DAC + Hissing Advice

Arkenbrien

Arkenbrien

Audiophyte
Hello, Arkenbrien here.

First, my audio setup:

My source is my PC, with a cheap dedicated sound card (ASUS Xonar DG), running to a Denon DRA-397, powering a pair of what I believe are Kenwood JL-790. I'm slowly converting my music collection into WAV/FLAC.

My PC is kind of old, and the sound card is directly below a pretty noisy graphics card. I currently have 1/8 out to RCA into my receiver, and noise leaks through. Fortunately not a whole lot on the standard stereo output (surround sound is a different story), but I think I can do better. So I was looking at getting an external sound card, but I've decided against that because I'd like to get a CD player in the future, so getting a DAC would be the better purchase.

So I'm looking for a DAC with an optical/digital in, and has at least two inputs. I'm not particularly choosy (i.e., I have no idea what I like nor any frame of reference), but I'd like something in the mid-range. Any suggestions wouldn't go amiss.

Second, I have a persistent hiss. It doesn't matter if I have my computer on or not. I can mute/turn the volume all the way down on my receiver, and the hissing stops, so there's something going through the system.

I've done some research online and here, but I'm open to suggestions as to how to isolate the issue.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Rather than an additional piece of gear to connect, might think about buying a used avr with digital inputs, you can usually pickup a decent unit for cheap via craigslist in many areas. Otherwise maybe something like this http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/search?q=odac

How do you have level set for the output on your pc?
 
Arkenbrien

Arkenbrien

Audiophyte
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by level set, but if my guess is right, I simply played a number of pieces from different genres and slowly increased the volume until I heard distortion or no noticeable change in volume. I then set the pc volume a little lower than that.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by level set, but if my guess is right, I simply played a number of pieces from different genres and slowly increased the volume until I heard distortion or no noticeable change in volume. I then set the pc volume a little lower than that.
Output level/volume, yes. For some software it's suggested to run it at full, what are you using on the pc?
 
Arkenbrien

Arkenbrien

Audiophyte
I'm using foobar2000. The program volume is at full, but the pc volume is at 55% atm. Any higher either doesn't make a difference or there's distortion.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I agree with McLovin, Get yourself a newer AVR. If you're in US, I bet you could find one on CL under $100
My Dac - and it's absolutely middle range, Audio Engine D1 is more than that and has minor (design) issue with volume control implementation.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Hello, Arkenbrien here.

First, my audio setup:

My source is my PC, with a cheap dedicated sound card (ASUS Xonar DG), running to a Denon DRA-397, powering a pair of what I believe are Kenwood JL-790. I'm slowly converting my music collection into WAV/FLAC.

My PC is kind of old, and the sound card is directly below a pretty noisy graphics card. I currently have 1/8 out to RCA into my receiver, and noise leaks through. Fortunately not a whole lot on the standard stereo output (surround sound is a different story), but I think I can do better. So I was looking at getting an external sound card, but I've decided against that because I'd like to get a CD player in the future, so getting a DAC would be the better purchase.

So I'm looking for a DAC with an optical/digital in, and has at least two inputs. I'm not particularly choosy (i.e., I have no idea what I like nor any frame of reference), but I'd like something in the mid-range. Any suggestions wouldn't go amiss.

Second, I have a persistent hiss. It doesn't matter if I have my computer on or not. I can mute/turn the volume all the way down on my receiver, and the hissing stops, so there's something going through the system.

I've done some research online and here, but I'm open to suggestions as to how to isolate the issue.

Thanks!
Older computer sound cards aren't always very quiet. I have a Tascam USB audio interface and it's much better but if you want a mopre versatile system, think about using a HEOS, MusicCast or Sonos to play the files- these can also stream on their own and the MusicCast & HEOS can be used as a a preamp for many other sources. I'm using a MusicCast (Yamaha WXC-50) as my preamp, feeding the signal to my Parasound A23 power amp- I don't notice hiss, but I don't spend any time next to my speakers, either.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
and speaking of external DACs. I own same one as in link - Behringer UMC404HD. Drivers are bit pain to install on newer windows(works easy on mac), but with drivers installed it's fully supports 24/192 on usb 2.0.
I love a separate speakers and headphones volume controls. It's has no issues with RFI and fully supports both balanced and unbalanced connections.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00QHURLHM/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

All of it for $81 new is a steal. I paid same for open box on ebay.
 
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