Hi Everyone,

First time poster here. I was wondering if the sound quality of my PC can go to the next level with some minor purchases.

My current setup: Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk Headphones: Philips Fidelio X1S

I was looking to get an external DAC/AMP combo, but wasn’t sure if it’s worth it.

Thank you to everyone in advance

  • @BondrewdEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    Fidelio X1s is not a headphone. Fidelio X1 is.

    Its not the most basic chip on your mobo, but one that higher budget mobos get. You will be fine with it. You almost surely dont need an external AMP for that headphone.

    Buy a new set of headphones on that price, that might tickle your balls.

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      Unless I got some kind of knockoff, it says X1S on the sides. It is about 6 years old now though.

      Thank you for the insight on the motherboard, I’m a complete beginner when it comes to that and just recalled hearing that motherboards usually cause some kind of interference, so DAC/AMP combo is recommended. It’s possible that I heard that too long ago. Makes sense that the motherboard can handle better audio by this point.

      • @BondrewdEnglish
        3•1 year ago

        I barely found x1s (more of OG X1) for some reason, my bad. It is indeed a headphone that exists xd. I mostly seen X2HR reviews and most users are relatively satisfied. I think the 2 main caveats are that:

        1. Detail is not that good.
        2. Bass is boomy.

        So if you are looking for tighter bass or more detailed sound, no, you wont really get that much more out of it with better equipment. It is an old headphone and the driver is low impedance, this is most they could bring out of it in those days.

        Want better sound? You absolutely can get multitudes of better sound quality with your current DAC/AMP and newer headphones. You can get any kind of not too hard to drive piece of hardware and it will keep scaling without extra equipment. Yes you can get even better with a better DAC, but even I kept myself out of buying one even though I have audiophile equipment.

        Im using a chinese 50 dollar motherboard that is for e5 v3 CPU. Even that is kind of acceptable though not preferred. And a headphone jack.

        • @[email protected]OPEnglish
          1•1 year ago

          So just getting new headphones alone could be much better for me? I have been eyeing Sennheisers 6xx/650 because I see them for sale in my price range quite a bit.

          And yes, detail is what I was looking for.

          • @BondrewdEnglish
            1•1 year ago

            Now buying a headphone is a big topic, but HD6xx/650 is a safe choice for sure. Only thing you might lose is the wide soundstage your headphone has.

            • @[email protected]OPEnglish
              1•1 year ago

              So I went back to the drawing board and looked into it more. My headphones are 30ohm, that’s why they won’t really gain anything from amp/dac to begin with. Like you said, new headphones are a different topic, those Sennheisers are 300ohm. I think I’ll just stick with my current setup lol

              • @BondrewdEnglish
                1•1 year ago

                Even that might work. Higher end boards are often made for up to 600ohm headphones. If in doubt, search for your specific board/chip whether it has the power.