DarkAndroid
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
- Posts
- 99
- Likes
- 15
Hello peeps, this is my first post on head-fi, and I must say I've learned so much from reading all the articles, reviews and forums from this wonderful website. I'm already starting to feel sorry for my wallet.
Anyway, I want to buy my first set of high-end headphones, and after doing extensive research online I've decided that the Sennheiser HD 598 is the one to get considering how much I'm willing to spend and the fact that I want to use it for music, movies and gaming. My main 2 sources of music are my HP dv7 Beats Audio Laptop and an iPod Shuffle. I've been using the apparently ****ty earphones that came with the iPod as my headphones for the past few months and although they still manage to sound kind of good when I'm using them to listen to music with my laptop, with the iPod shuffle the music sounds kind of flat. However, I want the best experience possible when I start using the Sennheiser HD 598 set. And going from what I've read it seems I will need an amp/DAC to get that experience. So I have a few questions:
1) Can you get decent sound from an mp3 player as small as the iPod Shuffle with the Sennheiser HD 598? Or will I need an amp?
2) Does the amp/DAC really make an appreciable difference if you are using a decent media laptop to listen to music? I want to believe that the HP dv7 with built in Beats Audio sound can deliver great sound through the headphone jack, but I may be wrong? And if I decide to use a DAC with the USB ports to get sound, I believe it bypasses the onboard sound card, but does it bypass the Beats Audio optimized sound too?
3) Can anyone suggest a good amp/DAC for $100 or less that would be ideal for my setup? It seems the fiio E7 is really great, and they would probably work well with my laptop, but does anyone have an idea of how they would work with an iPod Shuffle? It would be cumbersome to connect an amp/DAC as big as the E7 to something as small and portable as the iPod Shuffle, but if there is a notable gain in sound quality and loudness I wouldnt mind.
Thanks in advance for your help peeps
Anyway, I want to buy my first set of high-end headphones, and after doing extensive research online I've decided that the Sennheiser HD 598 is the one to get considering how much I'm willing to spend and the fact that I want to use it for music, movies and gaming. My main 2 sources of music are my HP dv7 Beats Audio Laptop and an iPod Shuffle. I've been using the apparently ****ty earphones that came with the iPod as my headphones for the past few months and although they still manage to sound kind of good when I'm using them to listen to music with my laptop, with the iPod shuffle the music sounds kind of flat. However, I want the best experience possible when I start using the Sennheiser HD 598 set. And going from what I've read it seems I will need an amp/DAC to get that experience. So I have a few questions:
1) Can you get decent sound from an mp3 player as small as the iPod Shuffle with the Sennheiser HD 598? Or will I need an amp?
2) Does the amp/DAC really make an appreciable difference if you are using a decent media laptop to listen to music? I want to believe that the HP dv7 with built in Beats Audio sound can deliver great sound through the headphone jack, but I may be wrong? And if I decide to use a DAC with the USB ports to get sound, I believe it bypasses the onboard sound card, but does it bypass the Beats Audio optimized sound too?
3) Can anyone suggest a good amp/DAC for $100 or less that would be ideal for my setup? It seems the fiio E7 is really great, and they would probably work well with my laptop, but does anyone have an idea of how they would work with an iPod Shuffle? It would be cumbersome to connect an amp/DAC as big as the E7 to something as small and portable as the iPod Shuffle, but if there is a notable gain in sound quality and loudness I wouldnt mind.
Thanks in advance for your help peeps