Re: should i use dedicated DAC
Reply #2 –
In general, unless the on-board DAC is complete garbage (picking up lots of noises/interference, or insufficient output power), the chance that a DAC replacement will give audible improvements is almost 0, because most DACs already have so low distortion/noise that further improvements are unlikely to be noticeable by ear.
That is, if you have an okay DAC, then the only way to make another DAC sound differently is to introduce imperfections. Some people like imperfections (hiss, clicks and all that), though…
In your case with headphones, 50 ohm is pretty low, so the problem which you are experiencing is really strange. Normally, almost any device would almost rip and tear the ears at maximum volume when used with 50 ohm headphones.
If the problem is indeed with the DAC, you may try any cheap external DAC and see if the problem is solved. I'd first try to re-check system mixer settings, disable DSP in foobar, etc.; you can spend money later if all of that doesn't help.