[DevilsRightHand]

I've been looking into an amp/dac to go between my Alessandro MS2i and my Macbook Pro, these are the ones I found intresting:
 
Audinst Hud MX1
Maverick Audio TubeMagic DAC
Fiio E10 or E17
HiFiMan EF2A
 
Am I going in the right direction with any of these?
 
Do I need a DAC or is the one inside the MBP (Late 2011) really good?
 
I also use a Marantz 2225 in the living room,  would it sound better with a DAC and could any of my selections be used with both setups?
 
 
Feel free to suggest anything but my budget is around 200$.  Oh !!! and I listen to rock, all sorts of rock

 

[DevilsRightHand]

"Bump". No one intrested?

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would think the Fiio E10 ($70) would be a good value, I would guess the E10 has a better DAC then the Macbook.

 

[yellowssm]

id like to know this as well

 

[kmhaynes]

Similar thread going about MS1i -- IMO, the MS1i does not improve very much with a portable amp, mostly just a volume increase. 
 
But, depending on how clean sounding your MacBook headphone out is, you might want to consider a DAC/Amp, like iBasso D-Zero or Fiio E10 or E17.  MacBook HP out may be a cleaner sound than most Windows-based laptops.

 

[DevilsRightHand]

I might be getting a good deal on an E7-E9 combo, any opinions?