Hi everyone,
The sound socket in my motherboard is giving me some grief. When I plug my headphones in, it keeps clicking and I have to rotate the plug just right to make it work for a few minutes.
I'm thinking of buying a sound card to solve this. I already bought a cheap USB "thumb" sound device (found on Ozbargain!), but the sound quality is pretty bad.
Can anyone recommend a good option?
Check out "DAC Destroyer" on eBay. Pretty good quality sound for the money.
Edit: doesn't seem to be available anymore. Damn. Plenty others out there though, let us know what you settle on.
Thanks scrimshaw & stephendt!
Sounds like a headphone amp + USB DAC is just what I need.
It looks like there are so many options for this on eBay. Anyone know a good option for this in the $50-$65 range?
I wouldn't call myself an audiophile (yet), but I do enjoy good sound. I'm using an old pair of Sennheiser HD 555 (back from the days of Dan's Data!).
Or am I really better off forking out $199 for the Audioengine D1 Premium 24-Bit DAC?
Can't you just get a O2 amp and ODAC combo? nvm, more expensive than your option.
I think there are decent sound cards out there that's cheaper than your option though.
I never was in the market for them to really know them, so can't help you there :S
Hi guys,
I just ordered the Fiio E10K from Addicted to Audio (Link).
I'll post a later update with my impressions.
Thanks for the advice!
Nice. Wish I had one. I'm currently using Thermtaltake Esports Bahamut USB sound card… apart from the headphone amplification (which is useful) I don't actually notice a difference. Though that's probably because of how cheap it was…
Hope you have good headphones to go with that, cheap sub $60 ones won't do it justice.
I'm using Sennheiser HD 555s (2008 vintage). They were all the rage back then :)
I was reading a bit about high impedance headphones and they sound really good. I'll probably upgrade to Grados one day.
I received the Fiio E10K, and after using it for a couple a days, I can report that I'm really happy with it. Great sound quality and works well with the Sennheiser HD 555s. Thanks, Scrimshaw!
Not an expert on computer audio, but what I can tell you is that if you just want working audio on your PC the cheapest method of doing so is to just buy a USB headset.
Most gaming headsets include an optional USB sound card which provides you the option of plugging any ordinary 3.5mm audio gear. This Logitech USB dongle is $10 from eBay and is the type that is normally packaged with their gaming headsets.
If you have an interest in high quality audio I'd recommend getting a USB DAC with headphone amplifier, e.g the Audioengine D1 or the Fiio USB DACs.