I've been using my laptop more and more as a result of me kinda abandoning my gaming hobby, the only thing I miss is the clear crisp bass from my xonar DX. Is there anything through USB that would be able to get similiar audio?
If you mean headphones then Aune T1, for example. You can even join the club of gentlemen who collects tubes and honestly believe that they all sound very different. Or FIIO K5. Or FIIO OLYMPUS 2-E10K, Optoma (former Nu-force) uDAC3 for more portable cases.
There're plenty of options available to you, from budget entry level offerings to the not-so-budget ones for those with deeper pockets. Schiit Fulla 2 and Micca Origen+ are two other alternatives to what mbk1969 had already mentioned.
Hmm I was thinking more budget and slightly more portable. I'm assuming something like the Creative Sound BlasterX G1 would be pretty bad? I'm looking for somewhat same quality as the DX. I am using sennheiser HD 205 II's, so I think these high end dac's are wasted on me.
https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-digital-music-premium-hd I use this, in conjunction with an external headphone amp.
Compare yourself https://www.themasterswitch.com/best-dacs At top of list you see Hi End. Btw, Optoma Nuforce uDac5 is in the list. And other chip pieces as well - scroll to an end of list. But all this is relevant mostly for headphones. If you want to connect active speakers you don`t need equipment with HP amp.
What about a Xonar U7 https://www.asus.com/us/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/ I use one on my desktop, as my DX wouldn't play with my board.
I have the HT OMEGA HALO USB. It has a built-in headphone amplifier, and sounds decent; if a bit bright. Check it out here: http://www.htomega.com ($199) Cheers
I went with a Dragonfly Red, its $199, but the Dragonfly Black is $99, and is supposed to be really good as well. They can be used with android or apple phones as well. If you doubt how good they are, here are a few reviews on them: https://www.whathifi.com/audioquest/dragonfly-red/review https://www.soundandvision.com/content/audioquest-dragonfly-red-and-dragonfly-black-ampdacs-review https://darko.audio/2016/04/audioquests-dragonfly-red-puts-high-end-daps-on-notice/ https://www.stereophile.com/content...-red-black-usb-da-headphone-amplifiers-page-2 https://www.wifihifi.ca/LatestNewsHeadlines/Hands-OnReview:AudioQuestDragonFlyBlack1.5/Red.html My favorite line from one of the reviews is "DragonFly Red and Black are the finest examples of everyman hifi ever to grace these pages. Their value quotients explode the dial.Game ON" Really cant be beat for something you can just throw in your pocket and use anywhere (PC, laptop, phone, etc..). The red is also a decent enough amp to push my relatively high impedance headphones (150 ohms). Also using them with some 1More Quad Drivers and the sound is awesome.
I use the Soundblaster E1, its my main sound card I use in conjunction with my Creative hs800 headset, I also use it to drive my Sennheiser HD202 on my phone, as it doubles as a handy mobile headphone Amp. One more benefit is that the E1 uses two independent headphone output circuits (Maxim MAX97220 chips), so you can use two sets of headphones with no loss in quality, it will drive 600ohms rated headphones.
I can also recommend the DragonFly Red, since I purchased it a bit over a year ago I have not used my Soundblaster Zx at all. This DAC works for both headphones and can be connected to the stereo as well. And it's true plug and play, supposedly can be used with phones too but I wouldn't want to have the risk of losing it.
My U7 died today Wouldn't switch on on boot, it was doing it a while ago, just sometimes, but on unplugging and replugging, it used to come back to life, so tried changing ports, where it was fine for a while, but started not coming on again last few days, and no matter how many times i unplug, replug, it just won't come on. Tried it in other ports, and i just get the device malfunctioned pop-up jobbie, even tried pressing the switch on the top to try and fire it up, but its just double-clicking, as just quickly coming on, then going back off, and the little blue LEDs just flash as it does it. Still, ive got onboard, so ive still got sound, and it'll do until i can get another one ordered, which i would have done today, but with the terrible weather here in the UK, got no chance of getting it delivered, so i'll just wait until next week, when its better.
