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External DAC/AMP still worth it vs. modern onboard sound?

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videogames101 said:
If the content has a huge dynamic range, 24-bit might matter, but even the best systems can't possibly take advantage of more than 21-bits or so because noise.
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Getting even a true 16 ENOB (effective number of bits) in data converters is bad enough. 24 ENOB is very difficult since you have to measure up in terms of not just resolution, but also INL and DNL.

Just because it has 24 pins doesn't mean it has 24-bits of resolution.
 
WhoBeDaPlaya said:
Getting even a true 16 ENOB (effective number of bits) in data converters is bad enough. 24 ENOB is very difficult since you have to measure up in terms of not just resolution, but also INL and DNL.

Just because it has 24 pins doesn't mean it has 24-bits of resolution.
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aren't INL and DNL were usually fractions of your LSB step-size? so usually other circuit noise would be an even bigger factor in how little resolution you actually have when it comes to something like a 24-bit adc, which is something like 20 or 21 ENOB in most cases from what i remember, even with nicer adcs

edit: i see DNL can be used to account for some noise factors, idk i'm not familiar with computing it
 
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K702's need some serious juice to come alive that no onboard sound card will provide. When I had mine I powered them with a Fiio E9 as it's a pretty cheap amp with tons of power. The Fostex is a great DAC/AMP though. I would also use the USB input on the A3 for connecting your PC instead of the digital.
 
Hello sorry for asking a stupid question but what does DAC mean? Dedicated audio Card? Or something else?
 
Sanjay302 said:
Hello sorry for asking a stupid question but what does DAC mean? Dedicated audio Card? Or something else?
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Digital to Analog Converter. All digital audio players have a DAC (your PC, a CD player, your stereo reveiver, etc.) in this case they are refering to dedicated devices that act as DACs (have digital inputs and analog outputs).
 
in my experience, $100 sound cards are basically perfect, and even the cheap $29 xonar dg was very near perfect. Integrated sounds terrible on my hp laptop, though I haven't tried desktop integrated in a while. I imagine some of the premium boards have it perfect or near perfect, but I'm skeptical of entry level boards.

I was thinking about getting a dac+amp combo to replace my xonar dg or in combination with it's digital output, but they are like $200 for entry level. Hard to justify spending that much when the dg was very good imo.
 
mindbomb said:
in my experience, $100 sound cards are basically perfect, and even the cheap $29 xonar dg was very near perfect. Integrated sounds terrible on my hp laptop, though I haven't tried desktop integrated in a while. I imagine some of the premium boards have it perfect or near perfect, but I'm skeptical of entry level boards.

I was thinking about getting a dac+amp combo to replace my xonar dg or in combination with it's digital output, but they are like $200 for entry level. Hard to justify spending that much when the dg was very good imo.
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Edit******

nevermind🙂
 
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