Underdog

Hi, i have an audiogd Sparrow from a couple of years ago . Recently i've been reading that the new 2013 usb Async DACS are the new trend in computer DACS. I just wondering how my DAC compares to this new DACS (of the same price more or less[150 - 300$]). Any significative sound improvement in switching the dac for a new one? (when i hear the sparrow , the sound is good, but i have the feel that the sound could be improved somehow, i'm not an audiophile expert, but i'm very interested in hear your opinions) Computer [W7] --> WASAPI -- > AudioGD Sparrow --> HD650 using [JRIVER Media Center] Thanks!

Yes, seems to be a bit out of reach at the moment. The 100-200 budget is only a beginning, i can increase it if need but,there seems to be good DACs at low price range, especially for me that i have no idea of what i need. The Senns seems cool, i'm gonna search in second ear market looking for a good offer.

Thanks! I plan to slowly upgrade my equipment but i'm not sure where to start. Maybe u are right and i should upgrade the headphones first. how would u define the sound differences betwenn hd600 and hd650?

My old Hi-fi cd player finally died 2 months ago after 12 years of faithful service, i've tried to router the audio signal from the pc to the amp in the hi-fi (that works) , but the headphone sound is no good, plus i believe that computer audio is my future so i want to find a computer audio related solution...

Au contraire You have been of great help pointing me to several alternatives worth considering. My problem is that i have not enough expertise to know what my ears want () and translate it in technical words. When i play music in my old Hi-fi i know instintively that i love that sound, when i play in my PC i don't feel the same. Anyway i'm trying to learn reading reviews, websites, et.. , but i have mixed feelings about learning about sound without listening it.Wish i had unlimited budget.

Thanks Eloise! Now i'm officialy lost Acording to forums/reviews there seems to be a battle between lots of oustanding/to good to be true/it seems like a robery DACs or Dacs/amp below 150$-200$ (note thet i'm a bit skeptical there) I need one connected to my pc via USB (my motherboard doesn't seem to have coaxial or optical, but maybe converters are available) to plug my headphones in (my HD555 or an upgrade) with a noticeable better sound that my x-fi xtremegamer (i have the intuition that i'm more of the warm/musical kind of person, but how could i know,sigh) .I listen all kinds of music (electronic/rock/classical/[insert your crazy genres here]). If anybody has a sure bet, please share. List of contenders by now.. Musiland 02 monitor Audio gd sparrow purepiper Firestone Emu 0404 nuforce udac Aune mini dac I'm gona die one of this days, when i was younger i had not this kind of headaches, lol

Thanks! I'm migrating my music library to mp3 320 or Flac when possible.I dont complain for poor quality on mp3 with low bitrates. I only tried the Hi-fi thinking that his internal amp will do somethig to my headphones (i was wrong), maybe if i feed the hifi via DAC then plug headphones to the Hi-fi is the proper way. Anyway the Hi-fi is old, and what i'm lloking for is sound quality through headphones. I've got a near silent Pc (antec case, Hd's attached with rubber, passive cooling for the microprocessor, etc..) Is there any reason other than noisy PC that u get better quality from a Laptop than the PC? I'm more inclined toward a DAC than a Xonar Essence ST (i would like manual volume control and i think is more flexible) Plus for gaming i'm ok with mi x-Fi and i think i could use it for games only. I've been hearing of several DAC's that would fit Musiland 02 monitor --> in head-fi people says that the headphone output is not very good. But i'ts not too expensive Audio-gd sparrow--> Seems cool but a bit expensive with shipping. Nuforce uDAC--> i don't have too much info of this one So...u agree that DAC > essence ? What are your DAC recomendations?

I know head-fi forums, just thought that this was a better place to learn aboun computer audio, u know.

Hi all, this is my first post here but i've reading the site and forums for a while. is fantastic. First of all sorry for my english, not my main lang. Well..where to start.. 1) The mission. I need my music to sound better. 2) My actual Software and equipment Windows 7 64 Foobar2000 (WASAPI) --> Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtremegamer --> Sennheiser HD555 (with foam mod) I only use my PC and I use Headphones for music (not really need speakers) when i first bough my HD555 i was blown away by the sound in comparation to my old crappy headphones. But now..i'm feeling the the music does not fill my soul as before, I have no clue of audiophile words (i'm trying hard to learn) and i am a bit uncertain of the next steps. 3) Possible next steps - Maybe i have my OS/soundCard/Foobar with whong config - Maybe i need to upgrade some component of the chain... - Xonar Essence ST or USB DAC - Or maybe the headphones and their sound signature are the problem (i really don't know how can i tell what's the problem, and i don't really know how to express if i like the music analitic, or clinical or strawberry flavor(..where can i learn?) 4) In order to do some testing y connected my old Hi-Fi (i hope) equipment (Yamaha GX-5) to my sound card hoping i can use their headphone out (and take advantage of the amplifier in the Yamaha to fuel some more the headphones). I did it via the jack out of the sound card (does'nt seems to have optical out but in the product specifications says some of a Optical Out via shared 3.5mm mini jack (no clue what is this) (my hi-fi has optical in). The sound is totally crap with this (i've always loved the sound in my yamaha). Maybe this testing is idiotic (as ive said before i've got no much idea of specifications voltages, etc..) I hope i made myself clear If not, please ask. I'f anybody is interested the specs of the Yamaha are-- http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/hifis/GX-5.pdf and my sound card is this http://asia.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=15853&nav=1&listby=brand Help!