I really need help deciding whether I need an external DAC in my situation. My Thinkpad P53 laptop comes with a Realtek ALC3286 DAC which is to my ears sounds normal except that it sometimes produces weird, high pitch noise when I pause playing music, but goes away immediately if I resume playing. For this reason alone I started to look around for solution and came across this giant DAC world where you can find devices from $50 to $50,000.
Now, spending almost entire month I held my attention to Schiit Modius/Midgard combo. BUT, my question is, do I’m really enhancing the quality of sound coming from my laptop or I’m just eliminating this artifact I mentioned above for $200? Otherwise sound coming from the internal DAC is clean, never tested it with max volume on some big speakers, though.
I see some advantages of having external AMP however, dedicated volume knob, balanced headphone outs and pre outs to speaker amps, etc… great, but what about the quality of the sound itself?
an external DAC is always better than any sound system a computer comes with. fortunately there are a lot of options available from $100 that are very good. There are DAC / Amp combo units too, which usually cost a bit more, but are also very good…I love my iFi Zen DAC og. iFi can be confusing as they have a combo unit called the iFi Zen DAC…then a DAC also called the iFi Zen DAC that’s only a DAC, no amp and then the iFi Zen CAN, which is only an amp.
anyhow, all that aside, there are some questions that need to be asked and answered in order to help you make your shortlist.
where do you live? the country is enough info as it helps us know what’s available in your geographic region as well as the resellers you can easily access.
what is your min and max budget?
what do you have for headphones?
if you will use this for music, what kind of headphones do you use?
what kind of music do you like to listen to?
do you need 3.5mm mic input support?
two thoughts though…one, wiggle your cable while playing to see if you can cause the sound glitch and two, are you running the latest audio driver for the Realtek codex?
Unfortunately for me, (well, regarding hi-fi systems etc.) I live in rep. of Georgia, where I can’t just go and test various DACs at one place and make decision there by just listening to music etc…
Midgard/Modius combo costs around $450 which is pretty normal if I’ll be sure this will extend my audio experience, definitely not ready to spend thousands.
Nothing except 3.5mm jack on my laptop.
I bought JVC HA-FD01 IEM but it’s on the way, want to be ready for it.
Electronic/Rock/Metal
Good you asked, because certainly I will lose ability to use mic from 3.5mm input/output jack and will be forced to use laptop’s secondary mic which is less convenient, I guess I will have to choose between exceptional audio and game compatibility?
Didn’t try messing with cables when this happening, I’ll see.
hey Lev, if you can get Schiit Audio gear in RoG, take a look at their Fulla and Hel gaming DAC / Amp solutions. these include a 3.5mm mic input, so you won’t lose that.
that said, maybe someone will come along and comment on whether there are any issues using IEM’s on either. IEM’s can be quite sensitive, which is why there are a number of combo units that have an IEM match switch / button to avoid trouble. alas, I don’t know of any with a gaming focus that have that mic input, only headphone output. iFi is among those, portable and desktop solutions.
alternatively, you could get a USB mic and remove that as a worry.
Welcome @Lev_Anni! I posted @Marzipan’s quote above and wanted to mention that the USB mic option is probably the easiest route to go and there are several options for quality mics in this department. Even a wireless Bluetooth mic would work, if you wanted to go down that route. This of course would be in conjunction with the upgraded DAC/Headphone Amp I mentioned as the third option, since the other two have 3.5 mic inputs.
Having said this, first I’d also do what was suggested and make sure you have the latest driver to test in case the high pitched issue can be fixed by doing so. Sometimes trying different drivers (older and newer) might help find the one that works best without issue. Also, making sure you have the latest BIOS update for your laptop can also potentially help.
As for a DAC/Headphone Amp combo, the Fulla and Hel look like they could fit the bill for sure. To add another option and one with a bit more power, the new Schiit Magni Unity is a great deal since it now comes with an optional DAC. I got the Magni Heretic earlier this year (similar in the headphone amp department) and they work great for headphones and IEM’s since you can control the gain in 3 stages, from sensitive to more demanding (higher impedance, planar’s, etc.) IEMs & headphones.
I am sure others will also have some options, just wanted to give you a third mentioning the Unity. Also, I can vouch for Schiit making high quality equipment at a very reasonable price. Good luck and keep those questions coming if you have any others!
Yes, I’m using Lenovo Vantage which helps my lap to be in shape. I can also say that the problem is less frequent now, is this related to latest drivers I’m not sure.
I think I’ll go for best possible route for music, and usb mic is really very nice option. Schiit Magni is great, but I’m afraid it does not have PRE outs, I’m going to also install some speakers and wish to control their volume through all this stuff.
Hi @Lev_Anni , the Magni actually does. Take a look at the back, the pre-outs are present in RCA format. Just for note, the headphone output is muted once the pre-outs are terminated to speakers. I hope this helps!
By the way, Zeos was complaining on Jotunheim about the front switch which activates PRE balanced outs, he says that the headphone jack stays active when you turn that on.
Lev, if you can get iFi, then I seriously recommend looking at their Zen Uno or the Zen Air DAC. The Uno is their entry level solution while the Air cuts edges with a ballistic plastic case vs aluminum and drops the balanced output. they are EXCELLENT!!!
Since this is a laptop you can just use a dongle like the Jcally JA3.
The noise you hear is common in internals dac/amps in pcs/laptops, but should go away once you get a dongle. (unless there is some grounding issue but this is a laptop so should not be a factor.)
Hi @Lev_Anni , if this question was aimed at my last comment (I take it that it was), apologies for any confusion…I meat to phrase it as mentioned on page 3 of the user manual for the Magni Unity (shown highlighted below).
Again, this is the for the unit I was recommending. I hope this helps!
