[pixote]

this is what hfk88 wrote in a message to me
 
Hi Pixote
 
All amps will do little to the sound quality when its connected to onboard audio from a laptop because the audio quality from onboard is limited. Therefore you shouldnt spend too much money on the amp if you know you will only use it with a laptop / ipod. Whats more important for you i think is you spend most of your money on a very good headphone you like that sounds still good unamped - this way it will fit with your laptop audio quality. Better to get headphones that fit your laptop audio than get too expensive hifi headphones that sound bad because it reveals bad quality! You should only spend a lot of money on an amp if you are going to connect it to a high quality soundcard / reciever / audioplayer later. The reason is all devices in the chain (music material quality - source - amp - headphone) must all be good quality before the quality of the amp will show. This is why the salesman said they are for hifi, if you want the maximum hifi out of your Sennheiser HD 558 you have to upgrade everything. BUT good sound quality can still be had out of iphone or laptop audio - just not best potential of HD 558 they are too good. The best thing you can do to save you many headaches (and money) is to find a headphone that you like that doesnt need amp to sound the best.
 
If you like Sennheiser HD 558 then I think you should get them. You can buy a portable amp here: http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/amplifiers.php - look at the top 2
 
I recommend for you "Headroom Total Bithead" for 150$ - it will fit your use.
 
Remember amps and headphones improve over time the more you use them! 

1.  

 

[pixote]

on the net i found specifications about my laptop( hp compaq nc 8230):

Audio 

 
Hardware Implementation ADI AC '97 CODEC
Volume Controls Up, down, and mute buttons
Full Duplex Yes
Sound Blaster Pro compatible Yes
Microphone Jack Stereo or mono
Headphone/Line Out Jack Stereo
 
Audio Output Quality Frequency Response 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Signal to Noise Ratio >85 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion 0.01%
Noise Floor -110 dB
Play/Record Sampling Rate(s) 7 kHz - 48 kHz
AD/DA Resolution 16 bit

Internal Speakers  Power Rating 2 Watts 
Impedance 4 Ohms
 

 

 

[pixote]

after that what hfk 88 wrote to me im in doubt should i buy at all headphones and amplifier if the sound won t be much better (since he wrote that All amps will do little to the sound quality when its connected to onboard audio from a laptop because the audio quality from onboard is limited )
because if i need than to buy an sound card ,amp,... than its better thar i buy a hifi
now i want that more people answer to me at my question
 
what is the best amp for sennheiser hd 558 and ipod
(i ask that because if the soundcard of my laptop is the main problem of the sound, than i will listen to music on my ipod ,but i must say one time again that i ve allready tested the sennheiser hd 558 on my 2gb ipod and the sound was weak)
i want to be sure that when i buy those amp for senn hd 558 and when i connect all to my ipod that i get a high quality sound
 

 

[pixote]

so to the quality of headphone  sound the most important things are the sound card and headphone amp as i understand right
is it possible to buy an quality external sound card (which connect to the pc with usb)
that has a quality headphone amp in it (for sennheiser hd 558)
and that i can get with all that and my hp compaq nc 8230 a quality sound with no murmur or sound problems
if its possible to buy such a sound card can someone suggest me a few
and is dac a sound card or what?

 

[Bobcow]

You can get some great DAC/AMP combos really cheap now. Some popular and commonly recommended ones are Audio-GD NFB-12, Audinst MX-1 and Yulong U-100. Just buy one of these and connect it to your laptop via USB. They will be a great choice for headphones such as HD-558 or Denon D2000.

 

[kn19h7]

^^ E7/E9 combo should be ok for you, the E9 has two headphone out (one 1/4 and one 1/8).
 
Actually the only mistake you've made is in the title.

 

[J.Pocalypse]

The Bithead I mentioned has two headphone jacks. Research the products people mention and maybe you could answer a few of your questions, yourself.

 

[melie]

If it's only for use at home, buy the Yulong u100. It's a device that you connect via USB and is a dac + amp in one. It's probably the best thing you can buy for it's price. It takes over the function of your internal soundcard so you will get MUCH better sound this way. You can also connect your iPod to it. I think this would be perfect for you.
 
Review => http://www.headfonia.com/the-new-recommendation-the-yulong-u100-usb-dac/
Shop => http://coolfungadget.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=92

 

[pixote]

ive seen on a web site about hp compaq nc8230(which i have) specifications
where it stands about his audio:
 
audio output- Sound card
[*] compliant standards- ac 97, sound blaster pro [*] audio input-microphone [*] -if someone can tell me now which level of quality is this sound card(because i  need to know if its a very low quality,then its better not to buy high quality phones and amp for them, if someone knows what kinf of soundcard it is, he could maybe suggest which headphones would best with with that sound card) [*] -and if its a very bad soundcard ,if someone could tell me if i buy a highquality usb soundcard and connect it to my laptop , and connect my new phones to the new usb soundcard and start to listen to music on it,which factor will be the old soundcard which is integrated in my laptop [*] is it possible that if i buy a hq usb external  soundcard and connect it with my pc and listen to music on it, that the first (old) soundcard wont have any influence on the quality of the sound [*] im asking you that because one friend told me that if i buy new hg usb external soundcard ,that the old one would have still the main influence for the quality of my sound,so i need to now that if its true [*]    

 

[kn19h7]

Quote:

ive seen on a web site about hp compaq nc8230(which i have) specifications
where it stands about his audio:
 
audio output- Sound card
 

1. compliant standards- ac 97, sound blaster pro
2. audio input-microphone
3. -if someone can tell me now which level of quality is this sound card(because i  need to know if its a very low quality,then its better not to buy high quality phones and amp for them, if someone knows what kinf of soundcard it is, he could maybe suggest which headphones would best with with that sound card)
4. -and if its a very bad soundcard ,if someone could tell me if i buy a highquality usb soundcard and connect it to my laptop , and connect my new phones to the new usb soundcard and start to listen to music on it,which factor will be the old soundcard which is integrated in my laptop
5. is it possible that if i buy a hq usb external  soundcard and connect it with my pc and listen to music on it, that the first (old) soundcard wont have any influence on the quality of the sound
6. im asking you that because one friend told me that if i buy new hg usb external soundcard ,that the old one would have still the main influence for the quality of my sound,so i need to now that if its true
7.  

AC97, this old standard is enough for you to bypass it imo, just buy an external dac/soundcard.
Also, your friend is talking nonsense. The audio signal is not going to go through the onboard soundchips if you're using usb sound device.
 

 

[pixote]

i don t know what that sentence means-this old standard is enough for you to BYPASS IT IMO (my english is not good)
what s an imo
so you mean if  i buy a hq external soundcard than my first(old) soundcard (which is integrated in my laptop) want have any influence on the quality of sound? are you 100 procent shure about that
than its best for me i think to buy an external  hq sound card that has on itself a headphone amplifier,
do you know such a sound card
to me its important when i listen than to music that i don t here the murmur(bad noise) anymore when i listen to maximum volume music
can you recomend me such a sound card
which level of quality has my sound card that i have now in my laptop

 

[kn19h7]

imo = in my opinion

And yes, I'm 100% sure that old soundcard won't have any effect on usb soundcard. For recommendation its depend on budget actually, I'd recommend perhaps Fiio E7/E9 combo or Nuforce HDP if its on your budget, or maybe just the E7 or Nuforce uDAC2 etc if your budget is limited, they should be sufficient to drive d2000 and hd558.

 

[pixote]

but fio e7 e9 and nuforce hdp arent soundacards, that are headphone amplifiers and dac(nuforce hdp) or am i wrong
why should i buy than such headp.amps or dac if my main function(soundcard) is bad quality
shouldn t i buy than a better sound card too? 

 

[kn19h7]

 
Quote:

but fio e7 e9 and nuforce hdp arent soundacards, that are headphone amplifiers and dac(nuforce hdp) or am i wrong
why should i buy than such headp.amps or dac if my main function(soundcard) is bad quality
shouldn t i buy than a better sound card too? 

Soundcard is actually like a DAC with perhaps certain minor functions, in your case I think you can just assume DAC as soundcard..
 

 

[gurpswu]

You should look up the Shure SRH840's. They get a lot of love around here. I have a pair, and they sound amazing. Doesn't need an amp either.