Will an external DAC improve music audio quality for me?

[Gamboge]

I have a motherboard with ALC4080 HD Audio and use Aria iems. My budget is under $150. If I buy something like the Schitt Magni+, will music sound better? I sometimes play games, but not that often, so it's not as much of a priority.

[Gamboge]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

The unfortunate answer is that it’s impossible for anyone to tell you it will sound better/worse/different. 
 

It depends on the type of music you listen to (EDM, Metal, classical, etc…), your ears, your perception, IEM sensitivity, music sources, quality of the motherboard and many other things. 

Aren't there objective numbers? Or at least a general consensus?

[Gamboge]

9 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

No objective data can tell you if music will sound better to you. Do you listen to 64 kbps internet radio streams of death metal and or well recorded high resolution classical with a lot of dynamic range? When you turn up the volume do you hear noise from the motherboard?

I'll listen to lower and higher resolution audio at different times. I don't strictly stick to a particular genre or quality. When comparing the same audio played with onboard to with a DAC, is there no difference unless the audio is of a sufficiently high quality? Also, I do not notice any static or otherwise unusual noise when the volume is high.

[Gamboge]

29 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

the ALC4080 on its own doesn’t mean much. The motherboard designer could make it pretty good or terrible. 

I have an aorus b650i. Can't find much discussion on its audio quality.

15 minutes ago, ecwl said:

First, Magni+ is not an external DAC. It is a headphone preamp/amp.

Don't know how I missed that. Guess the Schiit Modi 3E is what I meant. Not sure how that would affect the "impedance matching" though with the built-in amp. What I'm getting from this is the only way to know is to actually try it?

[Gamboge]

4 hours ago, ecwl said:

Schiit Modi has no amp or volume control so you won’t be able to connect your IEM to it.

So no sound would come out if I don't also have an amp? Is that because I'm using iems, or because I'm using a desktop? Or will sound come out, but it'll be of low quality? I tried looking this up, but I've found conflicting info.

[Gamboge]

Ended up getting the Fiio newk3. It sounds somewhat "clearer". The difference isn't astronomical, but it is noticeable to me, especially on piano and percussive instruments for whatever reason.