Complete audio/headphone noob here (I get computer stuff... IT guy). Much because of this site, I have purchased some M50's. They sound very nice. Enjoying them quite a lot so far. Been working on upgrading all my music files to FLAC. The standard iTunes/mp3s are dead to me.
However, plugged directly into the front of the computer's "headphone" jack means there's hissing in the quiet parts of songs/when or nothing is playing (just electrical background noise?). It's driving me nuts. I wouldn't call it loud (suggesting a technical issues), but it's quite noticeable and is hindering my enjoyment of my music. Not obvious through much of normal music playback, but anything quieter than normal chorus/verse parts of songs, I can hear it easily.
I've tried muting/disabling line in (and any input really), with zero effect so far. Running a SB X-Fi on a Dell XPS 720, not sure if that matters. I'm aware from an audiophile standpoint a headphone jack from a computer is basically like contracting Ebola...
Anyway, interested in buying an amp, dac, or combo. I'm also willing/interested in building and DIY option (the nerd in me cries to build something), if not for anything more than fun. So what's going to eliminate this hiss problem the most (in addition to adding something to these already low impedance headphones)? Amp or DAC, or both? If buying, probably around $500 is my ceiling in terms of money (considering Yulong D100). But I've also been looking at the GrubDAC and the Starving Student amp build. As a guitar player, I have a fascination with tubes and their sound.
Basically I need some suggestions for how to proceed. If I do one of the DIY options (or both) and that fixes my hiss issue, then I may start there. But if buying Yulong D100 (or other similar unit, suggestions?) also fixes the issue and improves the sound significantly beyond the two DIY’s together, then I might as well do that.
I await your advice...
