iSaithh OP t1_j99e35e wrote on February 20, 2023 at 6:40 AM

Reply to comment by HaloEliteLegend in HD 660S sounds MUCH better on my M1 MacBook than my desktop? Standalone AMP ideal? by iSaithh

>Generally, an amp is more important than a dac, but in your case, an
external dac might help if the static/noise you're hearing really is
from electronic interference.

Yup it does seem as though my Mac can be improved with a better amp while my desktop experience might be better improved with both a better AMP and DAC

>A Schiit Magni/Modi or JDS Labs Atom Dac/Amp stack could easily be all
you ever need, plenty of power and very accurate measurement-wise.

I see I see, I'd initially think that a combined AMP/DAC would be worse as generally thats how it goes for most electronics, though it seems to suffice for your 650S (which I assume is generally similiar to the rest of the 600 series)

That being said, thank you for giving me assurance that a standalone one would definitely improve my desktop experience, would you say r/AVexchange is a good place to look for used ones to pick up ?

HaloEliteLegend t1_j99kvs3 wrote on February 20, 2023 at 8:07 AM

A good combined amp/dac can be quite good, but depends on the product of course. The K5 Pro served me well, but it was a much better amp than it was a DAC haha. Definitely benefited from a better standalone DAC later, but I don't regret it as an entry-level unit for my HD 650. A combined unit is mostly for convenience and might be cheaper than separate units.

>would you say r/AVexchange is a good place to look for used ones to pick up ?

Not sure, never visited that sub. I usually buy my audio stuff from Amazon or another site with a good return policy, in case I don't like it or it doesn't work as well as I thought it would. Have found good deals before on refurbished units. You could check a manufacturer's website for b-stock (items others bought but returned), for example.

SoNic67 t1_j9al8k9 wrote on February 20, 2023 at 2:58 PM

I am using for years now a Sound Blaster ZxR. It's sound is comparable with what you get from an external DAC plus entry level headphone amplifier.

FromWitchSide t1_j9cidlh wrote on February 20, 2023 at 10:35 PM

Sound Blaster Z > G6

I actually switched to Z from G6 just recently, such an improvement. The Z and ZxR differentiate in amp with ZxR using TPA6120 instead of JRC 2114. The chips configuration of ZxR is actually similar to my FX-Audio X6.

Only Z combined with an amp made my current production HD600 enjoyable. Neither G6, X6 or cheap dongles managed that.

SoNic67 t1_j9d31lt wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:05 AM

The ZxR has also better DAC chips. Way better sounding IMO.

FromWitchSide t1_j9d88cg wrote on February 21, 2023 at 1:45 AM

Indeed, my bad - its PCM1794 instead of CS4398.

Although personally usually I can't identify chips by sound differences nor tell if the difference is in the chip or implementation of it. The Z is the first time since I've stopped using X-Fi where everything sounds properly, flat/no issues with tonality. I did look for ZxR prior, but it is a hard find, and I just came across Z for $39 from a friend. I do like it to the point Ive stopped feeling like I need to upgrade/buy something further... and I do feel like I wasted time and money with all those external solutions.