Creative Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC/Amp Combo Discussions | Drop

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Creative Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC/Amp Combo

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Creative Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC/Amp Combo

Tmplt

Jun 22, 2015

I'm not very up to snuff on DACs and amps as much as I wish I were. I bought a pair of Beyer Dynamics DT880 250Ohm Premium some time ago, and I've yet to know whether or not I need (read: want) something stronger than my current sound card, the ASUS Xonar DG. It sounds, well.. good as of now. It can take 5.1/7.1 input sources and I guess downscale (I'm unsure of that term) it to stereo, and it does amp it up to a good volume.
I've always bought stuff with user reviews in mind, as I've never been able to try stuff out for myself. I've been lucky this far, I love my DT880s, but I'm unsure when it comes to DAC/Amps. It's another larger sum of money I'll have to spend without knowing the majority behind it. Do they change the audio a lot? Do they only make it sounds clearer? Should I spend some time finding an audio store where I can try some out?

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thomwithah

Jun 22, 2015

TmpltThis is an improvement to your Xonar DG in terms of power and DAC and, well, most things aside from Dolby Headphone. With the optical input you can even use the optical out of your card to pass the digital optical signal to the E5 and amplify it while retaining the effects. With your DT880's at 250Ohm you will see a huge improvement in sound running the E5 over the Xonar DG. If you spend time listening to any amps in a store, you will very likely buy one. At $150 the E5 is a good value and offers a nice feature set. It would pair well with your current setup. Your DT880's will gain much punchier yet tighter bass while presenting more of everything with the signature Beyer curve. You will hear more at lower volumes and be able to obtain higher volumes. You will also be able to convert higher resolution music than you can currently. The E5 isn't the best of the best, but it is quite good for $150 and I would instantly recommend it for you if I hadn't experienced the rubber discoloration issue. Even with this issue, at $150 it's tough to beat. You may find yourself, having listened to other amps, whishing you saved the $50 and gotten in on this deal while it was available should you let it pass. Worst case, I would imagine a used E5 in excellent condition should be worth nearly, if not more than, the $150 you'd pay here should you decided to part with it after giving it a go.

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