Best Soundcard for around 100 quid?

[Theo993]

DAC can upsample higher than most sound cards, e.g. 24/192. With an budget of 80, there isn't a lot of overwhelming headphones in that region. If you can find the Sennhieser HD518s, AKG 240/242 etc or up your budget slightly and go for the almighty Beyerdynamic DT770, which are in my humble opinion one of the best set on cans on the market in the budget range.

The Xonar Essence STX does 24bit/196khz ( if we are talking about the same thing, im a noob so dont blame me lol )

For headphones im probably getting the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's which yeah ive heard awesome reviews,

Just wondering if an entry level DAC is better than a pretty awesome soundcard ( such as the one mentioned above )

 

[PEXON]

Yes a DAC on the whole is better than a soundcard

 

[Kidbest100]

Trust me, the STX is much better than the creative gear.

I have had ALOT of troubles with Creative, and I hear that things aren't exactly looking up in the future.

Personally I would go with the Xonar STX.

 

[Theo993]

Yes a DAC on the whole is better than a soundcard

Which DAC would you recommend for 100 pounds?

Thanks a lot for answering

 

[PEXON]

O2DAC/ Epiphany Audio O2 Dac

 

[Theo993]

O2DAC/ Epiphany Audio O2 Dac

Noob question again : Can a DAC do 5.1?

 

[PEXON]

What set up you got?

 

[Theo993]

What set up you got?

Well the headphones that ill get ( DT770 pro)

Soundcard right now is a cheap Xonar DG5.1 ( And the onboard of the Crosshair IV Formula )

 

[PEXON]

The DT770 aren't 5.1! They are TRUE stereo cans

 

[rossi94]

Yeahh really thinking of the STX now, also the 250ohm because they are available now on amazon, whereas the 80ohm ones are out of stock!

And since i saw the STX can power headphones up to 600ohm (lol) i dont think driving the 250's would be an issue

It will work. I'm using headphones with 16 ohm drivers right now and they sound very good too. :huh:

 

[Theo993]

The DT770 aren't 5.1! They are TRUE stereo cans

My noobinesh shines here!

But in gaming/movies for example ive read that you are able to tell where enemies and all are coming from

 

[PEXON]

You can with stereo headphones too

 

[Josh Weston]

I have Astro A40s, designed to be used in conjunction with the Astro Mix-Amp and a console to simulate 5.1 surround sound through its stereo drivers. I had fears that when I used it in my PC to game, i'd lose the surround effect. I was wrong! The integrated sound card on my 'GD65 is still able to tell me when I have something shooting at me from behind to the right, etc.
You shouldn't have any fears regarding that.

 

[Theo993]

You can with stereo headphones too

oooh okay thanks for all, will have to read into DAC vs soundcard more to fully understand the pros/cons of each but for some reason im leaning towards that soundcard ( Xonar Essence STX )

Another reason is that i cant find a place in Belgium ( where i live ) that sells DAC's, amazon only has a few

I have Astro A40s, designed to be used in conjunction with the Astro Mix-Amp and a console to simulate 5.1 surround sound through its stereo drivers. I had fears that when I used it in my PC to game, i'd lose the surround effect. I was wrong! The integrated sound card on my 'GD65 is still able to tell me when I have something shooting at me from behind to the right, etc.
You shouldn't have any fears regarding that.

Thanks for that, first time that im spending quite a few of money on audio stuff so i dont want to do anything nooby!