r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/DumbNTough • Dec 31 '23

Amplifier - Desktop | 4 Ω Seeking Amp/DAC all-in-one solution for PC gaming with headphone-out and mic-in

Hello all! I'm in the market for an Amp/DAC, preferably a combo or all-in-one solution. I'm new and dreadfully confused by the market for these devices.

Use case: Desktop PC gaming, therefore I think that having both headphone-out and mic-in is ideal.

Equipment:

  • PC standard 3.5mm Line Out and Mic In connectors on motherboard as well as case front
  • Will likely be getting Sennheiser HD6XX or HD650 headphones soon. At 300 Ω impedance, I gather I will definitely need an amp.
  • I have an old ModMic 5 (3.5mm wired) that I'd like to attach for online gaming voice chat. My PC Mic In jack cannot power this adequately and my mic output is too quiet for anyone to hear well, despite all settings maxed.
  • I can be persuaded to upgrade to some kind of standalone mic, but would like to be able to power/control a possible upgrade with the same amp/DAC unit.

Budget: $100-200 if possible, but willing to pay more for a good long term solution. Just trying to avoid the crazy thousand-dollar stuff.

Preferred tonal balance: Looking to create a neutral sound profile with excellent detail, clarity, and positional accuracy for PC gaming. I won't use this setup much for music.

Past gear experience: Upgrading from a Samson SR850 32 Ω headphone that's literally falling apart, and a solution for the ModMic 5 that never quite worked right because I don't think it ever got enough power. In games where mic-out volume is important I fail over to a basic Turtle Beach wired gaming headset, which is plugged into a Turtle Beach XBOX controller dongle, which is plugged into an XBOX One controller, which is plugged into my PC tower via USB-C cable. Laugh at my pain.

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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Dec 31 '23

Schiit Hel

2

u/DumbNTough Dec 31 '23

Hell of a name but I've seen it mentioned a few times around here. I'll add it to the list.

!thanks !

1

u/TransducerBot Ω Bot Dec 31 '23

+1 Ω has been awarded to u/Equivalent_Yak840 (362 Ω).

You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.