#958 in Musical Instruments
Reddit mentions of Cambridge Audio DacMagic Digital-to-Analog Converter with USB, Silver
Sentiment score: 2
Reddit mentions: 2
We found 2 Reddit mentions of Cambridge Audio DacMagic Digital-to-Analog Converter with USB, Silver. Here are the top ones.
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Twin WM8740 high quality DACs in dual differential mode for excellent stereo imagingIncoming sampling rate indicator 32/44.1/48/88.2/96kHzPhase select to invert or reinvert input, correcting possible recording problemsTwo inputs with both SPDIF & Toslink sockets allow wide range of digital sources to be connectedSingled ended phono and XLR balanced audio outputs
Specs:
There is at least one that gets recommended without hesitation for that exact budget: the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic. It's currently $429 on Amazon, has many features and adjustments to get the sound you like, and has USB, Toslink, and Coax inputs, and RCA and balanced XLR outputs. It does full upsampling and clock resynchronization to 24/192, so you'll have no issues whether coming from USB or optical. You can't get much better than that feature-wise, and reviews all say it sounds great.
Excuse my enthusiasm, I've wanted one of these for a long time, ever since I heard one in a hi-fi shop a couple years ago. Perhaps it was the B&W speakers and McIntosh tube amp, but the Dac Magic was the source and the experience was great.
Other options:
*edit: Fixed the DAC Magic's sampling capability spec to 24/192 as is correct.
The majority of stereo headphones made by leading brands such as Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, Shure, Beyerdynamic, Grado, and AKG will produce a lot better sound than any 5.1 or 7.1 headphones in the same price range. What the gaming headsets attempt to do is cram a number of smaller drivers within the small area around each ear to try and create a surround environment. Unfortunately, the drivers are all so close to your ears and to each other that it isn't possible to come anywhere close to an actual 5.1 speaker setup. A good set of stereo headphones with a large soundstage will produce a lot more detailed and accurate sound for gaming.
Another reality of 5.1 or 7.1 headsets is because they use more drivers, the drivers are generally much smaller than stereo headsets. Smaller drivers have a much harder time producing lower frequencies so the bass of these headsets is usually weak and/or muddy.
So which headphones should you go for? I didn't see you mention a price range although you did mention Turtle Beach which have several $200-$300 models. For the $100-$150 range I would suggest Sennheiser HD555's or the ever-so-popular Audio-Technica ATH-M50's. I generally recommend open-back headphones because they have better soundstage but the ATH-M50's are usually found for around $100 and at that price they're hard to beat in terms of quality. For the $200-$250 range I recommend either Beyerdynamic DT 880 (250ohm), AKG 702's, or Sennheiser HD598's. Unless you have a decent soundcard you'll definitely need an amp/dac for the Beyerdynamic's given their high impedence. Which brings me to another important aspect of pc audio: amps and DAC's.
If you have high quality headphones you'll get a lot more out of them if they're driven by a solid soundcard or an amp (amplifier) and dac (digital to analog converter). Having one of these will also have a higher signal to noise ratio than your typical motherboard headphone jack, meaning you won't hear as much unwanted background noise in your audio. Luckily there are dac/amp combo's for pc that are relatively inexpensive. A popular budget model is the FiiO E7 or if you're really serious you could drop ~$400 on a Cambridge Audio DACMagic. Although, at that price point I find there's a lot more utility in purchasing a decent entry-level receiver which will have an integrated DAC and amp. I am currently running my receiver with the audio from my pc being outputted through an optical audio line and it works like a charm.
To sum up: buy a solid set of stereo headphones with a good soundtage, and something with an amp/dac and you will get sound quality that will melt your ears in bliss as you game.
As for mic's I second Kuusou's recommendation for the Zalman. I own one myself and it works nicely. If all you're doing is gaming it will more than get the job done.