[xenontac]

Presently I'm enjoying my digital music collections with my pc with a poppulse amp + bookshelf speakers (no dac, no fancy sound card), but lately has been looking for alternative to have better sound quality from my pc, instead of buying a DAC, is there a sound card that can equal a DAC in sound reproductions? Any recommendations?

[weib]

None actually, the reason why everyone is using a standalone DAC is because there is no soundcard that can give the performance from sound card.

[xenontac]

Thanks weib for your reply. Ok seems like the only option is to buy a dac. I'm not sure how its works here, so by plugging in a DAC to my pc, it will bypass my pc soundcard? It works even if plug into a usb hub?

How do I know if my DAC is getting the audio signal direct and my soundcard is bypass?

[wwenze]

If you buy a USB DAC - plug-and-play - it replaces and bypasses sound card

If you buy SPDIF DAC - connect it to sound card, sound card feeds it with digital audio data

[sin cruise]

depends on your set-up as well
yes - some swear by a dac while others prefer soundcards
if you are looking for the most under-rated soundcard - may i suggest the onkyo ltd edition - a very very reasonable price now
i am using one right now - and its very good

[xenontac]

Originally Posted by sin cruise

depends on your set-up as well
yes - some swear by a dac while others prefer soundcards
if you are looking for the most under-rated soundcard - may i suggest the onkyo ltd edition - a very very reasonable price now
i am using one right now - and its very good

I did a google search and there seems to be many variations, but boy, do they look impressive! But where are these cards retailing and a est. price bracket? I guess they must be in the about USD500?

[sin cruise]

think the price should be much cheaper now
bought from a bro here - very lucky
if you are interested - will let you know the no
he has two versions - the ltd and the non-ltd