Someone redpill me on what these things are used for? Is it

>>59046001

Well, in my case it allows me to plug my headphones with their 1/4in native jack directly in. Its super easy to bend/damage the jack with the adapter to 1/8in from the added length. It also lets me have a volume knob conveniently placed on my desk, which I like for reasons.

I honestly dont notice any difference in sound quality when compared between the DAC, my laptop's headphone jack, my PC's headphone jack, or even my phone.

>>59070273
they look pretty cool and impress people in battlestation threads

>>59070302
>>59070302
Yeah, like usual, thread died before I could finish typing. It's like my mutant ability.

>>59070384
So is that all these are good for? Making headphones sound good through a convenient front port as opposed to the onboard sound coming from a port on the back of the PC?

I won't argue that they sound good or not because I'll believe that. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around it; are these things ONLY good for headphones, or are they meant for 5.1 surround sound speaker set ups?

Or are 5.1 surround sound speakers a horrible thing for battlestations?

Sound quality is marginally better. Going higher in price means you'll get less gains in sound quality.

Also lots of companies are making things with low quality parts and they make a killing through advertising and shilling on forums. They'll also do things like use high end Nichicon capacitors because you can see the shiny gold caps in photos, but they'll use shitty potentiometers, buttons, switches, and everything else.

I admit that I got meme'd and spent hundreds over the years on this shit, but eventually I bought a Yamaha receiver for $250 and I've been happy with it ever since.

>>59070633
>are these things ONLY good for headphones, or are they meant for 5.1 surround sound speaker set ups?
You can buy headphone amps, and you can buy speaker amps. Both are subject to the same audiophile marketing BS. You can spend hundreds of dollars on fancy headphone amps that have like 5 lit up vacuum tubes sticking out the top. I'm sure you've seen them.

>In every other thread on /g/ everyone shows off their fancy expensive DAC/AMPs.

>Make a thread specifically about them on /g/ and everyone shits on them

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>>59070698
But these tiny box DACs are just for amplifying headphones? Is that all most if not all the denizens of 4chan use in their setups?

I'm old and still like having multiple speakers much in the same way I like wearing white crew socks and shorts because that's what I believe was the "in" thing.

If I bought a receiver like a Pioneer or Aiwa, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? Having a headphone-out and ports for 5+ speakers?

Is there a difference between a receiver like pic related and a DAC used in so many battlestation pics? Other than the receiver having more to doing with audio AND video.

>>59070830
yes, a lot of them are headphone specific

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>>59070273

Would buying something like this and connecting it directly to my PC give me any increase in sound quality?

Or would I just be wasting my money without a good DAC too?

>https://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-6JI-standard-Headphone/dp/B00A2QM5O6

>>59070830
Doing it right.

>>59070871
>increase in sound quality

depends on how you define "quality". It may give you a perceptible difference in sound signature but if its just an amp its just going to amplify whatever your DAC puts out

>>59070918

I am using MDR-V6s and they are a little light in terms of bass.

I hear different tubes can make a difference. Is that just nonsense?

>>59070871

>connecting it directly to PC

what will you be outputting to, specifically?

>>59070540
you're a faggot

>>59070540
This is honestly the only real reason 99% of people on /g/ buy them

>>59070975

MDR-V6 Headphones.

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>>59070273
>>59070273
It's just fucking autism and audiophool masturbation. Most mobos and soundcards made in the last 5 years are perfectly fine and many of the better mobos even isolate all sound chips.

I had that Fulla for a week and didn't notice any difference and sold it. It was jus ta giant fucking audio knob. Didn't do much else. I couldn't really tell any difference.

Anyway, we already have a thread on this shit.

>>59046001

>>59071017
Again, thread died before I could post, and I still can't into sound, so I don't know what parts to buy/what's best/how to hook them up.

Is buying an external DAC better than having a dedicated sound card in my computer? I know most modern motherboards have "decent sound", but I can't help but think it's better knowing that I'm saving some mobo resources by having a dedicated device run my sound.

Also, wtf is the difference between a DAC and an amp?

You posted an amp, but i assume you meant to post a dac.

Amps do just what the name implies: amplify a signal. If you feel your onboard connectors do no provide high enough volume, you would want to get an amp. Headphone amps are crazy simple in design and you should not pay a lot for one. The Objective 2 is a good option.

You posted a tube amp, and I'm guessing you dont know what the tubes do. The answer is not much. Before transistors, we used vacuum tubes for many circuit functions. They're not special really and in most applications don't actually amplify signal and are instead used as buffers.

A DAC is just a microprocessor whose only function is to turn a digital representation of the sound into varying levels of voltage and frequency. Think of it like an audio file on your computer being sheet music and the DAC being the musical artist.
There was a time when higher quality DACs were bleeding edge technology. That time has passed and unless you have issues with buzzing and humming on your pc, you really dont need one.

If you want both for as cheap as possible, look for an old home theater receiver. You can get them super cheap second hand and they perform far better than most of these amateur pieces floating around these days.

>>59071110
If you have a shitty soundcard that doesn't have any electromagntic isolation, then yeah, external DAC might be better since you won't have any interference.

it's easy to check: when you play a song or fuck around with doing something GPU and CPU intensive, is there crackling or do you hear any noise? If you don't hear crackling, your soundcard is perfectly fine.

Amplifier amplifies audio signals and makes everything louder. This is useful if you have high impedence headphones.

>>59071201
Fiio E10K is an amp and a DAC.

>>59071215
Sorry, wanted to say Fulla2. It's a DAC/AMP. Other thread had a Fiio E10k which is a Fulla2 competitor in the same price category.

>>59070273
few a couple years my only computer was a laptop that had a shitton of electrical noise on the headphone jack. Even with normie apple earbuds there was a huge difference buying one of those fiio DACs.

>>59071110
DAC - Digital to Analog Converter, takes the data from your PC and turns it into an electrical signal you can run through speakers or headphones.

amp - does your DAC have a volume knob? it has an amp. Audiophiles like to have a standalone amp for modularity, or if they have high impedance headphones. Yes, you will get better quality sound from a standalone amp, but just having a DAC + a good pair of headphones already gets you 90% there.

>>59070633
>Or are 5.1 surround sound speakers a horrible thing for battlestations?
So it depends on your room, and how you actually plan to set them up. In general, 5.1 speakers are a little overkill and often people don't even have the proper room for it, where if this is the case you are much much better spending the money on a better set of a pair of speakers for a desk set-up. The same cost of getting dual speakers that you'd pay for 5.1, would sound better regardless and they likely won't have a problem filling the room.
Now amps and dacs. Generally speaking, you should put 90% of your budget on the actual speakers or headphones because this is going to make 99% of the difference. A dac will give you the most insignificant amount of improvement at best case scenario, modern motherboards come with good onboard audio these days. The only reason you should ever purchase a dac, outside of trying to impress people in the Internet by being an audiophile, is if you are getting static through your speakers because of electrical interference which isn't super common but it can happen. This removes the converter from the computer and places it away from potential noise-causers, but again, you really only need to do this if you are hearing static when speakers aren't playing music.
Amps on the other hand, a few reasons you may need one.
1. If you have hard to drive headphones, you will need a headphone amp. Headphones will still work without one, but the volume may only be able to get so high and in some cases they'll suffer a bit on things like bass. If you however have an easy to drive pair, then no, a headphone amp like from schiit will not do anything noticeable, you are better off spending money on better headphones.
2. You want to use passive speakers for your setup, you will need an amp or a receiver to drive them. Again, in most cases (especially a desktop setup) this isn't going to make a noticeable difference, however amp/receivers with passive (1/2)

>>59070273
>Someone redpill me on what these things are used for?
Are you really this dense?

Imagine having a volume knob, but having the most indiscreet, sexy, smoothly engineered volume knob ever built. That's what the Fulla 2 is like. Everything from the materials to the texture and the physical construction is top class. I honestly feel sorry for the plebian filth stuck adjusting their volume in software, but I guess that's life in poverty for you.

Well worth the $100 I spent, no buyer's remorse here at all.

>>59071264
>buying shit devices

>>59070974

tube amplifiers like the little dot can add some "musical" distortion to the sound output -- this can make cans that have a harsher sibiliant output, like the AKG 701, have a smoother, softer output with some loss of resolution

sorta like adding grain to a photo that has too many harsh details to give a softer look

the mdr v6 are sensitive so you don't need amplification for volume, but the amplifier may improve some of the dynamics in the midrange or bass so the natural peaks in the output are produced as fully as the headphones are able to produce

you might do better to save your money and buy a higher quality headphone like the HD600 or something with better dynamic output, even though the mdr V6 are very good already

also, most computer DACs are pretty good

>>59070273
The build quality on that thing really rustles my jimmies. Oh well, they're sort of "budget" performers so I guess I can't expect too much.

>>59071241
(2/2) speakers will give you more flexibility to upgrade in the future should you decide to get into the wild and expensive world of audio. You may also want an amp so you have volume controllers in a more accessible location, though if you're doing it for this reason alone it's a waste of money because you can get a preamp which will just give you a portable volume nob for a fraction of the cost.
Again, for a basic computer desk setup, unless you are specifically wanting to get in the expensive high end audio marker, these things are mostly a waste. The most likely thing you would ever need would be a decent headphone amp but only I'd you are getting power hungry headphones, or a cheap dac if you're getting interference. Soundcard are a total waste of money. Otherwise, most of these devices are a meme.

As I mentioned earlier, spending the money on better speakers will make a much much much bigger difference than buying dac/amps. Don't do this unless you have top of the line speakers with no room to upgrade them.

>>59071303
Try saying that again after you've felt my knob.

>>59071370
can i suck on ya knob m8?

>>59071311

Thanks, anon.

As cool as a volume control dial and neato light up tubes would be, it seems I am okay just sticking with my desktop.

I have owned a few sennheiser headphones and wasn't a fan, will probably stick to my MDR-V6s.

Output from even a cheapish Wolfson DAC is far superior to onboard sound and immediately noticeable, I really wish people would stop pretending that there isn't any difference beyond perceived volume

>>59071920
yes, except manufacturers are charging $100 for DACs that are as good as <$10 options and audiophiles are claiming they can hear the miles of difference

Realteks best codecs are on bar with some of the best and are sold in bulk to manufactuers for pennies

even a PCM2704 is as good as $100 offerings and is like $3 for a usb dongle

>>59072105
this guy is right. If you really think you need an external DAC, $25 is the most you really need to spend

>>59070273
The device shown is a good (not worth spending a cent more) USB powered headphone dac + amp device: The Schiit Fulla 2.

It does two things:

The DAC: Converts digital to analog. Your computer does this already if it has an analog output. So does your phone. Generally, this is a well understood problem that's more than solved by now, and cheaply so. Some people prefer to do it externally because it ensures that the result is the same regardless of the source.

Generally, your computer will have a DAC chip that is definitely good enough, but many motherboards will fuck up on the surrounding electronics, and you might hear noise as you, say, move a window around in the screen. A decent external DAC is a portable way to solve this. An internal sound card will solve this too. A bad (classic chink) USB DAC will actually make things worse, as USB power is low quality and chink seldom cheapen on filtering it to an usable state. A good one will do its job and that's it, you'll typically forget it's there.


The AMP: Provides power as necessary, a little gain (a few more dB top volume, unnecessary unless music mastered at crazy low volume, or you're deaf), and a convenient knob to decrease the gain. Typically, your headphones receive audio as an analog signal (AC). Voltage represents the amplitude of the wave. Your cans will output more or less volume at a given voltage (so called "sensitivity") and pull more or less current (amperes) to actually move the driver (active component that makes the sound). Some headphones are more efficient than others, unrelated to sound quality.

Generally, your source can provide more than enough volume, so the added volume (the "gain") will likely be superfluous. A knob is nice. You'll need an amp only if your cans pull more current than the source's builtin amp provide, which results on distortion (muffling).

* https://nwavguy.blogspot.ie/2011/09/more-power.html
* https://www.audiobot9000.com/

>>59070273

Just be careful not to spend over a hundred bucks in such device, particularly if your headphones aren't way more expensive than that: They're the important part, so that's what you should spend your money on.

Chances are, your source is totally fine and you don't need an external dac or amp in the first place.

I do, however, own a Schiit Fulla 2. I'm deep in audiophile hell, so I do have many headphones, which cost me near 1k€. Some of them, particularly the Sennheiser HD600 (which I love and recommend), are inefficient AF and will just sound bad when directly plugged to my computers and laptops; Fulla2 solves that issue. One computer I do use a lot has terrible isolation and, when not playing any music, graphics are clearly hearable, so switching browser tabs or moving windows around causes horrible noise. Fulla2 solves this too. I play deresute and llsif (idol hell!) on my phone, which can't even power my HD598. Fulla2 also solves this; Power from a computer, phone headphone out -> fulla2 line in, as using the fulla2 as dac does change the latency offset of the games, the phone DAC is perfectly fine and I play without phones sometimes...

>>59070871
That seems 95% meme, just get something little, functional, cute and cheap like a Fiio E10 or what have you.