I'm not a guy with a lot of DACs and amps that cost thousands of dollars.  I bought this because the headphone jack on my wife's laptop was crapping out. I like Fiio's stuff because for the price, they sound great, and usually have a bass boost switch that puts just enough extra kick in the lower end without going too far.  For listening I like a little extra kick in the lower end.  I use a flat sound for mixing and making music, but not for casual listening, (unless it's classical or something like that.)  This thing kills IMO.  It was a real eye opener when I plugged this in and realized how bad my laptop sounded. I use focusrite interfaces for my DAW, but you expect that stuff to sound good. It's no surprise my laptop doesn't sound like pro audio gear and I didn't expect it to. But I never tried a DAC on my laptop because I didn't realize just how bad the on board audio was compared to even a cheap DAC like this.  This was a HUGE improvement. If you like a little extra bass, but not over the top or out of balance with the rest of the music, Fiio hits the spot.  AKG's sounding a little bass light for casual listening?  This will help cure that.  It'll make ATH-M50x sound spectacular!  If you want a totally flat sound, lots of other options out there, but if you like Fiio's idea of bass boost (perfect for my taste) this is a total no brainer.  This is $75 people.  Don't talk to me about how your $1000 rig sounds better.  For less than $100 this absolutely kills.  Stomps the sh!t out of "Realtek High Definition Audio." Ugg.