Hello, I’m looking for DAC for my M40x and my list of priorities is:
- movies with 5.1 and 7.1 and 2.0 shows
- music
- games (I play for fun, nothing competitive)
Right now I have Sound Blaster G1 (still better than what my laptop has) but lately is started to randomly cut sound at every volume higher than ~50%. And I hear static from it.
My budget is max $170 because I can get GSX 1000 at that price.
Do you know anything better value but with good surround sound?
List of features I would care:
Mic In - I have USB Mic right now, but it’s good to have
Speakers Out - for future
Separate power - don’t care
Optical In - I will build new PC in next few months and maybe go S/PDIF
it’s probably not an issue with DAC as much as it’s an issue with amplification for the headphones. a DAC will always help, but an amp will have the biggest effect on your audio quality. fortunately, your budget is enough for a really good entry level DAC / Amp combo unit from Fiio, the K5 Pro.
just note that multi-channel audio is a ugly can of worms in the headphone world. any surround sound is almost always virtual (there is the rare exception for headphone with several drivers) and always garbage. headphones on that K5 Pro will give you awesome 2.1 like sound though. 
In my country K5 Pro is more expensive than GSX 1000 at $201 and I don’t have that much money.
I want to have one unit to which I plug USB and headphone jack. I don’t know much about audio stuff.
the GSX 1000 sucks compared to other similarly priced items. it sells based on brand recognition.
where are you located?
Poland
I found FiiO K5 Pro in German amazon for 160 EUR
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