Should I get a USB DAC + Amp?

[dannydb]

Hi. I was wondering if I should get a USB DAC + Amp? The headphones I am using are these:

http://www.amazon.com/Bose-Around-Ear-Audio-Headphones-Black/dp/B00478O0JI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448915513&sr=8-2&keywords=bose+ae2+over

And the speaker setup I am using is this:

The music I listen to is AAC 256kbps from iTunes and AAC 320kbps from CDs.

So, is it worth it for me to get a DAC + Amp?

 

[ssddx]

bose headphones are not too good compared with what else is on the market for the same prices so you may not notice improvements as much or need as good of equipment. they also likely will not benefit from an amp much and only a bit from a dac. wireless speakers also are not going to benefit from an amp but will benefit slightly from a dac. so while you need an amplifier on a unit if you bought something you're not going to need anything with high output for them. the dac portion if its better than onboard you may notice but mostly only if you have very bad onboard right now otherwise there will not be significant improvement noticed on such equipment as you have.

now, could you benefit from either a soundcard or dac+amp unit? you might notice a bit more clarity or perhaps slightly more bass on the headphones but thats about it. the speakers and headphones you currently have really arent high quality enough to warrant spending much money on anything to drive them.

at one point in time i owned a pair of bose similar to those and i thought they were half decent (compared to the earbuds i used before) however when you compare them to even budget level hifi headphones (like the m50s i own now) it really is a night and day difference and i certainly will not go back to bose whom only rely on their name to sell products which are inferior in build quality and sound. build quality is crud on bose and the cable is going to break off eventually as happened to mine though this is not unexpected given how frail the wires are.

if you do want to buy something to upgrade what you have, perhaps a xonar dg internal soundcard if you have poor quality onboard audio. if you need an external the e10k would work however certainly is quite overkill for what you have.

 

[dannydb]

Thanks for your reply. The reason I stick with Bose, is that to my ears, it sounds the best to me compared to Audio Technica and Sennheiser. And if one of the others will sound slightly better, its not worth it to me for the price. I really enjoy what I have.

I am using a sound card, and its this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X4XG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448917505&sr=8-2&keywords=sound+blaster+audigy

Only problem with it though, is that I still hear static. This is one reason I am considering a DAC/Amp. Would that remove my static problem? I'm completely new to amps and all this stuff so I don't really know.

 

[ssddx]

if bose sounds better to your ears then stick with it. after all, it doesn't matter squat what anyone else's opinion is on sound - what matters is what you like best.

provided you aren't getting any ground loop over your usb ports (you could always use a usb ground loop isolator or a usb hub with ac jack which can get rid of ground loop) then a usb dac+amp could certainly work.

the e10k has both an amplified plug for your headphones and an aux out for your speakers so should work for 2.0 audio just fine.

you may want to check if you get static on other devices with your speakers and headphones using the same cables. it could always be that the static is coming in over a cheap cable or from the pc case front jack if you were using that although it could certainly have been all from the soundcard or noise from the motherboard as well.

 

[dannydb]

If I remember correctly I only have problems with static when connected to my PC. I don't use the front audio ports, just the back ones. Also, I am using high quality, dual shielded cables.

After looking into a usb ground loop, I noticed that they also make 3.5mm jack ground loops. I wonder if just getting this would work:

http://www.amazon.com/Esky-Ground-Isolator-HIMBOX-iRiver/dp/B00ZWOQLFM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1448918606&sr=8-3&keywords=3.5mm+ground+loop+isolator

And with it removing the static, my guess would be that my sound card would then sound basically as good as a DAC and I would no longer need one?

 

[ssddx]

will it fix the problem?

if the problem is ground loop, then yes it should certainly fix or at least help. if the problem is something else than no.

besides ground loop the issue could reside elsewhere such as EMI though its certainly worth checking for ground loop as this is a very common issue.

 

[dannydb]

Thank you so much for your help! I'll definitely try the ground loop first since its cheaper. If that doesn't fix it, I guess I'll also need a DAC/Amp to fix the static.