[ajp120]

Or does a laptop innately sound better for headphones vs say a smart phone or an MP3 player ?

 

[tomb]

Or does a laptop innately sound better for headphones vs say a smart phone or an MP3 player ?

There are so many different explanations for this, it's hard to pick one.  It could be that one of the DACs is better, there's a little more power available in the laptop, there are differences in output impedance of the two devices that match better with your headphones, etc.
 
The safest thing to say is that with your headphones, you like your laptop's output better than the iPhone.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Or does a laptop innately sound better for headphones vs say a smart phone or an MP3 player ?

Apple products (phones and computers) seem to come with better audio hardware, compared to their none Apple counter parts.
DAPs (Digital Audio Players) you can get better audio, for the price, with non apple products.

 

[cheapfi]

You are not imagining it.  I had the same issue.
 
The headphone amp section inside my ipod nano isn't that hot. The amplifier built into the laptop was a little better and more powerful.  The DAC was just as good as that in my laptop but the amp portion was pathetic.  This meant my ipod had a lack of bass, recessed vocals, and less definition in the treble in comparison to the laptop.
 
Now if you use a cheap fiio line out dock and even an Fiio E6 headphone amp, you will find that the ipod or iphone will come back to life and win the comparison.  It'll cost you around $35 to buy both from amazon, and it will transform your listening experience.
 
If you look around at various profiles you might see a lot of line out docks and portable headphone amps.  That is why.

 

[ajp120]

Thanks I will probably get a fiio6 next month. I hear they make a big difference with iPhones.

Are Sansa clips as good as people are saying? Do they need amps ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks I will probably get a fiio6 next month. I hear they make a big difference with iPhones.

Are Sansa clips as good as people are saying? Do they need amps ?

I use to use my Clip Zip and E6 with my 62-Ohm Sony V6s, but then switched over to the 32-Ohm JVC HA-S500 headphones, which worked fine plugged directly into the Clip Zip (without using the E6).
I switched over from the Clip Zip to a Sony E465, because my 49 year old eyes need a bigger screen.
The Sony E465 and Clip Zip seemed about the same audio quality wise.
Using the Rockbox firmware with the Clip Zip adds features.

 

[zamorin]

My budget laptop (HP 4410s) sounds a lot better than the GS3 even though it has a Wolfsten chip. I got an E17 to improve the SQ of the GS3 but there is not much improvement except it can go louder but I didn't connect via USB OTG. When I connect my laptop via USB to the E17, there is a difference. I tried the SQ of iphone4s, I would say it's the same as GS3. I probably should have got a DAP like Fiio X3.

 

[islamaliwa]

The iphone is great but if you compared it with the laptop like the new 2 in 1 laptops i thing the laptop jack works better
http://www.touch4laptop.com/cheap-2-in-1-laptops/