WYP
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Are internal soundcards anywhere near as good as external set-ups like the Fiio E10K or Schiit's Modi/Magni?
Are internal soundcards anywhere near as good as external set-ups like the Fiio E10K or Schiit's Modi/Magni?
E10k is a good cheap solution. But the Schiit stack is in an entirely different bracket of performance.
As said above it's better to have external in the same price range.
Depends on the quality of the PCB, amp chip, DAC chip, noise floor, resistance to internal noise, etc.
Generally external enclosures are aiming at quality not gaming. So therefore have better priorities.
It also depends on the quality of your headphones/speakers.Depends on the quality of the PCB, amp chip, DAC chip, noise floor, resistance to internal noise, etc.
Generally external enclosures are aiming at quality not gaming. So therefore have better priorities.
The less they change the source the better quality DAC/AMP it is. Unless they are Tube AMPs. Tubes add specific color to the sound. Like old guitar AMPs.This !
I've tested some really high end external AMP/DAC combos and some have actually made games sound very flat where as soundcards such as the AE-5, For example, Have made the games seem very full.
Personally would only get an external solution if I was only using it for music.
Absolutely this. Internal cards can have equal or better noise performance than some external devices. A lot of noise rejection is based almost entirely on PCB design. If you want the best noise performance, use TOSLINK as it eliminates the potential for interference pickup. (galvanic isolation at it's finest) It has it's limitations although that is more down to the consumer audio market not making better use of SPDIF. The ADAT protocol is more capable over the same fibre optic link.Depends on the quality of the PCB, amp chip, DAC chip, noise floor, resistance to internal noise, etc.
Generally external enclosures are aiming at quality not gaming. So therefore have better priorities.