DAC and Amplifier - Headphones. Options

[zerowalker]

[/quote]

It can be.

Exactly what is your current DAC or sound card?
[/quote]


It´s either VIA® VT1828S (on the Motherboard)
or this http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Soun.../B000W7PNZI.htm

Well i can´t say any of them are good, though i can´t really compare to anything. But i do think the Motherboard beats the other one weird enough.

[markanini]

Make sure the soundcard volume is on max, rather than the amp.

[zerowalker]

Make sure the soundcard volume is on max, rather than the amp.

Isn´t it supposed to be the other way around;S?

But anyway, i do currently max, or well not max, but have it on high enough, and the Amp low enough to remove the hiss.

The problem is though, that in the end, the amp doesn´t Amplify the volume, but the other way around.

As the hiss is noticeable without the amp, but it´s very low, not irritating.
But with the amp at 2 a clock setting on the volume, i can remove the hiss (i guess it lowers the volume so that the hiss is unaudiable).
So i currently use it that way. But is that really a good way, i mean won´t i lose information as i lower the volume to clip the noise floor?

[pdq]

Once you go to analog, you want to keep the signal level as high as possible without clipping. Only in the very last device in the chain (your amp) do you use the volume control to set the loudness. This minimizes the total noise.

[greynol]

pdq is right. Best practice is to use the last volume control in the chain to set your level with all preceding controls set to the highest level that does not cause clipping.

I want to see Rightrark analyses for all devices in question in order to show their noise floor any anything else that might suggest that they could sound different. You don't get to say something has hiss or "think" something sounds better than the other without objective evidence. If you can't provide the evidence don't make the claim.

"i get Hiss, and it must come from the Soundcard" is a claim that needs substantiation.

"i do think the Motherboard beats the other" is a claim that needs substantiation.

Please don't waste other people's time. A lack of compliance will lead to thread closure.

[zerowalker]

pdq is right. Best practice is to use the last volume control in the chain to set your level with all preceding controls set to the highest level that does not cause clipping.

I want to see Rightrark analyses for all devices in question in order to show their noise floor any anything else that might suggest that they could sound different. You don't get to say something has hiss or "think" something sounds better than the other without objective evidence. If you can't provide the evidence don't make the claim.

"i get Hiss, and it must come from the Soundcard" is a claim that needs substantiation.

"i do think the Motherboard beats the other" is a claim that needs substantiation.

Please don't waste other people's time. A lack of compliance will lead to thread closure.

Okay thanks, will do that.

And well, i guess you see that as a claim, sorry.
I am not used to how you should bring evidence before talking about it, i am used for other way around, my bad.

But here is the Motherboard soundcard, which i prefer to use.

Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB -0.04, -0.11 Excellent
Noise level, dB (A) -85.8 Good
Dynamic range, dB (A) 80.7 Good
THD, % 0.0047 Very good
THD + Noise, dB (A) -73.6 Average
IMD + Noise, % 0.016 Very good
Stereo crosstalk, dB -85.8 Excellent
IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.015 Very good
General performance Very good