Alright, to start, I previously owned the HD485s (which I loved) but unfortunately the headband recently snapped and they're no longer manufactured anyway so I'm in desperate need of some new phones. I'd mainly be using them for portable use into an iPod Classic (unamped) so they need to have...

When I used my HD485's plugged directly into the headphone out of my laptop, I would always hear an obnoxious and loud crackling and popping sounds when listening to music. I assumed that this was just an issue with the onboard sound so I ordered the Nuforce uDac since I needed improvement with...

Although I'm happy with my laptop (Dell Studio 1537), the built in sound leaves much to be desired. I use Sennheiser HD485's plugged directly into the laptop's headphone out and the sound quality is subpar and is always crackling and popping. I'm new to this site and I don't know very much about...