I have the Fiio E10 Olympus, which I run out of my laptop most of the time and it's great! I have heard the Fiio E7 and the Schiit Magni out of an ASUS Xonar D1. In my opinion, the source has had no real effect on the sound (except that the onboard audio on my laptop had an audible hiss), so...

Quote:     Yes, your sound card will function as a dac. As for the need for an amp, you do not need one to enjoy the HD598. For my first few weeks of ownership I enjoyed my 598 out of the headphone jack on my Vaio and it sounded great. I got an amp (Fiio E10 Olympus) yesterday, and...

Quote:   I'll definitely keep that amp in mind if I'm ever in the market for a desktop amp. Thank you both for the suggestion.

Quote:   Hey, thanks for the response. I have heard this headphone in the E7, and I'd agree that the sound doesn't change much, however I'm in need of an external DAC to bypass the noise in my laptop's line out. I suspect I would prefer the tube sound myself if I was in the market for a...

I got the H598 a few days ago from an audiophile friend as a gift, and I couldn't be happier with them. Even plugged directly into my laptop, the sound is excellent. I've always loved the warm, smooth mids on these. I find myself leaning toward music that compliments the phones, such as classic...