[Myriad]

So I've been using a pair of Grado SR225s unamped out of my computer for home listening. I recently made the mistake of plugging them into my parents' Linn Classik and listening to a few CDs; needless to say I was blown away by how much better they sounded.

In my computer now I've got an X-Fi XtremeGamer. None of my music is lossless but most of it is 320kbps or equvialent. Basically what I'm wondering is what I need to/should get to get the most out of my Grados. I'm on a college budget, so what I'm looking for is the best bang for the buck (I think that slightly conflicts with my previous statement, but whatever

). I would like to leave some room for future headphone upgrades though. I know I haven't really specificied a budget but I'd like to get a better feel for prices before I lay down constraints.

Oh, and I should probably say most of what I listen to is rock/metal. Though there is some acoustic stuff and a few other oddballs.

Sorry for the really open-ended question, but there are so many options that I just need a little guidance.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

I think what you want for quality audio out of your comp is an external DAC. Now, i'm not really familiar with any of the DACs on the market, but I'm sure someone else will post on here with some prices. I am somewhat familiar with some of the portable amp/DAC combos, as I am currently in the market for one. As far ad budget/bang for your buck type of deal, I'm looking at the iBasso D2 for that. Its under $200, gets great ratings from headfi (here!), and acts both as a portable amp and a DAC. Now, I'm conflicted, b/c the RSA Predator costs $475, but is supposed to sound about $300 better than the iBasso (according to a mini review a read by HeadPhoneAddict, a pretty well respected member of the headfi community).

I'm not very familiar with the 225s, so I'm not sure how they will react to an amp (whether or not there will be much of an SQ difference) but for listening out of your comp, an external DAC is the way to go (in my opinion). It provodes a purely digital signal via USB to a quality amp which, with the quality files that you have on your comp, provides great audio quality without any of that HDD backround noise etc.

 

[Myriad]

Thanks, and you just reminded me of another thing. Portability doesn't matter for me. I'm really not interested in carrying around an amp in addition to my iPod.