[fragaholic]

hey, i'm a new board member and more importantly a new headphone person. I felt a little out of my element when looking through other threads, so I'm sorry if I missed some of this info from elsewhere. My knowledge is VERY limited and I just want to get the most out of my system. I currently use Senn PX100s with my zune 120 and my laptop, which I think works pretty well. I will soon be acquiring a pair of ATH A700s. (They seemed to fit my budget and needs well, but that's beside the point.) I was just wondering whether my laptop will be able to drive the phones sufficiently or if I'd need a sound card upgrade or an amp or anything else and about how much they put me back. My laptop:

Toshiba Satellite bought new in 2008.

Currently running Windows 7 (just upgraded)

Sound Card: Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221 (hasnt been touched)

I also have the option of running a y cable (I think that's what they're called) from my laptop to my bass guitar amp and then headphones out of the bass guitar amp. Would that solve any of my driving problems and be a suitable alternative?

If this post is in the wrong place, I apologize and wouldn't mind a point to the right board! Thanks!!

 

[David.M]

you don't need much juice to run them, but that Conexant HP sound card you have is garbage and i doubt you will be satisfied.

The Zero DAC+Amp combo will run them pretty well.

ZERO (Tianyun) 24/192 DAC + Headphone Amp (OPA2604) - eBay (item 350226990067 end time Jan-11-10 17:54:09 PST)


depends on how much you're willing to spend tho. the ibasso d10 COBRA pretty sweet too if you can afford it

no idea on the Y cable/guitar amp thingy. not use to that stuff :>

 

[fragaholic]

thanks for the response david! I was hoping to spend 70-100 bucks but I realized that I will need either an express card or an external usb card so it will fit in my laptop/be relatively portable. does anyone know how my bass guitar amp would do?