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Should I upgrade my sound card or buy a new amp?

post #1 of 11
2/8/10 at 12:42am
Thread Starter 
I am using the sennheiser HD 595 and would like to upgrade it. Do you think I should change my sound card or buy an amplifier?
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post #2 of 11
2/8/10 at 12:59am
Well, what card are you using now? Generally, I consider source to be most important.
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post #3 of 11
2/8/10 at 1:13am
I'd take a look at boomana's thread for advice: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/bef...ewbies-419349/ Not trying to call you a newbie or anything, this thread reminded me of tvrboy's thread. I don't have any experience with the HD595, I do know it has different resistance compared to my HD650. I've had a CD3000 and I own a PS1, both have around the same neighborhood in terms of resistance to the HD595. Both those headphones were/are amped regardless of whether it sounds great out of an iPod or headphone jack of a computer. I would imagine an amp would allow your headphones to be driven properly, but I agree with FallenAngel that source is extremely important. Upgrading the sound card will get you partly there, but proper amplification of the signal is also very important in achieving your tone.
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post #4 of 11
2/8/10 at 12:23pm
Try this experiment:

Play a CD on a regular CD/DVD player. Play the same CD through your computer a the same volume level. Do you notice a substantial difference?

If not, worry about your soundcard later.

Quote:
Generally, I consider source to be most important.
I disagree here, depending on what you mean by source. If by source you mean the recording itself, I agree that this can be extremely important. A poorly recorded and mastered recording will sound like crap no matter what you do to it. However, IMO the difference between DAP/DACs is extremely minimal to the point you are far better off investing in better speakers/headphones.


Generally, I would recommend an external DAC instead of an internal sound card unless you need the sound card for purposes other than headphone listening.
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post #5 of 11
2/8/10 at 7:25pm
Save your money and get an amp with USB DAC.
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post #6 of 11
2/9/10 at 12:03am
Thread Starter 
I dont know what soundcard I have but I use my macbook pro as my source.
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post #7 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:41am
macbook pro sux ball as a amp. Since you are using a laptop, most SC wouldn't fit the bill either. I'd get dedicated dac/amp.
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post #8 of 11
2/9/10 at 4:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tosehee View Post
macbook pro sux ball as a amp. Since you are using a laptop, most SC wouldn't fit the bill either. I'd get dedicated dac/amp.
X2

Have a look at the FUN by Audio-GD, it looks promising.
slim.a has written a great review.
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post #9 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:41pm
iBasso D4 Mamba dac/amp... Case closed.
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post #10 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:47pm
I have no experience with amps/dacs at all so take this with a grain of salt. For guys like me and you TC, I think the best option would be to upgrade to the Hifiman EF2 or the Maverick D1. They are cheap and a lot of the guys here think they are great bang for your buck Amps/Dacs. They will be an extremely significant upgrade over your current macbook pro and that is for sure.
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post #11 of 11
2/9/10 at 3:34pm
I'd say that something like an EF2 (if you want to try tubes) or an Audio-GD FUN (solid state) would fit the bill. I had a Compass, the predecessor to the FUN, and it was a great starter Amp/DAC. If you've got one of the Macbook Pro models with an optical out built into the audio jack, you don't necessarily even need one with USB input.
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