2. pc-audio
  3. 182317-179908

Headphones Amp, Sound card, Bluetooth Dongle Questions

I haven't done much research yet but was thinking about getting a headphones amp for my pc. I figured I'd just ask a couple questions here to get me started and then I'll know better what im looking for.

My headphones currently connect via Bluetooth to my pc. How does the amp connect? Will the amp connect to my pc with a cable or Bluetooth? Will I then connect the headphones wirelessly via Bluetooth to the Amp?

I'm using just the on board sound and cheap Bluetooth dongle. Will there be any gains by upgrading the sound card as well as adding the amp? Do they make Bluetooth dongles that will give me better sound quality?

dayrl49

Showing 1 response by yage

yage
399 posts
 

Bluetooth usually uses resampling and a lossy codec to transfer audio between the source (your PC) and the receiver (the headphones). So even if you start with hi-res audio (24/192 PCM, for example) you'll end up listening to 44.1 AAC.

 

You'd probably get better sound quality by buying an external DAC and headphone amp and switching to quality wired headphones. The DAC attaches to your computer via USB and then the amp is connected to the analog outputs of the DAC. An example would be to buy the JDS Labs Atom DAC+ ($109) and pair it with the Atom Amp+ ($99). For wired headphones, I highly recommend the AKG K371 ($145).

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