Question Less than 100€ DAC vs MOBO audio

[leyo96]

Hello,

I'm building my first pc and since I really care about sound I was wondering if I'd benefit from a not too expensive DAC.

My mobo is a MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon and my headphones are Sennheiser Momentum 1.

I mainly game and care about sound in game, but most importantly I always listen to music, unfortunately for convenience most of my songs are on Spotify at 320kbps but I have some FLAC albums.
Even more important for me is audio in movies, I only watch movies at blu ray quality without audio compression, nothing like Netflix, only 50GB movies lol.

Would I benefit from a "cheap" (under 100€) DAC? If yes what would you recommend me?
If no, how much would I need to spend to get a real audio quality improvement and what would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[Lutfij]

I would suggest that you try out the audio on your board first, if you're left wanting more, then you can look into investing on a DAC provided you've used the same set of headphones and tested the DAC out at a friend's house or even at the retail outlet(some shops let you test the DAC that are on display). How we perceive audio will vary from one person to another which is why I almost always suggest trying it out from a friend/neighbor.

My 2 cents

 

[Deleted member 14196]

DAC only for me. Too much cross talk and electronic chatter with onboard audio and also not enough power in most cases depending on your cans

I own a Schiit Fulla at work, $99

At home for 350 total the Magni amp and Modi Multibit DAC. The Fulla is a fantastic DAC/AMP and a great place to start for $99. The Magni and Modi are utterly amazing.

I just love this Schiit. Pun intended

The craftsmanship and quality are second to none

https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-1

 

[leyo96]

DAC only for me. Too much cross talk and electronic chatter with onboard audio and also not enough power in most cases depending on your cans

I own a Schiit Fulla at work, $99

At home for 350 total the Magni amp and Modi Multibit DAC. The Fulla is a fantastic DAC/AMP and a great place to start for $99. The Magni and Modi are utterly amazing.

I just love this Schiit. Pun intended

The craftsmanship and quality are second to none

https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-1

I can't find the Schitt in Italy though

 

[Deleted member 14196]

They ship internationally.

 

[leyo96]

They ship internationally.

Shipping is expensive, shiit fulla would cost me 143€, above my budget

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Sorry. I can’t suggest to you units I don’t have or have not experienced. Maybe you should do as instructed above and go to a shop and try out what’s available