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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 15:29:55 GMT -5
In my office, see sig, I listen to music through iTunes on my PC. Do I need a DAC? If so, which one & why? |
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Post by mshump on Mar 14, 2016 15:35:40 GMT -5
jdc,
a couple questions first. What format is your music in on itunes ?
Do you have a digital output on the PC or a free USB ?
Mark
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Post by brubacca on Mar 14, 2016 15:38:29 GMT -5
Yes, A DAC, if you want to use your PC as source to that DAC.
Decide how much you want to spend and spend it.
There are literally thousands on choices. If you are decided on Emotiva (hence why you would be here).
You do something as simple as a Little Ego or as complex as the DC-1. Every rung up the ladder you get improvements and features. It would be best if you let us know the price you want to be at, possibly the kind of sound you are looking for and the kind of music you like to listen to.
If you want to venture beyond the Emotiva family I find that the Schiit Audio Multibit Dacs are something that I very much like. Again without a budget it is hard to start recommending. As far as why Schiit Multibit Dac, well in my limited experience nothing recreates the music like their offering. I have a Gungnir MB, although at over $1k it is not a light purchase. I went through 3 other DACs before settling on mine.
Many here rave about the Emotiva DACs as they suite their taste in music.
Tell us how much you are willing to spend. Are you looking for a DAC that is a detail king? Is analog sounding your thing? Would you give up detail for a little rhythm?
So much to cover here.
Also- if you are talkng standard iTunes not Losless then you don't need to spend much. If not losless files you will be limited by your files.
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Post by vneal on Mar 14, 2016 15:42:43 GMT -5
Go for the Emotiva DC1.This way if you wanted to use it on a high end system it would work fine. If computer only go with the Little ego. Check out Sennheiser, Grado, B&W and Audeze for headphones
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Post by The History Kid on Mar 14, 2016 15:44:39 GMT -5
Second on both Emotiva DAC's and Schiit. Emotiva provides a pretty solid DAC (I love my XDA). If you're looking for something small though, I would recommend the Schiit Fulla or Modi 2.
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 15:55:34 GMT -5
jdc, a couple questions first. What format is your music in on itunes ? Do you have a digital output on the PC or a free USB ? Mark Don't know the format  Yes, I do have some free USB's
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Post by The History Kid on Mar 14, 2016 15:56:50 GMT -5
I'm going to make the hunch that it's AAC 192 or 256...seems to be standard for iTunes these days.
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 15:58:02 GMT -5
Yes, A DAC, if you want to use your PC as source to that DAC. Decide how much you want to spend and spend it. There are literally thousands on choices. If you are decided on Emotiva (hence why you would be here). You do something as simple as a Little Ego or as complex as the DC-1. Every rung up the ladder you get improvements and features. It would be best if you let us know the price you want to be at, possibly the kind of sound you are looking for and the kind of music you like to listen to. If you want to venture beyond the Emotiva family I find that the Schiit Audio Multibit Dacs are something that I very much like. Again without a budget it is hard to start recommending. As far as why Schiit Multibit Dac, well in my limited experience nothing recreates the music like their offering. I have a Gungnir MB, although at over $1k it is not a light purchase. I went through 3 other DACs before settling on mine. Many here rave about the Emotiva DACs as they suite their taste in music. Tell us how much you are willing to spend. Are you looking for a DAC that is a detail king? Is analog sounding your thing? Would you give up detail for a little rhythm? So much to cover here. Also- if you are talkng standard iTunes not Losless then you don't need to spend much. If not losless files you will be limited by your files. $500 or less would be nice but I'd spend $1000ish on one if I was really sure it was what I need. |
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Post by The History Kid on Mar 14, 2016 16:02:25 GMT -5
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 16:13:56 GMT -5
What should the format be set at on iTunes?
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 16:20:39 GMT -5
Either one of those would take the place of the pre amp I use now, right? |
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Post by mshump on Mar 14, 2016 16:30:09 GMT -5
jdc, a couple questions first. What format is your music in on itunes ? Do you have a digital output on the PC or a free USB ? Mark Don't know the format Yes, I do have some free USB's
I would ensure all your music is in an Apple lossless format coming from your computer. Then you can get a decent DAC from Emotiva or Schitt. there are many DAC's that are decent in the 100-300 range that will do a decent job. Mark |
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Post by The History Kid on Mar 14, 2016 16:34:56 GMT -5
Either one of those would take the place of the pre amp I use now, right? No, these are DAC's with built in preamps. You would still need an amplifier which what you currently have should suffice for. If you are leaning towards the Magic Plus, I'd encourage you to first look for a used XDA-2 Gen I or II as the differences are negligible. |
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Post by JKCashin on Mar 14, 2016 17:48:41 GMT -5
Don't know the format Yes, I do have some free USB's
I would ensure all your music is in an Apple lossless format coming from your computer. Then you can get a decent DAC from Emotiva or Schitt. there are many DAC's that are decent in the 100-300 range that will do a decent job. Mark Unless he ripped the music himself, the default iTunes format is 256 VBR AAC, |
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 17:50:45 GMT -5
I would ensure all your music is in an Apple lossless format coming from your computer. Then you can get a decent DAC from Emotiva or Schitt. there are many DAC's that are decent in the 100-300 range that will do a decent job. Mark Unless he ripped the music himself, the default iTunes format is 256 VBR AAC, Most of it is from CD's |
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Post by paintedklown on Mar 14, 2016 18:03:26 GMT -5
Is this going to be for critical listening or casual only?
IF casual only: Emotiva Big Ego, or Schiit Magni 2 (or Vali 2) and Modi 2 stack. I have owned the Vali 2 amp since Christmas, and it's absolutely GREAT! Tube preamp and solid state power amp. More than enough power to make your ears bleed, even with higher ohm headphones such as my Sennheiser HD-650's.
If critical listening: Emotiva DC-1 or any of the Schiit multibit DACs.
Please note that the Emotiva products are both DACs and headphone amps. Very good choices to get you started and less boxes to purchase and hook up.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
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Post by mshump on Mar 14, 2016 18:04:14 GMT -5
Here is how to check what format you have on your music files.
Checking the file format in iTunes in PC
How do I check the file format in iTunes in PC?
Checking the file format in iTunes in PC:
1. Run iTunes.
2. Under Library, click Music.
3. Select list View.
4. Select a Song to check the file format.
5. Right -click on selected song and go to Get Info.
6. On Summary tab listed by Kind and Format it will tell you the file format.
You may need to re-rip most of your music to a lossless format, which will give you a better sound through your system. A DAC will help but IMO ripping to a lossless format will give you your first step into better sound quality.
Mark
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Post by paintedklown on Mar 14, 2016 18:09:42 GMT -5
You may need to re-rip most of your music to a lossless format, which will give you a better sound through your system. A DAC will help but IMO ripping to a lossless format will give you your first step into better sound quality. Mark THIS! You could have a $1k DAC and a $1k amp and it isn't going to be ultimately satisfying with low bit rate files. When using itunes, I recommend ripping all of your CDs as Apple Lossless (ALAC) files. This is exactly what I do, and it works great. The reason for ripping lossless is so that you preserve a bit perfect copy of your CDs. No sound quality loss this way. Ripping as MP3 files (or any other lossy format) will create files that are of lower sound quality than the actual CD. EDIT: I just realized that you did not mention if you were going to use headphones or not, the recommendations I made of the Schiit amps are designed for headphone listening. If that is not needed, then skip buying a headphone amp. The Schiit Schiit Magni 2 and Vali 2 are headphone amps, NO DAC included with these. |
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Post by jdc on Mar 14, 2016 18:23:36 GMT -5
You may need to re-rip most of your music to a lossless format, which will give you a better sound through your system. A DAC will help but IMO ripping to a lossless format will give you your first step into better sound quality. Mark THIS! You could have a $1k DAC and a $1k amp and it isn't going to be ultimately satisfying with low bit rate files. When using itunes, I recommend ripping all of your CDs as Apple Lossless (ALAC) files. This is exactly what I do, and it works great. The reason for ripping lossless is so that you preserve a bit perfect copy of your CDs. No sound quality loss this way. Ripping as MP3 files (or any other lossy format) will create files that are of lower sound quality than the actual CD. Thanks, I do have it set up lossless. But it's only been that way for maybe 2 years, have had iTunes for probably 6 years or so.
I appreciate all the replies.
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Post by garbulky on Mar 14, 2016 23:02:33 GMT -5
Woah woah guys. Let's take a look at our friend's setup first! He is using BIC speakers that cost about $130 from Wal mart. www.walmart.com/ip/9893706?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=61&adid=22222222227009440378&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=52407243855&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=52150486134&veh=semFirst don't get me wrong a DAC is important. In fact I'm usually the one who's first words out of his mouth is DAC DAC DAC.  But currently electronics is the last thing you should be worried about. Your speakers need improvement before you can get worthwile results from a DAC. At your current state, I would go for a set of Emotiva airmotiv 4s (or bigger) and a little ego or a DC-1 for a DAC. Discard the rest of the setup. This way you don't have to worry about amps and the DC-1 or little ego will sound phenomenal through it. The airmotivs have enough resolution to show up differences in electronics. DAC decision: The little ego requires you to control the volume slider on your windows screen. Or you can buy this to control the volume by hand - no remote. ($50) schiit.com/products/sys The DC-1 is the best DAC emotiva has and it allows a remote control for the volume. It's a DAMN good DAC. On the DAC side either of the choices will serve you very well. If you want to go ultra cheap you could get the $30 Behringer UCA 202 DAC. It sounds good but be warned it's not as good as the Emotiva DACs. The Behringer is not what I would do but I could get better music out of the $30 Behringer than your PCs current sound card. You could also buy the airmotivs through the used market and save. The Emotiva airmotiv and DC-1 can be found under the emotiva pro section on the website. So summary: my reccomendations 1. Little Ego plus Schiit sys plus Airmotiv 4. or 2. DC-1 Plus Airmotiv 4. Hope that helps. This should sound quite a bit better than what you are listening to right now. It will provide you real results. Plenty of people have used no.2 as their office system and they are have reported good results in this forum. |
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