[jdbaugh]

I've been spending way to much of my time lately trying to research and find the best headphones to suit my needs. I finally have decided to just ask, so here is goes.
 
I'm in college and will probably be doing most of my listening from my laptop. This may be in my room, in a another empty classroom, or in a library. So I think I need closed can for that reason. I usually don't listen to music from my phone but I wouldn't rule out the possibility. I listen to pretty much any genre of music that consists of files on my hard drive or from streaming services.
 
I have to sets of DIY bookshelf speakers that I made for my freshman engineering seminar. These are attached to attached to a T-amp. I plan purchasing  a cheap 8 inch sub woofer to pair with them so I will have a nice set of desktop speakers in my room.
 
Originally I was going to pick up a pair of Sennheiser Momentums but after seeing this article
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57439115-47/build-your-own-desktop-stereo-for-under-$70/ I think I'm goinng to by a cheap DAC/amp.
 
So my question is. Are the Mommentums still my best bet? Originally I wasn't planning on spending money on a DAC/amp which is why I wanted the Momentums. But if I'm going to spend the money on one I'm not sure if the Momentums are my best option.

 

[Othello3]

There are a lot of threads on this very topic, and I suspect others will recommend a forum search.
 
As a looong-time student I think I'm in a decent position to provide suggestions but I'm a little confused by your question. Are you wondering whether you need a dac/amp to drive the Momentums? I've demoed the Momentums amped and unamped, and in my opinion they don't "need" amping the way other phones might. That's not to say that your ears won't hear a difference, but mine did not. 
 
If you're asking whether the Momentum is the best headphone for your purposes then you'll need to provide information about your music/sonic preferences. I personally listen to a lot of jazz and classic rock, so I'm a big fan of the Shure SRH series headphones, which have good isolation, comfort, and a mid-centric signature that works well for my purposes. 
 
From my own experience I'll also add that I at least have been guilty in the past of being a little ambitious with my "portable" setup. Personally, I recommend buying one component at a time, making sure that each component remains easy to transport and provides a meaningful boost in SQ commensurate with the amount spent. I've made the mistake, for instance, of buying a "portable" amp that wasn't quite portable enough to carry with 20 pounds of textbooks, etc. 

 

[jdbaugh]

Sorry if my question was confusing. I know that the momentums don't really need to be amped. So if I buy a amp its going to be wasted on the momentums from what I understand. My question is is if I buy an amp what are some better options that would utilize an amp?
 
I have a pretty broad listening spectrum. If I had to narrow it down I would separate my listening into about 50% rock 15% hip hop 20% country 10% jazz and 5% classical.