Do I need a dac or a amp?

[Toxic_Cobra]

I just built my pc and the motherboard has decent sound but the aux in is messed up/broken and the one in front of the case also broke, I don't know how but it makes a ringing sound and only works in one ear unless I hold it right. I think i'd need both a amp and a dac because there's no audio ports that work well enough for me to plug the amp into, what do you think and which ones do you suggest? I like the schiit ones.

 

[ssddx]

do you need something? i would say yes. does it need to be an external dac and amp? that remains to be seen.

provided you are using average easy to power headphones or using pc speakers just getting a soundcard is more than enough. if you have harder to drive headphones then perhaps an external dac and amp are worthwhile.

i would start by listing what headphones you are using.

 

[Toxic_Cobra]

do you need something? i would say yes. does it need to be an external dac and amp? that remains to be seen.

provided you are using average easy to power headphones or using pc speakers just getting a soundcard is more than enough. if you have harder to drive headphones then perhaps an external dac and amp are worthwhile.

i would start by listing what headphones you are using.

I have a audio technica ath-m50x

 

[ssddx]

i have an ath-m50 (older model but same thing without removable cable)

a schiit magni would be wasted on them honestly as they do not benefit greatly from a good amp. also just adding an amp wouldnt bypass your audio issue. adding a dac as well would, but the schiit stack is $200. a fiio e10k is cheaper and would work but you're limited to stereo sound (no virtual surround) if you care.

benefits of an external setup (be it a soundcard like the creative omni or similar or an amp/dac like the e10k) would be no need to replace the jack on your case and good sound quality. the downside is no mic input, no virtual surround, limited features.

benefits of just buying a soundcard would be virtual surround, mic input, more features. if your pc case jack is broken you would need to replace it though (either get the replacement part to fix the case or use a front panel device with audio built in to connect to the soundcard).

either would work (soundcard or dac+amp). my suggestions would be the e10k, creative omni or xonar dg.

of course if you intend to buy some nice headphones down the line which would need a stronger amplifier (dt990, akg cans, hd650, etc) then perhaps buying the shiit stack up front isnt a bad investment just not as useful for the moment.

schiit products are certainly top notch, i just think its overkill for the m50. of course your money your decision and it would certainly work if you went that route.

 

[Toxic_Cobra]

i have an ath-m50 (older model but same thing without removable cable)

a schiit magni would be wasted on them honestly as they do not benefit greatly from a good amp. also just adding an amp wouldnt bypass your audio issue. adding a dac as well would, but the schiit stack is $200. a fiio e10k is cheaper and would work but you're limited to stereo sound (no virtual surround) if you care.

benefits of an external setup (be it a soundcard like the creative omni or similar or an amp/dac like the e10k) would be no need to replace the jack on your case and good sound quality. the downside is no mic input, no virtual surround, limited features.

benefits of just buying a soundcard would be virtual surround, mic input, more features. if your pc case jack is broken you would need to replace it though (either get the replacement part to fix the case or use a front panel device with audio built in to connect to the soundcard).

either would work (soundcard or dac+amp). my suggestions would be the e10k, creative omni or xonar dg.

of course if you intend to buy some nice headphones down the line which would need a stronger amplifier (dt990, akg cans, hd650, etc) then perhaps buying the shiit stack up front isnt a bad investment just not as useful for the moment.

schiit products are certainly top notch, i just think its overkill for the m50. of course your money your decision and it would certainly work if you went that route.

My mic is a blue yeti ice (which records waaaayyyy too quiet even with max sensitivity) which is a usb mic so I wouldn't have use for mic-in, I play a lot of games like rainbow six siege and doom so does "virtual surround" matter? I plan to upgrade my headphones soon so I can just use these for school/mobile, but I also don't have $200 for a stack of schiit. I'll check out the e10k

 

[ssddx]

does virtual surround sound matter? depends on your preferences honestly. some like it, some dont.

the e10k wouldnt have virtual as an option outside of using razers software. it is possible to use an amp with a soundcard though to get both heavier amplification and still retaining virtual surround support. the xonar dx pairs well with amps but still should have enough power for the easy to power m50 until you upgrade.

for example if you bought a dt990 later on and had a dx you could pair the schiit magni or o2 with it and have virtual surround still while having an amp that can power them well.

or, you could just get a cheapo soundcard like the dg and fix your port for now. thats a $30-40 fix only.

are you using the yeti correctly? (you did mean yeti not blue snowball ice right).
the mic should be only a few inches from your mouth.

 

[Toxic_Cobra]

does virtual surround sound matter? depends on your preferences honestly. some like it, some dont.

the e10k wouldnt have virtual as an option outside of using razers software. it is possible to use an amp with a soundcard though to get both heavier amplification and still retaining virtual surround support. the xonar dx pairs well with amps but still should have enough power for the easy to power m50 until you upgrade.

for example if you bought a dt990 later on and had a dx you could pair the schiit magni or o2 with it and have virtual surround still while having an amp that can power them well.

or, you could just get a cheapo soundcard like the dg and fix your port for now. thats a $30-40 fix only.

are you using the yeti correctly? (you did mean yeti not blue snowball ice right).
the mic should be only a few inches from your mouth.

no i meant snow ball ice, I don't really need a yeti I don't record shit. I think I'll get a soundcard because it's only $30-40, what dac/amps do you think are worth getting at ~<$100? or should i just stick with a soundcard?

 

[ssddx]

the snowball / snowball ice is known to suffer from low volume. the best i can suggest is using a boom to have the mic a few inches from your face to help. boosting mic volume in ts3 or other applications might help as well.