[Flippant]

As the topic title suggests, I just want some equipment to bypass my laptop's soundcard. I have headphones that aren't done full justice by my laptop's soundcard or some such component, and I want to know what I need to buy to do that. Do I just need a DAC to hook up to my laptop to use the music files on my laptop as a source and plug my headphones into the DAC?

 

[Headzone]

Quote:

As the topic title suggests, I just want some equipment to bypass my laptop's soundcard. I have headphones that aren't done full justice by my laptop's soundcard or some such component, and I want to know what I need to buy to do that. Do I just need a DAC to hook up to my laptop to use the music files on my laptop as a source and plug my headphones into the DAC?

Hi, what headphones are you using? Are you using an amp currently?

 

[Flippant]

Quote:

Hi, what headphones are you using? Are you using an amp currently?

Sennheiser HD-280 pro.
 
I am not using an amp, nor do I really know what it would do for me.
 
I'm terribly new to this so if there are a bunch of questions I need to answer before we can approach a solution to my problem I'll be glad to answer them all, sorry.

 

[cel4145]

A DAC converts digital to analog, but must also have a headphone amp hooked up to it (or built in) to be suitable for using headphones.

Since you haven't specified a budget, the Hifimediy Sabre is a popular budget USB DAC/amp: http://www.head-fi.org/products/hifimediy-sabre-usb-dac

 

[Flippant]

Quote:

A DAC converts digital to analog, but must also have a headphone amp hooked up to it (or built in) to be suitable for using headphones.

Since you haven't specified a budget, the Hifimediy Sabre is a popular budget USB DAC/amp: http://www.head-fi.org/products/hifimediy-sabre-usb-dac

 
Awesome, so a DAC is what I'm looking for.
 
My budget is 100-200 bucks.
 
But just judging from that picture, all you do is plug it into your USB port on the laptop and then plug headphones into it from there? Volume control is on the laptop I presume, and you just use your default music player but tell the laptop to run the sound through the DAC?

 

[rsgladwin85]

Quote:

 
Awesome, so a DAC is what I'm looking for.
 
My budget is 100-200 bucks.
 
But just judging from that picture, all you do is plug it into your USB port on the laptop and then plug headphones into it from there? Volume control is on the laptop I presume, and you just use your default music player but tell the laptop to run the sound through the DAC?

 


As was previously stated you'll need either an amp to go along with the DAC or an AMP/DAC combo unit.  There are lots of options either way.  If you have a combo unit then the headphone jack will be on the unit, if you have standalone units the jack will be on the amp.  You just use your default music player yes, or any other program that you use with sound and it is sent to your DAC.  Your volume control will be on your Amp.  Considering we don't know (you might not be familiar enough yet to know) what exactly you're looking for I'll make a couple of quick suggestions for your price range.
 
Audioengine D1 ~$169.99 (combo unit)
http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-D1
 
Schiit Magni / Schiit Modi ~$200 for both (standalones)
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=13 (Magni)
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14 (Modi)
 
These are just a couple quick ideas.  As I said there are lots of possibilities. 

 

[cel4145]

^^
I agree. Those are good choices. The Modi/Magni will probably give you a little better SQ than the D1. The upside to the D1 is that it has RCA jacks on the back for plugging in external speakers. If you wanted to use external speakers with the Modi, you would need to unplug the Magni and then plug the speakers into it.