.

Can you suggest a decent DAC purely for headphone use? I would like something I could use on the PC and my MP3 player if thats even possible, failing that just the PC would be awesome. I'm looking at a budget of around £60 - £80

 

[MajorFubar]

Not sure. The Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS is supposed to be a real stormer for £100 but that's over budget. A real underrated performer which for some reason falls off the radar of all the HiFi mags is the Behringer UCA-202. For £25 I think it's a bargain. It has line-ins you won't probably use but imo it's stil a great buy.

 

[daveh75]

Another inexpensive DAC that falls under the radar, is the 'Lindy USB DAC and Headphone Amp'.

http://www.lindy.co.uk/audio-video-c2/converters-scalers-c105/audio-spdif-analogue-dacs-c106/usb-dac-headphone-amp-p2740

Its more versatile than the Behringers (with coaxial and optical inputs as well as USB) and as with most Lindy products, its a badge engineered job, so is available under different brand names/unbranded for less. I bought one of the unbranded ones from Amazon for around £25 (since gone up a bit on there), but they're also available on eBay.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004GCV8TK/ref=sr_1_5_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1409428948&sr=8-5&keywords=lindy+dac&condition=new

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shin-Kin-Maplins-24-bit-192khz-USB-DAC-Digital-to-Analog-Audio-Convertor-/351147536998?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item51c2063266

I use one in an inexpensive second system, between a Raspberry Pi and Studiospares Seiwin 5As and at £25 it was a steal.

 

[EvoKazz]

Which would you guys rate better:

Fiio E7 or Dacmaster XS?

It would mainly be used on PC but option to use on phone would be nice, I think the Fiio works on both, not sure on the XS? but which is the better device, the E7 is also cheaper.