Will i need a headphone amplifier / DAC for my Philips Fidelio X2

Derico

Honorable
Dec 26, 2013
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I'm planning on using my new philips fidelio x2 headphones on my pc mostly. I am using the on-board soundcard that came with my asus rampage iv black edition mainboard.

Should i get a small dac/headphone amplifier for my pc to take full advantage of the headphones?
 
Solution
onboard audio is generally low end even on high end boards. with that said, for easy to power headphones it is generally good enough unless you notice issues like buzzing, crackling, low volume, distortion or tinny sound. a soundcard or dac+amp is certainly going to be better than onboard but whether its required depends on if you have issues or not.

entry level dac+amp? fiio e10k or audioengine d1. better level? schiit modi+magni or o2+odac. of course you could use a decent soundcard instead.
onboard audio is generally low end even on high end boards. with that said, for easy to power headphones it is generally good enough unless you notice issues like buzzing, crackling, low volume, distortion or tinny sound. a soundcard or dac+amp is certainly going to be better than onboard but whether its required depends on if you have issues or not.

entry level dac+amp? fiio e10k or audioengine d1. better level? schiit modi+magni or o2+odac. of course you could use a decent soundcard instead.
 
Solution