[nathanio]

So I just got my new asus R540S and i found out that it comes with realtek audio and something called sonicmaster (don't know what this does). I'm pretty new to Hifi so i was wondering if using an amp would make my headphones sound any better on laptop and phone. I'm currently using the Sony mdr1r. I read that it wouldnt make much of a difference to use an amp with these headphones but i feel like the audio could be a bit better, especially on my phone (huawei p7) the sound seems alot less clear than on my laptop. I'm using tidal on both devices so it shouldn't be the audiofile quality. I'm thinking of buying a Fiio a3. what are your thoughts on this device and I would like some advice if it would make any difference and what differences I would hear.

 

[ChrisAllen]

If you feel that there could be an improvement there are plenty of affordable headphone amp/ dacs that you can try. If you have the means the headphone world is quite fun. The Fiio could be a great choice, but be careful...this hobby can snowball quickly.

 

[ChrisAllen]

Also I feel it's important to note that most outboard dacs and amps will be far superior to what's built into your pc. Even the cheaper ones. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

I'd recommend trying a DAC/amp instead of just an amp. I use the Creative Sound Blaster E1 at the moment. It's in your price range. You can also use it as just an amp.

 

[Guides]

Definitely an external Amp will make your music sounds better than using the onboard audio aka realtek audio. The main différence will probably comes from the better DAC in the external amp. Because normally motherboard has a poor dac for sound don't know about the r540S but even with the biggest motherboard, you will notice a difference. On a cheap set of headphone i would strongly recommend getting better headphone but sony mdr1r is fine. What is your buget ? maybe it will help people to answer you with maybe a better option than a Fiio a3.

 

[nathanio]

thanks for the replies I think I will get an amp then. I'm thinking of spending about 80 euro's, but I'm willing to spend till about 120 euro's if it gets me something great. Definitely need a portable amp since im traveling alot. So what is the difference between a dac and amp in simple terms? I found a portable amp with dac, the fiio e10. But i don't really understand how this works. The dac connects to the Phone/laptop via usb and also via 3.5mm, how does this work?

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

  So I just got my new asus R540S and i found out that it comes with realtek audio and something called sonicmaster (don't know what this does). I'm pretty new to Hifi so i was wondering if using an amp would make my headphones sound any better on laptop and phone. I'm currently using the Sony mdr1r. I read that it wouldnt make much of a difference to use an amp with these headphones but i feel like the audio could be a bit better, especially on my phone (huawei p7) the sound seems alot less clear than on my laptop. I'm using tidal on both devices so it shouldn't be the audiofile quality. I'm thinking of buying a Fiio a3. what are your thoughts on this device and I would like some advice if it would make any difference and what differences I would hear.

 
No. An amp by itself will not improve sound quality. The only time you need an amplifier is if your headphones are not being driven correctly by the existing amp (it exists in your laptop already). 
 
I would start by getting a good pair of headphones. If you still desire more improvements after that, then look for an external DAC. Most external DACs will have their own amplifier so again, an external amp is still not necessary unless the existing one (this time located in the external DAC) cannot drive the headphones. 

 

[Beyakusenn]

An amp is simply a device that amplifies the sound signal. A DAC is a Digital to Analogue Converter. So it's basically a chip that transforms a digital signal into an analogue signal that can be used to reproduce audio.
MP3, WAV, Flac, AAC are all digital files and these need to be converted into analogue signals first, before you can use it. In a computer, the sound card has it's integrated DAC chip and amp. These are usually of poor quality, even with many high end computers.
 
Most headphone ports in computers have a relatively large output impedance and that can cause distortion because of lack of electrical damping. This also depends on the impedance of the headphones, but most portable headphones will be affected, as these usually have a lower impedance and what you want to avoid distortion is a large damping ratio. An amp can take care of this problem, however, it also means you are double-amping the source device (unless you have a line-output, which is unlikely) and that has it's own set of uncertainties (and possible drawbacks). Therefore, you'd better get a DAC/amp combination, which bypasses the internal DAC entirely.