[Nylus]

Hi, im somewhat of a noob audiophile, just getting into it and i was just wondering if some of you lovely chaps would mind pointing me in the right direction.

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD650's which are very good indeed, however i am running them straight into my laptop's headphone port (i know!) until i understand more about amps, DAC's, sources and such so i will then know what i want.

Just a few questions...

If my laptop just has some ***** onboard sound then would it be recommened that i upgrade the source before i think about an amp?

To upgrade the source, would i just buy an external DAC? Would that bypass my laptop sound and act as the source?

To fully enjoy these cans, what should i be looking to buy? Amp? DAC? New cable?

Can any of you make any recommendations?
Im really looking for a good setup, but also a good value one.

Example...

Setup A - £5000 - top of the range - only marginally better than setup b
Setup B - £2500 - very, very nice setup - much better than setup c
Setup C - £500 - nice setup

I will always go with B, even though A is superior. I don't see the extra money is worth it.

Btw, that was only an example, i realise those pricings maybe quite inaccurate.

ANYWAY....any help would be very much appreciated!

 

[GreatDane]

If you plan to use your laptop as your source(CD's/any type of music file) then buying a decent DAC/amp should be a huge improvement from the on board sound...at least it is with my setup using HD 650.

I'm guessing that you want a home DAC/amp(powered by AC only)??

 

[plaidplatypus]

Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet.

I'm guessing that you want something that is battery powered.

A: Headroom Portable Desktop 2007 HeadRoom Portable Desktop Amp @ HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears

B: HeadAmp Pico HeadAmp - Audio Electronics (Portable Headphone Amplifiers)

C: I wouldn't bother.

 

[Nylus]

Oh, forgot to mention, won't be going portable with them so battery powered won't be required.

 

[Kees]

If the your music files are losless, get a good USB DAC like DAC1, Lavry or Apogee and after that the sky is the limit for HD650. They will scale with any amp improvement you care to empty your wallet for.
There are a few reasonably priced HD650 favorites though, like Gilmore Lite, Heed Canamp, Graham Slee Solo, Lehmann Black Cube Linear...
You can do a search for tons more info on the subject.
Welcome to HeadFi, sorry about your wallet....

 

[Joelc87]

A HR Micro Stack would be a good option too, small yet functional.