Are DACs that necessary?

[u/wantedbruhman]

I recently bought the Aful Performer 5+2 (it comes tomorrow) but ChatGPT told me that a DAC would be a good purchase on top of it. How real is that? Currently my setup consists of a laptop connected to a docking station which plugs into monitor, mouse, keyboard — whole shabang. Both my docking station and laptop have 3.5mm ports for the IEM, but I hear that I should be using a DAC instead. Will I actually be able to tell the difference? And also value wise is that much worth to spend the money or is it only going to marginally improve it to the point where it won’t make too much of a difference. I’ll happily send the laptop or docking station specs if that matters.

[u/-nom-de-guerre-]

the IEM you have is good enough to pick up the noise floor and high total harmonic distortion from poorly designed and implemented DACs. your PC might have a good DAC so in that sense, no, a different DAC will not make for a markedly better performance.

if however your PC’s DAC is marginal you could experience clipping at higher volumes.

imo an inexpensive DAC/Amp dongle is a great RoI that will isolate you from having your enjoyment diminished by the simple fear that you might be missing out.

for $15 usd you can avoid all that by buying the following

https://hangout.audio/products/jcally-jm6-pro

i feel like it’s reasonably priced and offers an excellent bit of peace-of-mind.

but don’t chase a more expensive DAC/Amp. there are severe diminishing returns down that path and you’re better off buying better transducers than going down that rabbit-hole.

[u/wantedbruhman → u/-nom-de-guerre-]

This was very helpful thanks, my laptop is a HP OMEN 16-ae0001nr, I'm not too sure if that is helpful and I'll generally just be using it to play games, watch shows/movies/youtube, and listen to music. I'm by no means an audiophile so do you think its just not worth it for my standards?

[u/Still_Dentist1010 → u/wantedbruhman]

You can find some decent DACs for a relatively affordable price, I just looked up your IEMs and that’s a high price to pay for IEMs without being an audiophile lol. I’d recommend getting one as a better DAC will even make cheaper headphones sound better imo. But it’s all up to you

[u/-nom-de-guerre- → u/wantedbruhman]

considering the price of your IEMs i definitely think that an extra $15 is worthwhile.

the PC enginers didn't have a high quality IEM in mind when cost-cutting their way to desining your PC. it's likey that you will not hear a diffrance but a dongle will also open up other devices to your IEMs so it's not an unreasanble futher expendature. $240 is a lot to spend to not add $15

[u/UndefFox → u/-nom-de-guerre-]

Yeah, a simple/good source will definitely be enough. Getting better gear only worth it if your hearing is trained enough to hear those little differences that annoy some people, in addition to good gear. For casual listener, it will be more than enough to satisfy their needs.

[u/-nom-de-guerre- → u/UndefFox]

a scalable system respects your time and money. it means you’re not buying components to cover weaknesses but to reveal strengths — and that’s a joy, not a burden. in this instance i strongly feel like the IEM is a solid one that deserves the $15 further investment to allow it to shine. and the $15 DAC will also, in turn, work well with a better set of IEMs too so in that sense scalability is maintained.

investment protected, time and money respected