I spent $33 on my PC audio and immediately heard what I’d been missing

The 3.5mm headphone jack built into a laptop or desktop computer is probably good enough for most Windows 11 users. After we’ve upgraded the hardware and tweaked the software, the biggest limiting factor in perceived sound quality is actually our own hearing. That said, not every inbuilt digital-to-analog converter (DAC) or 3.5mm headphone jack is of the same quality. There’s a chance the DAC and headphone jack on your PC are good enough, and there’s a chance they aren’t. The one way to guarantee you’re getting the best audio from your Windows 11 machine is to buy a cheap USB-C DAC.