[Blue Monday]

I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD555's about a month ago and was very pleased with them. Sound, comfort, everything. Last week I brought them to a friends house so he could try them out. He has a Mac Pro that is hooked up to an old receiver amplifier so I was expecting them to sound better over there, but I wasn't expecting the improvement to be so obvious. Everything is just more detailed and easier to hear. Especially the bass that has kinda been lurking in the background. The headphones just came alive all of a sudden. Even when we plugged it directly into the Mac it sounded the same as with the amplifier as far as I could tell.

So what I was wondering is, what exactly is responsible for this? I'm using the same quality files as he is (with winamp instead of iTunes) and I'm running the headphones with my Dell laptop (Inspiron 1525) and the only thing I can come up with is that my onboard soundcard is crap and I would be better off with a USB DAC. If this is right then how much do I need to spend to get one that's on par with whatever the Mac has?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[betweentheears]

Your sound card is crap!! Lots of usb dac's out there. Please check thread's and search for information. Beware!!!

 

[tosehee]

Mac's headphone line is crap as well.

I know it cuz I own one.

I think you should go for dac/amp combo that doesn't cost you arm and leg. There are a lot of options out there..

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by betweentheears /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your sound card is crap!! Lots of usb dac's out there. Please check thread's and search for information. Beware!!!

Okay thanks! It's good to get some confirmation. There's just so much information haha

I'm thinking about getting the musiland 02 us. People seem to really like that one.

 

[bcpk]

Maybe a NuForce uDAC.

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosehee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mac's headphone line is crap as well. I know it cuz I own one. I think you should go for dac/amp combo that doesn't cost you arm and leg. There are a lot of options out there..

Well if that's true then my Dell is just that much worse lol. I can't wait to hear my music through a proper DAC though

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcpk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe a NuForce uDAC.

That one only does 16 bit right? I'm not sure how important that is though...

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Monday /img/forum/go_quote.gif That one only does 16 bit right? I'm not sure how important that is though...

Do you have content that is NOT 16-bit?

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have content that is NOT 16-bit?

lol, nope. I guess that solves that issue haha

The uDAC is lookin pretty good. Cheaper than the musiland too. Anyone know where to buy one? It looks like they're sold out on their website.

 

[googleborg]

i say yes, get a nice affordable one, my pcs line out is passable when amped, but driving headphones directly it is just not nice at all, so i bypassed it altogether with a dac.

i can't reccomend a specific model, but you won't have to spend much.

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googleborg /img/forum/go_quote.gif i say yes, get a nice affordable one, my pcs line out is passable when amped, but driving headphones directly it is just not nice at all, so i bypassed it altogether with a dac. i can't reccomend a specific model, but you won't have to spend much.

Good to hear. I don't really understand the point of amping yet. I know you need an amp to drive high impedance equipment, but apparently it also affects the sound as well. I think I'm fine for the moment without one because my hd555's don't seem to require any amping (they're only 50ohms I think), but if all the research on audio equipment has taught me anything so far it's that you will never run out of things to buy.

 

[Blue Monday]

Looks like they'll be back in stock on the 23rd in case anyone was wondering.

Nu Force - Amplifier, Speaker, Headphone & Earphone, Audio Video Processor, CD, DVD, Digital Music players & more

 

[jshoger]

They're in stock at ALO I think.

ALO Audio

 

[Blue Monday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jshoger /img/forum/go_quote.gif They're in stock at ALO I think. ALO Audio

Thanks, but I think I'll wait the two days for Nuforce to restock. ALO's return policy only works for unopened and unused products whereas Nuforce gives you a full refund for up to 30 days.

 

[Ra97oR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have content that is NOT 16-bit?

LOL that question really is strange, but now I have a lot of 24bit 96k wav, for some of my music. Not that it makes much difference to the normal 16bit Lossless, but just beware some 24bits may come to you sooner or later.