Budget dac/amp with quality internal dac

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DACs
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Anyone have experience with xbox gaming on a hifi dac/amp? i’d say i’m a competitive gamer in regards to FPSs and overall imaging and ability to pin point footsteps are quite important. i’d assume that when passed through the optical port (xbox side) that all this encoding is stripped. I believe i’ve mitigated this with an SB G6. So…

I’m asking that if i remove the G6 and route directly to the k5 (or any other option) will the k5 be able to produce the details i’m after? or… strictly for when i’m gaming, keep the G6 between the console and an amp?

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I think you could use the k5 on optical to enhance your experience imo, would be nice

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i mean i will have the k5 today so i’ll see for myself but just curious if someone has experienced this in general…

Is my general understanding of the decoding and encoding correct? anything pushed out of the 3.5mm or the optical on the G6 is encoded with their “virtual surround”, i’ve checked. if i output to another dac this encoding would be stripped, correct? versus if i ran it directly to an amp i’d mitigate that issue?

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If you connect using optical then you should be fine without the surround stuff. I would just connect it to your TV or Xbox optical though

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G6 with a $400 amp? Or ditch the G6 for a Geshelli stack? Or another <$500 setup?

i’ve received and like the k5 but can i do better with one of the options above as i can currently fund it.

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Honestly if you like the k5 pro I would keep it and just invest in headphones

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no kidding? even if i can get my $$ back for both the G6 and K5 you’d still stick with em?

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Hmmm welll if that’s the case, the g stack with the archel 2.5 pro and enog 2 pro would be my pick lol, if you aren’t spending too much for that, I think that might be my pick

If you wanted another all in one, getting a schiit Asgard 3 with the multibit dac module would be pretty sweet

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awesome, thanks! the asgard would be sweet if the module wasn’t only a usb.

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Usb is better than optical imo. Look at the d10 i.e the optical only goes up to 24bit where the usb goes all the way to 32bit. Maybe a stupid example but you get more out of usb.

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Typically it depends on how they are implemented, but they sound similar. USB is more subject to noise but can go higher than 24/192 (if you really need that) where toslink is less affected by noise and interference but capped at 24/192 with other downsides to both. It really just depends on how well it was designed

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Hey I haven’t taken the time to read through the whole discussion but it seems like you are looking for a good dac/amp combo that can be used with usb and optical in for console gaming?

I recently upgraded to a rnhp and am selling my monolith thx aaa 788 for $350 shipped, if you are interested give me a pm and I can provide more info.

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Portable or desktop?

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Oh my bad, the desktop.

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Can the archel 2.5 run the 880 600ohm ok?

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You should have no issues with that, should be great :+1:

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thanks for the quick reply! still contemplating what to get… still have the k5, but still can return, so i’m debating if i should take my $350 and put it into a DAC and keep the k5… also still considering the rec of d50s and asgard or the geshelli stack. or i could grab a d10 and put the $400ish into an amp. idk, i’m everywhere.

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I would not do this, I would prioritize a better amp and dac here, not keep the k5 pro

Both would be pretty great

You could, but I think you would have to jump up to the 500 range for an amp tho imo, otherwise the g stack or Asgard and dac would be the wiser choice imo

Also the jds labs element II is a great dac amp combo that would be super nice if you wanted another combo unit

90

Would’ve been all over the asgard with a dac card that had optical. Shame

91

You could look for a used bifrost multibit like this one

And then stack it with the Asgard 3? That would be pretty sick

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