[Jobrjo]

So I just wanted to post my music set up, and see what you audiophiles think of it. I wouldn't consider myself a hi-fi enthusiast, but I appreciate good quality music. So this is my current/future music setup:
 
Headphones:
The full Monster Headphones DNA Collection (all black), the newest version of each (the second reincarnation of the In-Ears and then the Pro 2.0s). As of now I do not own the Over-Ears, but I'm saving up for them having now bought the first two.
Monster Headphones DNA In-Ear
Monster Headphones DNA On-Ear
Monster Headphones DNA Over-Ear Pro 2.0
 
Devices:
Well, my laptop broke, and I wasn't exactly prepared for that. As of now, I'm stuck using family/public desktops. However, after buying my Over-Ears, I'll be purchasing a phone (long story short, I currently use Google Voice), likely an iPhone 6. After that, I'll buy myself a laptop; likely a cheap one. As of now, the main home/family desktop I use is posted.
iPhone 6
HP Pavilion p6110y Desktop PC *Note: Will be replaced with personal laptop in the near future, undecided model*
 
Medium:
I will, like everyone else, occasionally use YouTube, a friends phone, or whatever, but this is for 99% of the time.
Pandora One: 192kbps on computer (64k AAC+ for mobile).
I listen to everything. To name my current stations, each customized to exhibit all sub-genres of the particular genre: Alternative, Blues, Classical, Country, Dance/Electronic, Decades, Dinner/Cooking, Easy Listening, Family, Hip Hop/Rap, Holiday, Indian, Indie, Jazz, Latin, Love Songs, Metal, Mexico, Musica Navidena, New Age, Oldies, Party, Pop, Puerto Rico, R&B/Soul/Funk, Reggae, Road Trips, Rock, Songwriters/Folk, Workout, World.
 
So, what do you think? Questions, comments, thoughts, theories, opinions?

 

[KG Jag]

I don't do my serious listening by way of computer based files.   However I know that if you do, you need a computer with a decent sound card or a decent external DAC.
 
I'm also not a fan of Monster (or almost any "lifestyle" can) , but then their sound signature is not aimed near my preferences.

 

[Jobrjo]

Well I'm fairly new to the realm of high quality sound, and when I buy my laptop I hope to get one with a good sound card. Would you have any suggestions, for relatively cheap laptops? Cause yeah, right now I'm stuck with a noticeably lower cap simply due to the device I'm limited to right now (my previous laptop had a better sound card).
 
Additionally, I'd suggest you give Monster a try. Since branching off from beats, they have honsetly made some high quality headphones that compete with, and even sometimes outperform competitors. I'm not a brainwashed monster fan, and I'd urge you not to be brainwashed against it. Look at some of the reviews on here for the NCredible N-Pulse for example. I know the DNA 2.0 to be one fo the BEST headphones available for $300, an excellent headphone for all genres.

 

[Jobrjo]

For the record, the computer I'm considering to get is the Lenovo Thinkpad T410
(http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd006109)
(http://www.rakuten.com/prod/lenovo-thinkpad-t410-intel-i5-2-5ghz-4g-250-webcam-laptop-windows-7/272971127.html)
I don't know much about SoundCards, but I do understand the difference they make. The T410 comes with, and I quote:

1. High Definition (HD) Audio
2. Conexant CX20585 codec
3. Volume up, down, and mute buttons
4. Mic mute button

 

[PurpleAngel]

FiiO E17 DAC/Amp could be used with any computer (desktop/laptop/PC/Mac).
Also work (amp only) with any smartphone/iPhone.

 

[Jobrjo]

I personally would prefer not to use an AMP, just because I'm more of an advanced casual listener than a pro listener. It's not worth it for me. How much of a difference would it make compared to a regular iPhone6 audio system?

 

[KG Jag]

  I personally would prefer not to use an AMP, just because I'm more of an advanced casual listener than a pro listener. It's not worth it for me. How much of a difference would it make compared to a regular iPhone6 audio system?

 
An amp will help from zero to a great deal, depending on the cans you us the iPhone.  Cans (IEM's) that are designed to be used with low power devices tend to fall at or near the "zero" side of the range.
 
On the other hand an improved DAC will upgrade your entire listening quality, assuming that you have decent music files.

 

[Jobrjo]

I'd be using all 3 of my headphones with my iPhone 6, the DNA In/On/Over ears, so not just In Ear Monitors. If you'd need to know more about the headphones I can forward you to some reviews and such.
 
One of the several reasons, however, that I'm not too concerned with getting a DAC/AMP, outside of the cost and lack of portability, is the fact that since I use Pandora, my music files are 192kbps/64k AAC+ for computer/mobile respectively. I just don't know if that's worth it for the quality of files I use. (honestly, I use Pandora for what it does, I wish it was higher quality. But it's good enough for me; as I said I'm more of a higher-end casual listener then a full-blown audiophile)

 

[KG Jag]

  I'd be using all 3 of my headphones with my iPhone 6, the DNA In/On/Over ears, so not just In Ear Monitors. If you'd need to know more about the headphones I can forward you to some reviews and such.
....
 

If you’re looking for headphones to use with a portable player or laptop, stick to the range of 16 – 32 ohms with a sensitivity (efficiency) rating of at least 100 dB/mW. There are some higher impedance headphones, up to 80 ohms or so, that are efficient enough to work well with at least some portable gear—especially if you don’t like it very loud. But, in general, the lower the impedance the better the match with battery powered devices.

 

[Jobrjo]

Wow, I never knew that, honestly thank you. However, the issue is that Monster doesn't publish the specs of their headphones haha 

 But I'll keep it in mind, thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I personally would prefer not to use an AMP, just because I'm more of an advanced casual listener than a pro listener. It's not worth it for me. How much of a difference would it make compared to a regular iPhone6 audio system?

 
You could just get a FiiO E10K USB-DAC-Amp ($75) just for use with the laptop.

 

[Jobrjo]

Well honestly, I've never seriously considered an AMP, but I'll put it into mind now due to the comments here. How big would the gap be if I didn't, using, for arguments sake, 192kbps files and the Pro 2.0 headphones?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Well honestly, I've never seriously considered an AMP, but I'll put it into mind now due to the comments here. How big would the gap be if I didn't, using, for arguments sake, 192kbps files and the Pro 2.0 headphones?

The E10K's DAC chip (PCM5102) is going to be a fair bit better DAC then what you would find in 90% of the laptops out their.
Also the E10K's amplifier should do a better job of driving headphones, over the laptop's headphone output jack.
So the E10K should improve detail and "life" for your music audio.

 

[Jobrjo]

  The E10K's DAC chip (PCM5102) is going to be a fair bit better DAC then what you would find in 90% of the laptops out their.
Also the E10K's amplifier should do a better job of driving headphones, over the laptop's headphone output jack.
So the E10K should improve detail and "life" for your music audio.

I know this is really hard to answer, so it's cool if you can't... but how much would it improve it, how much would it raise the detail and "life"?
 
If you can't think of a way to compare it, you could use kbps as a analogous comparison, eg. it's like the difference between 320kbps and 192 kbps, between 320 and 32 (lol), or whatever.

 

[pchin]

FiiO E17 DAC/Amp could be used with any computer (desktop/laptop/PC/Mac).
Also work (amp only) with any smartphone/iPhone.

FiiO E17 is a nice portable DAC/Amp & will benefit your setup especially when you have a weak soundcard in your laptop or PC.

If you spent more than $100 on headphones, then you may want to consider an amp.

http://www.headphone.com/pages/do-my-headphones-need-a-headphone-amp