[Somebody007]

Hello, fellow head-fiers
 
I'm kind of new to high end audio and recently replaced my aging stereo system with an hd 650 to pair with my asus xonar 2dx.
 
So my question is as it says in the title "How would I benefit from an headphone amp?". I realise without some kind of decent amp these pair of phones max out at a far from a respectable volume, but with the supposable "built-in high quality 
amplifier" from my sound card I rarely go above 25% volume and am satisfied with the bass. So how would an amp improve my listening experience exept for allowing me to play around with the bass, treble and loudness?
 
And BTW: I have an ax-500 amplifier for my stereo would this be better than the sound card? I'd like to do some testing myself, but my audio memory isn't really great and I don't really have a good song to compare do you guys know any?

 

[Somebody007]

I've heard many say HD650s simply need an amp to be good, but why? doesn't an amp juwst well amplify?

 

[Aidid]

An amp does much more than just raising the volume ceiling. It allows for more current to run to the headphones. This extra current adds to the sound reproduction quality and the accuracy of the drivers in the headphones. Worlds different depending on the headphones.