audie-tron25 :
apologetic_zombie :
audie-tron25 :
It depends on your budget. Although DAC's are generally recommended because they are away from most of the interference from your PC, sound cards are a lot cheaper. Do you have an idea what audio setup you are upgrading to? Can you also give us an idea of what you have at the moment?
Currently I just have the built in audio on my motherboard which is the Gigabyte z170x ud5h v1
I just want something that will sound better in general, I would hope to keep it on the cheaper side however. (like under 200$ if possible but i dont know how pricing works with dacs)
Currently I own a pair of hyper x clouds, but im probably going to be getting a pair of sennheiser HD 6xx 's (im thinking of it, but maybe a different pair at around 200$ budget for headphones)
I ask this because you would notice a more noticeable difference with better headphones than with a DAC or soundcard. You have an ALC1150 codec on your motherboard which is meant to be pretty good, many people say it can be more or less as good as a Xonar DG in quality (but not sure if your motherboard has a headphone amp). What headphones do you have? You might be better off just with better headphones depending on what you have.
I agree. Putting most of your money into the best headphones you can afford will be the best return on money for you. Getting a DAC to connect to a pair of cheap headphones will be a huge waste of money.
So, basically what I am say is that ONLY if you already own a good pair of headphones will it be worth getting a DAC (or a sound card).
If you need help picking a good set of headphones for music:
https/redd.it/5b1qb3
If you need to pick it for gaming:
https/redd.it/57ml11
I am partial to the Audio Technica ATH-M40x as I own them. They represent incredible value yet excellent sound.