Audiophiles, is a DAC needed if I have a good AVR?

[Fatboi1]

Preface: I'm not too well versed in the audio realm of things so bear with me.

My desktop is connected to my Onkyo AVR through HDMI from the GPU.

My consoles(Switch, PS4 Pro and soon to be PS5) were all connected to this receiver and the receiver to the TV's HDMI port.

I also have the DT 990 Pro headphones and I plug this into the AVR's headphone port. It sounds incredible but I noticed when on the PS4 Pro and the sound output was set to Linear PCM, when I cranked the volume up on the AVR to like 40 I could hear some slight static while the game is paused.

If I switched the PS4 Pro's audio to Dolby or DTS the problem goes away. If I switch the AVR to PC I don't hear it unless I raise the level to like 54 or something.

My question is is this set up the most optimal way to get the best sound? My bro has a DAC I can test out but I'm not too sure.

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

As far as headsets for gaming, I’m very happy with my Astro A40 setup with the mixamp. Audio is clean as hell and it’s a huge convenience to be able to adjust my audio/chat mix ok the fly with the knob.
Yes, a good DAC makes a world of different and the mix amp is a great option.

 

[ItWasWritten]

Preface: I'm not too well versed in the audio realm of things so bear with me.

My desktop is connected to my Onkyo AVR through HDMI from the GPU.

My consoles(Switch, PS4 Pro and soon to be PS5) were all connected to this receiver and the receiver to the TV's HDMI port.

I also have the DT 990 Pro headphones and I plug this into the AVR's headphone port. It sounds incredible but I noticed when on the PS4 Pro and the sound output was set to Linear PCM, when I cranked the volume up on the AVR to like 40 I could hear some slight static while the game is paused.

If I switched the PS4 Pro's audio to Dolby or DTS the problem goes away. If I switch the AVR to PC I don't hear it unless I raise the level to like 54 or something.

My question is is this set up the most optimal way to get the best sound? My bro has a DAC I can test out but I'm not too sure.

Your AVR is a DAC, though headphone usage probably isn’t its main focus, it’s doing essentially what a smaller portable dac would do - taking a digital signal converting it to analog and amplifying the sound ...


Plus since the ps5 removed the optical port ... if you want something smaller your going to have to find a hdmi dac do they even make those ? Or i suppose you can find some sort of small converter

 

[Fatboi1]

Your AVR is a DAC, though headphone usage probably isn’t its main focus, it’s doing essentially what a smaller portable dac would do - taking a digital signal converting it to analog and amplifying the sound ...


Plus since the ps5 removed the optical port ... if you want something smaller your going to have to find a hdmi dac do they even make those ? Or i suppose you can find some sort of small converter

So I just tested my brother's DAC on my PC. Plugging my headphones into that vs directly into my AVR produced comparable sound quality but the AVR was way better especially since I can crank the volume up more. shyt sounds so good. I think it was just an issue with the PS4. I don't know why it was doing that. I hope it don't do it with the 5.

 

[ItWasWritten]

So I just tested my brother's DAC on my PC. Plugging my headphones into that vs directly into my AVR produced comparable sound quality but the AVR was way better especially since I can crank the volume up more. shyt sounds so good. I think it was just an issue with the PS4. I don't know why it was doing that. I hope it don't do it with the 5.

What is the OHM rating on your headphones ?

 

[Fatboi1]

What is the OHM rating on your headphones ?

250 OHMs.

On the Pro I can hear static/white noise when the volume is at like 40 but on the PC input, I only hear it if I crank it up to 60 which is WAY too loud. Seems like the PS4 got something going on.

Edit: It does the same thing on the Switch. At 41 on the receiver, I can clearly hear the noise in the background. I don't get this when using the PC.

 

[kevm3]

If you're not an audiophile, don't waste your money with a separate DAC. Your integrated has one built in and if you're not focused on a headphone/speaker setup, there's no reason to get a standalone DAC.

 

[TripleAgent]

A separate one aside from for AVR sounds like overkill, but I don't consider myself an audiophile. I love high quality A/V, but I'm not obsessed like those types.

 

[StatUS]

Sounds like something needs to be changed in your sound settings on PS4.

If you set it to PCM the PS4 decodes the audio and then sends it to your avr. Setting it to bitstream sends the signal to avr to decode it.

 

[Fatboi1]

Sounds like something needs to be changed in your sound settings on PS4.

If you set it to PCM the PS4 decodes the audio and then sends it to your avr. Setting it to bitstream sends the signal to avr to decode it.

In bitstream the problem goes away but I'm afraid I'm losing sound quality if that makes sense.

 

[StatUS]

In bitstream the problem goes away but I'm afraid I'm losing sound quality if that makes sense.

Only reason to go with PCM with an AVR is if the AVR can't decode newer stuff like TrueHD or DTS HD.

Basically Bitstream will have the receiver decode the audio while PCM will be decoded by the PS4.