[adekoba]

Hey all, I just discovered this wonderful forum and as it happens I am looking to purchase some new hardware to make my music sound better than it currently does. I have a budget of $200 - $150 (which I know isn't much, but I am a poor student).

All of my music is on an external hard drive in 192kbps or greater quality. I connect this to my laptop (Thinkpad T400 running Linux) and listen to the mp3 files using moc. Right now I am using the onboard sound card that comes standard with the laptop, which is probably of bad quality, which feeds into a pair of Sennheiser eH-150's.

I'm aware that open phones generally have better sound than their closed counterparts, but I room with another person and open cans just aren't an option for me right now.

So, based on this, what hardware can I buy to maximize the sound quality I get from my files? I was thinking of a DAC/AMP -> Headphones. As to specifics, I was looking at Sony MDR-V6's for phones, and god knows what for a DAC, but I want to hear your suggestions!

 

[sonci]

Welcome to Head-Fi

Try to test before you buy audio gear,
also if you start to spend money on audio, you will hear the limits of low bitrate mp3, so try to turn to lossless..

 

[Armaegis]

I suggest browsing through the sale forums to see what's available. Do you need any portability in your dac or will it be strictly for desktop listening? Around the $100 range: Nuforce Icon Mobile, Nuforce uDAC, FiiO E7 (should be out in a couple weeks).

For closed headphones, check here for a good listing: Best Closed Headphones - 2009 Gear Guide | HeadRoom Audio
I think the Shure SRH440 is a good buy, and if the Sennheiser PX 200-II is anything like its predecessor then it should be a great value as well.

 

[adekoba]

The DAC will be strictly for desktop listening.

The Nuforce uDAC looks good.

 

[mrarroyo]

The Sony MDR-V6 sound very good and should bring many hours of enjoyment. Good luck.

 

[uraflit]

just spending ~$50-100 on a USB DAC/amp will bring GREAT benefits in sound

spend the rest on a decent pair of headphones

the v6 mentioned is very nice indeed!