Make my macbook humm.....

[paragonc]

Ok so i think i got it bad. I moved to San Francisco 3 years ago, and moved into some dorms. Planning ahead, i decided to unload my home audio system and invest in a pair of headphones. On the advice of this forum i got a sick pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770's, and rocked em solid ever since. I used to run my powerbook through my TEAC tuner. It's an old P.O.S but it sufficed. However i just moved into a new apartment, and i have a dedicated room for my home office now. Problem is i use my tuner for my home theatre in my bedroom, leaving my new Macbook Pro alone to try and run my headphones. The color of the audio coming out is so wimpy it's driving me batty.

So i need to invest in a new setup, however after this move, i'm left pretty damn broke. I don't really know all that much about stereo equipment, i wish i knew more, and i've been reading these forums more and more. Any ideas before i just drop money on a cheap Home Theatre Reciever from craigslist? I'd prefer to start to build a nice setup than throw my money away. While at the same time i'm trying to avoid this overwhelimg urge to gout out and rack up a huge CC bill!

 

[daimbert]

Just buy an outboard sound card like an M audio audiophile. They could be had for around a hundred bucks. Or get the M audio transit which converts the signal into a line out and then have that run into an amp. Or simple get a headphonia that has a dac/amp combo. I would go that route personally.

John

 

[MaloS]

I would suggest you grab a USB amplifier for now. It would be about 200 for a nice one, and it will cover your needs no problem for quite a while. Then you could easily resell it and start building a nice setup whenever you are ready.

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would suggest you grab a USB amplifier for now. It would be about 200 for a nice one, and it will cover your needs no problem for quite a while. Then you could easily resell it and start building a nice setup whenever you are ready.

Given your current financial situation, I second this advice. When more funds are available, you could look into tapping your macbook pro's bit-perfect digital output (optical out) with a DAC that accepts toslink input. Then upgrade the amp. And so on...

 

[paragonc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daimbert /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just buy an outboard sound card like an M audio audiophile. They could be had for around a hundred bucks. Or get the M audio transit which converts the signal into a line out and then have that run into an amp. Or simple get a headphonia that has a dac/amp combo. I would go that route personally. John

I grabbed at M-Audio Firewire Audiophile from a friend at school. Hooked it up, don't notice much difference. I'm going to start looking around for a decent amp.

 

[MaloS]

May I suggest you possibly try a Corda Aria? It is a bit expensive but it should be definitely great sound. If that looks a bit steep, you can look into other USB headphone amp options. Total Bithead sounded interesting, although I am not a big fan of it, there is also Headphonia that is moderately priced that should sound great.

I would not recommend M-Audio products, from similar companies I really enjoy the E-MU sound, but thats Windows only :-/

 

[Mojo777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif May I suggest you possibly try a Corda Aria? It is a bit expensive but it should be definitely great sound. If that looks a bit steep, you can look into other USB headphone amp options. Total Bithead sounded interesting, although I am not a big fan of it, there is also Headphonia that is moderately priced that should sound great. I would not recommend M-Audio products, from similar companies I really enjoy the E-MU sound, but thats Windows only :-/

EMU has Mac drivers now. I would get a 0404 USB outbaord DAC. It has a nicely powered headphone jack as well. It will play double duty until you plop down some dough for a nice amp to pair it up with.