[Implar]

Hi all,
 
I'm collecting cd's (legally) for about a year now. Now, collecting music is fun and all, but listening is where it's at.
 
At the moment I listen to most of my music with a Sennheiser HD 555 connected to a Macbook (early/mid 2008, the last black one).
I can't hear a difference between my 320 kbps AAC rips and my AIFF rips (both done with iTunes), while my vinyl records sound much better (same headphone, but connected to an old Kenwood system).
 
I've read a lot of things about a DAC and a Headphone amp, but I don't know anything about these, what's imported, what they do,...
 
I'm hoping you guys (and girls?) could give me some suggestions on how to improve my setup. Mind I have a fairly tight budget, so no things costing 1000 euros and the likes. I was thinking around 150-200 euros.

 

[Mad Max]

Try an amp/DAC combo.
Audio-gd makes good stuff, then there is also iBasso for more portable options and Nuforce.
 
You can find a lot of posts and threads with people's impressions of their gear by searching.

 

[estreeter]

I would also check out some of the all-in-one suggestions over at Computer Audiophile. Possibly out of your budget in many cases, but they will give you a yardstick for comparison with a lot of the cheaper gear from iBasso, Nuforce etc. Spending more money is no guarantee of a better outcome, but the gear they recommend tends to be universally respected on most fora.