Heyo folks,
As mentioned in the title, i am in a bit of a conundrum over my PC audio.
A few months ago, I decided to upgrade my audio setup that i use on PC and got myself a Schiit Asguard(Gen 1) amp a while back. Plug in my PC and headphones( daily drivers are Samson 850 and AKG 553s, depending on what i'm doing at the moment) and i immediately knew that i made a good choice getting an amp. Audio used to sound rather tinny. It's now more fuller, warm, and the soundstage has widened. I like it.
Unfortunately the amp has also made it abundantly clear that the signal that comes from my rig (front or back, doesn't matter) has an annoying noise signal in it as well. Electric noise, or is it electronic noise? I apologize as the appropriate term escapes me at the moment. I thought this was noise from the amp, but testing with other sources have proved otherwise.The noise is only present from my PC
It's getting quite more annoying these days and i've finally decided to get myself a DAC to solve this issue. Here's my conundrum. I found one guy selling his used soundblaster Z soundcard for 60 dollars. I also saw another guy selling a new SMSL 793ii DAC for 85 dollars
I don't want to spend more than a 100 dollars right now as i just want to somewhat clean and upgrade(?; not sure if this is the term used for what a DAC does) from the noisy analog signal i get from my PC. Which would make for a better purchase in this scenario?
Here's where the SMSL Q5 comes in:This is currently 100USD on Massdrop.
I do want to include a AT LP60 player in the coming months and have a pair of bookshelf speakers that i want to use with them. What they are escapes me right now(they're in storage,will check later). I do have a sneaking suspicion that they need to be powered.
I would like to be able to switch between listening to audio via headphones or speakers on the PC while having the speakers also connected to the turntable.I know i have just described an audio receiver scenario, but existing ones are too bulky to place near my PC.
My Asguard Amp has only one set of RCA input and one analog 1/4" output.The way i see it, if i get the Q5, it gives me DAC and the audio source selection with speaker output, but no headphone output. If i get the SBZ, i get the DAC, and can use "Line In" for the turntable, but need the PC to be turned on to listen to the turntable, on top of losing any speaker output. If i get the 793II, i get the DAC which can plug in directly to my amp,but lose speaker output and source selection.
Anyone have any idea what i could get or should be doing to make this simpler?
I'm mostly into listening to music and gaming. Not much of movies.
Appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter.Cheers!
As mentioned in the title, i am in a bit of a conundrum over my PC audio.
A few months ago, I decided to upgrade my audio setup that i use on PC and got myself a Schiit Asguard(Gen 1) amp a while back. Plug in my PC and headphones( daily drivers are Samson 850 and AKG 553s, depending on what i'm doing at the moment) and i immediately knew that i made a good choice getting an amp. Audio used to sound rather tinny. It's now more fuller, warm, and the soundstage has widened. I like it.
Unfortunately the amp has also made it abundantly clear that the signal that comes from my rig (front or back, doesn't matter) has an annoying noise signal in it as well. Electric noise, or is it electronic noise? I apologize as the appropriate term escapes me at the moment. I thought this was noise from the amp, but testing with other sources have proved otherwise.The noise is only present from my PC
It's getting quite more annoying these days and i've finally decided to get myself a DAC to solve this issue. Here's my conundrum. I found one guy selling his used soundblaster Z soundcard for 60 dollars. I also saw another guy selling a new SMSL 793ii DAC for 85 dollars
I don't want to spend more than a 100 dollars right now as i just want to somewhat clean and upgrade(?; not sure if this is the term used for what a DAC does) from the noisy analog signal i get from my PC. Which would make for a better purchase in this scenario?
Here's where the SMSL Q5 comes in:This is currently 100USD on Massdrop.
I do want to include a AT LP60 player in the coming months and have a pair of bookshelf speakers that i want to use with them. What they are escapes me right now(they're in storage,will check later). I do have a sneaking suspicion that they need to be powered.
I would like to be able to switch between listening to audio via headphones or speakers on the PC while having the speakers also connected to the turntable.I know i have just described an audio receiver scenario, but existing ones are too bulky to place near my PC.
My Asguard Amp has only one set of RCA input and one analog 1/4" output.The way i see it, if i get the Q5, it gives me DAC and the audio source selection with speaker output, but no headphone output. If i get the SBZ, i get the DAC, and can use "Line In" for the turntable, but need the PC to be turned on to listen to the turntable, on top of losing any speaker output. If i get the 793II, i get the DAC which can plug in directly to my amp,but lose speaker output and source selection.
Anyone have any idea what i could get or should be doing to make this simpler?
I'm mostly into listening to music and gaming. Not much of movies.
Appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter.Cheers!
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