Is my audio solution good for now?

[gilm0re3]

So I plan on buying a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M40x's as my first pair of actually decent headphones. I mainly will be using them for use while web browsing like watching Youtube videos, but I also plan on listening to music with them as well; mainly EDM but also some classical as well. I would also use them for movie watching and video chatting. I don't own a whole lot of FLAC files, and could probably count the amount of albums I own in a lossless format on one hand. So basically, my question is for my usage would just plugging into the headphone port on my Lenovo Y50 be enough to get decent audio, or would a budget DAC or amp be something I should look into investing in? Thanks!

 

PS - I should probably note that I do have a kinda of tight budget right now, and I'd already be buying these headphones used from Amazon with some gift cards from christmas, so while I would like to get a nice high quality DAC for my setup, I don't want to spend a whole lot if I decided that I should get a standalone audio unit. I would plan on though purchasing more music in FLAC format when possible once I do get a hold of some decent headphones since I would actually be able to listen to them properly for the first time.

[wyattzx]

Ideally, you'll want a DAC + amp combo, but the impedance of the ATH-M40Xs is low enough that you don't need anything particularly high-end to drive them well enough. I'm actually using the dedicated amp on my motherboard right now until I can afford a decent Schiit Stack. Since you're using a laptop, the most I woulds recommend you buy is a FiiO E10k USB DAC + Amplifier. They're not cheap, but it is a very good, small and portable solution. For what it's worth, though, the onboard sound on your laptop is okay for now. Don't expect a night-and-day difference, but do expect more clarity, and a bit more "distance" between details in sounds. Plus they'll be louder, typically.

[gilm0re3]

4 minutes ago, NonaHexa said:

Ideally, you'll want a DAC + amp combo, but the impedance of the ATH-M40Xs is low enough that you don't need anything particularly high-end to drive them well enough. I'm actually using the dedicated amp on my motherboard right now until I can afford a decent Schiit Stack. Since you're using a laptop, the most I woulds recommend you buy is a Fiio E10k USB DAC + Amplifier. They're not cheap, but it is a very good, small and portable solution. For what it's worth, though, the onboard sound on your laptop is okay for now. Don't expect a night-and-day difference, but do expect more clarity, and a bit more "distance" between details in sounds. Plus they'll be louder, typically.

That's basically what I was expecting. I know onboard audio is never excellent, but I'm no audiophile, and theoretically upgrading the headphones will be much more of a noticeable improvement vs an upgraded audio output solution, right?

[wyattzx]

3 minutes ago, gilm0re3 said:

That's basically what I was expecting. I know onboard audio is never excellent, but I'm no audiophile, and theoretically upgrading the headphones will be much more of a noticeable improvement vs an upgraded audio output solution, right?

Depends on the degree of the headphones. If you pair a laptop with a pair of Sennheiser HD800s, the laptop will hold them back so much, that there would be no point, and upgrading the audio source would be mandatory. However, because your headphones are low-power, and they're not premium, high-end cans, they offer more of an improvement than your input setup. So yes, in this case the headphones outweigh the other end of the audio setup. However, a DAC + Amplifier will still go a long way.

[gilm0re3]

3 minutes ago, NonaHexa said:

Depends on the degree of the headphones. If you pair a laptop with a pair of Sennheiser HD800s, the laptop will hold them back so much, that there would be no point, and upgrading the audio source would be mandatory. However, because your headphones are low-power, and they're not premium, high-end cans, they offer more of an improvement than your input setup. So yes, in this case the headphones outweigh the other end of the audio setup. However, a DAC + Amplifier will still go a long way.

I will keep that in mind. Once I have enough money and quality music library to support a need for one, I'll look into pairing the M40x's with a good DAC and/or amp. Thanks!

[gilm0re3]

On 2/15/2016 at 7:10 PM, NonaHexa said:

-snip-

Well, last week I pulled the trigger and got a good discount on a used - like new pair of M40x's from Amazon. And holy cow do they sound amazing. I can't believe how much duller and muddier my other two pairs of earbuds made my listening experience. Even on my laptop's audio output, I can definitely tell a huge difference in clarity and quality. Not only that, but since they must be at least somewhat harder to drive than my earbuds, the very faint static I would get with the earbuds is now completely nonexistent, and the static is a documented issue with the Y50. I will still look into purchasing a standalone amp/DAC once I have the money, but as of right now I am more than satisfied with the sound quality I am getting now.  Thanks so much for your help!

[SSL]

29 minutes ago, gilm0re3 said:

Well, last week I pulled the trigger and got a good discount on a used - like new pair of M40x's from Amazon. And holy cow do they sound amazing. I can't believe how much duller and muddier my other two pairs of earbuds made my listening experience. Even on my laptop's audio output, I can definitely tell a huge difference in clarity and quality. Not only that, but since they must be at least somewhat harder to drive than my earbuds, the very faint static I would get with the earbuds is now completely nonexistent, and the static is a documented issue with the Y50. I will still look into purchasing a standalone amp/DAC once I have the money, but as of right now I am more than satisfied with the sound quality I am getting now.  Thanks so much for your help!

 

I wouldn't bother. Save your money for music.

[gilm0re3]

4 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

I wouldn't bother. Save your money for music.

Yeah, as of right now I don't plan on purchasing anything more for my audio setup. Before I do that, I'm upgrading my laptop's RAM from 8 gigs to 16 gigs. That and acquire higher quality music files. I already have some, but most of the music I listen to right now is MP3, and I definitely would love to fix that. Besides, just by upgrading to the M40x's I would say that that's most noticeable jump in quality I'll get, so going for an external audio interface won't be as worth it as going for a better set of cans was. Thanks for you input though.

[SSL]

46 minutes ago, gilm0re3 said:

Yeah, as of right now I don't plan on purchasing anything more for my audio setup. Before I do that, I'm upgrading my laptop's RAM from 8 gigs to 16 gigs. That and acquire higher quality music files. I already have some, but most of the music I listen to right now is MP3, and I definitely would love to fix that. Besides, just by upgrading to the M40x's I would say that that's most noticeable jump in quality I'll get, so going for an external audio interface won't be as worth it as going for a better set of cans was. Thanks for you input though.

 

Sure. I more meant get music that you like or want to try, plus get good masters. mp3 256kbps+ is good enough if the master is good.

[spwath]

13 hours ago, SSL said:

 

Sure. I more meant get music that you like or want to try, plus get good masters. mp3 256kbps+ is good enough if the master is good.

Yeah, recording quality matters a bunch. Bostons earlier albums just don't sound that great due to not so great recording quality.

Its a flac, but that doesn't matter.

All my music is flac's because it was ripped from the cd's, but there are still differences in quality.