[choweee]

i thought my sr-225's sounded good off my laptop and echo indigo i/o.

the other day i listened to my mp3's (192 and 320 kbps) off my friend's computer (via itunes). the difference is, he has a crappy stock onboard soundcard running to a sony receiver (something he bought, used, from a friend that graduated).

after i plugged my grados into his receiver and loaded up my songs off the house server, my sr-225s sounded completely different. they came to LIFE. the bass was insanely full and clean, and the clarity of singers' voices were astonishing.

why is this?!? is his receiver acting like an amp or something?

i want my set-up to sound more like that. if receivers do indeed act like amps, i could confidently upgrade my system CHEAPLY, as many students sell off their equipment when they graduate, and no one really owns headphone amps and such around here.

thanks for any advice!

 

[KenW]

Unless you've got separates(a tuner and separate amp/pre-amp), the receiver has an amp built in and that accounts for your experience.

FWIW, I ran my 600's through my receiver for a long while with so-so results. The bass was loose and boomy and the details were poorly defined. Now that I have a decent setup and look back on where I'd been, I'm wondering how I put up with it for so long. Ignorance on my part I guess.