Unfortunately many PC motherboards ship with really poor DACs. If you use an iPhone, or an iMac, don&#x27;t bother though. Their DAC are truly excellent. The only reason to upgrade would be if you have high-impedance headphones, or low-sensitivity headphones that require a more drive than these DACs can produce. Note though that the iMac DAC has higher output that <i>most</i> cheap external DACs, so chose accordingly.<p>This is the only reason to get a different DAC. These DACs have lower output impedance than most DACs under $500.<p>Edit: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.kenrockwell.com&#x2F;apple&#x2F;iphone-5&#x2F;audio-quality.htm" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.kenrockwell.com&#x2F;apple&#x2F;iphone-5&#x2F;audio-quality.htm</a>