Thanks for the reply grokit. I indeed find the bass boost changed the sound prominently, but as I mostly listen to classics and sometimes pop but rarely rock or r&b, the bass boost is more unbalancing than improving the sound to my ears...   Any other budget DAC/AMP I should consider to pair...

Hi,   I've listened to the following two setup and can't hear big difference when turning bass off on E10. Does this mean the Macbook pro's sound card is almost as good as the external E10?   1. Macbook Pro --> E10 --> Senn HD 598 2. Macbook Pro --> Senn HD 598       Update...