Headphones Amp, Sound card, Bluetooth Dongle Questions

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).

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?

 

I got this,...

I’m going to try and give you insight on these things.

Before you go out and buy anything, are you listening to .mp3s , .wav files (CD quality) or .flac ? If you are listening to lossy music (rather than lossless) the entire premise of achieving better sound quality is meaningless. Since with .mp3s there is information that is omitted or missing, the kbps data rate is only up to 320, vs 1411 for CDs, and even higher for high-res. I listen to redbook (16 bit by 44.1 KHz CD rips)

Bluetooth - I think we’re at version 5.0 now.

https://www.whathifi.com/advice/bluetooth-5-everything-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Bluetooth%205.0%20is%20the%20latest,laptops%2C%20desktop%20computers%20and%20more.

The purpose of a headphone amplifier is to optimize the driver modeling behavior of the miniature driver units that produce sound in headphones. A more dispersed pattern of even pistonic movement is achieved with a headphone amp, or any 6.3mm port that is dedicated for that purpose. And obviously, the purpose of an amplifier (headphone amp in this case) is to enhance the strength and integrity of the input signal (your source component).

Computer sound cards are okay. Check out ASUS xonar USB DACs and PCI-e sound cards. Both are great value for the money...You can upgrade as you go...feel free to message me if you need more clarity.