Looking for a desktop headphone amplifier/dac..

[zrmaxwell]

I am really looking to get the absolute most out of my headphones. They are not hard to drive really, but the onboard audio from my laptop/main source is not enough. I own a refurbished 2014 Lenovo X1 Carbon (the 2nd gen model) (yes.. i got a good deal on the laptop and it still receives windows updates..)

 

What i am really trying to say is i am looking for the best headphone amplifier in terms of sound quality.. not power (although that is the second in terms of priorities)

 

My price range is anything under $200. What are my options?? 

[Daniel Z.]

Well what headphones do you have?

[zrmaxwell]

1 minute ago, Daniel Z. said:

Well what headphones do you have?

Sennheiser HD 558, Audio Technica M40x, Shure SRH840, & Grado SR60i

[rice guru]

9 minutes ago, zrmaxwell said:

Sennheiser HD 558, Audio Technica M40x, Shure SRH840, & Grado SR60i

whats your budget?

[zrmaxwell]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

whats your budget?

$200 USD or below

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, zrmaxwell said:

$200 USD or below

for 200 you can get a nice cheap dac and a entry level amp. I would say a sdac, or a topping d10. if you dont wanna spend that much or a modi or a topping d30. 

for amps.  liquid spark if you want power.  but the cleanest amp you can get until youreach around the $300 mark are the JDS Labs Atom. 

  but if you want a cheap combo unit that should treat you fine a fiio k3 should do you fine. 

[Daniel Z.]

14 minutes ago, zrmaxwell said:

Sennheiser HD 558, Audio Technica M40x, Shure SRH840, & Grado SR60i

You’re better off grabbing some better headphones like the HD 6xx or HE 4xx. An amp won’t help the 558 or M40x much.

[zrmaxwell]

6 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

You’re better off grabbing some better headphones like the HD 6xx or HE 4xx. An amp won’t help the 558 or M40x much.

Those are from massdrop, not from a store (therefore i would have to go through the headache of shipping them back if i had a problem).. & i would have to pay extra to ship it to & from the manufacturer should i need customer service/support.. 

[zrmaxwell]

20 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

You’re better off grabbing some better headphones like the HD 6xx or HE 4xx. An amp won’t help the 558 or M40x much.

i asked for recommendations for headphone amplifiers/dacs, not headphones... 

[Daniel Z.]

9 minutes ago, zrmaxwell said:

i asked for recommendations for headphone amplifiers/dacs, not headphones... 

Well the M40x and 558 don’t benefit that much from amplification.

[rice guru]

55 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

Well the M40x and 558 don’t benefit that much from amplification.

ti would benefit him in this case as his laptop can't power his headphones as previously stated

 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

for 200 you can get a nice cheap dac and a entry level amp. I would say a sdac, or a topping d10. if you dont wanna spend that much or a modi or a topping d30. 

for amps.  liquid spark if you want power.  but the cleanest amp you can get until youreach around the $300 mark are the JDS Labs Atom. 

  but if you want a cheap combo unit that should treat you fine a fiio k3 should do you fine. 

I should probably clarify here that the atom is only $100 and is probably the cleanest amp you can get until you reach $300

[zrmaxwell]

52 minutes ago, rice guru said:

I should probably clarify here that the atom is only $100 and is probably the cleanest amp you can get until you reach $300

Interesting...