I am new to upscale headphones. If I'm using these with my laptop and iPhone, do I need an amp/DAC? Thanks!
2065621
Yes the IPOD is too weak; a boost will bring out the clarity in your music. I use FIIO AMPS. You will love these cans.
2065622
While it would probably make it sound better it is not required and sounds fantastic without
417556
I own these headphones and i hook them up to my mac laptop and computer all the time and the sound quality is fantastic. I also have a fiio e5 and that really doesn't do much. These headphones are very sensitive and only 50 ohm so therefor you will not need an amplifier. People say you need a headphone amp for high end headphones, but that is only if you have 300 ohm headphones. Most high end headphones are much higher than these. SO you should be fine hooking them up to your pc speakers or just directly into your pc.
198078
I use them with my iphone which has the same type of headphone jack as my laptop. I do not need an adapter, they work very well.
668416
No amp required, but I use it with a small portable headphone DAC/Amp when I connect tony laptop and they sound amazing. I also use with no amp attached to iPhone and the sound is fuller than my Shure IEMs
1446838
What I've noticed is that when I hear a phone or laptop sound is good, but not as loud and the bass is not as clear. Otherwise, the headphones sound great in amplifier. The heavier bass, stronger sound as long as it does not reach the limit distortion.
1185564
Well the sound quality on these is great and tight I wouldn't ever use them without a dedicated headphone amp like the mayflower objective 2. So I don't think you will benefit from such an expensive pair of headphones. I think you will get better price/performance from something in the audiotechnica M** series. Drastically cheaper and will match the hardware in the iphone better. This is unless you have a decent audio setup at home and plan to use it for both. On the go you should go for the cheaper option more suited for the kind of audio hardware in your phone. At home with a decent headphone amp the sennheisers will shine. Well the sound quality on these is great and tight I wouldn't ever use them without a dedicated headphone amp like the mayflower objective 2. So I don't think you will benefit from such an expensive pair of headphones. I think you will get better price/performance from something in the audiotechnica M** series. Drastically cheaper and will match the hardware in the iphone better. This is unless you have a decent audio setup at home and plan to use it for both. On the go you should go for the cheaper option more suited for the kind of audio hardware in your phone. At home with a... » Read More Well the sound quality on these is great and tight I wouldn't ever use them without a dedicated headphone amp like the mayflower objective 2. So I don't think you will benefit from such an expensive pair of headphones. I think you will get better price/performance from something in the audiotechnica M** series. Drastically cheaper and will match the hardware in the iphone better. This is unless you have a decent audio setup at home and plan to use it for both. On the go you should go for the cheaper option more suited for the kind of audio hardware in your phone. At home with a decent headphone amp the sennheisers will shine. « Show Less
2052238
You will need an amp. Unfortunately a regular mp3 or anything that simply plays music will not generate enough watts to properly power the headphones. You can still use the headphones without an amp, but they will be seriously underpowered. To the point sound will be a whisper no matter how loud you turn up the volume.
1767623
Definitely agree with the others here. Will it scale up with a dedicated amp? Sure! But it's still the best thing I've heard straight out of my iPhone. Don't really like to carry more and more extra stuff with me, so for my commute... it's these plugged straight into the iPhone, every time.
505578
yes they will sound better with a dac/amp. though they run well off just about any source, nothing beats a dac/amp combo to bring out the best in a headphone. unamped you're getting 90+% of the headphone's capability. the dac/amp gets you closer 100%. the results aren't always mind blowing and noticeable though. I run my a900x through a schiit modi dac and schiit vali amp. what I notice most is the bass is tighter and more controlled. overall clarity is also improved. because of the clarity, the soundstage sounds more open. again not a huge difference, but if you're used to the sound signature, you'll notice it. yes they will sound better with a dac/amp. though they run well off just about any source, nothing beats a dac/amp combo to bring out the best in a headphone. unamped you're getting 90+% of the headphone's capability. the dac/amp gets you closer 100%. the results aren't always mind blowing and noticeable though. I run my a900x through a schiit modi dac and schiit vali amp. what I notice most is the bass is tighter and more controlled. overall clarity is also improved. because of the clarity, the soundstage sounds more open. again not a huge difference, but if you're used to the... » Read More yes they will sound better with a dac/amp. though they run well off just about any source, nothing beats a dac/amp combo to bring out the best in a headphone. unamped you're getting 90+% of the headphone's capability. the dac/amp gets you closer 100%. the results aren't always mind blowing and noticeable though. I run my a900x through a schiit modi dac and schiit vali amp. what I notice most is the bass is tighter and more controlled. overall clarity is also improved. because of the clarity, the soundstage sounds more open. again not a huge difference, but if you're used to the sound signature, you'll notice it. « Show Less
1607866
I use these with my MacBook Pro laptop. They connect using a standard 1/8" stereo auxiliary input to your laptop (a cable with a connector that looks like the ones found on most headphones) and, yes, they do come with the cable.
2142486
Nope it's 30-something ohm so any source can easily power them. I've plugged them into my android phone, my wife's iPad, and my work computer and all powered them easily. Volume levels were good and sound quality was great. I did get a budget dac amp for my work computer and I'd say there seemed to be the slightest performance increase, but it also could have been my ears getting used to the headphones. So no, an amp is not needed.
677146
I have heard with my ears and from Tek Syndicate on YouTube they do not need a DAC. So they should be fine with on board audio.
1931520
from a power perspective, both the vali and magni can power your headphones quite well. they have a very different sound signature though. the magni is more neutral sounding, it doesn't add much coloration to the sound. the vali though, being a tube amp, will have a warmer sound signature. I do not own those headphones nor have I heard them. so I ask you, do you want a warmer or more neutral sound signature from the amp? honestly either way I think you'll be happy. ok how to hook them up...do you have rca outs from the computer? if so, just plug the red/white outs to the red/white ins on the amp, and turn your computer volume to max. set the amp volume low and adjust to preference. if you don't have rca out from the computer, get a simple headphone to rca splitter cable. the cable will have a 3.5mm headphone jack on one end, and two rca cables on the other end (red/white). plug the headphone jack end into the headphone jack in the computer, and the rca cables into the amp. again do the same with the volume as before. bam, done! ok I'd suggest adding a dac. I know I know more crap to deal with. but a good dac/amp really cleans up the signal from the computer. I run the schiit modi dac (and magni amp). I've listened to the magni amp plugged directly into the computer. its ok. plugging the modi and magni in was better. night and day better? probably not. noticeably better? yep! its something to think about. if you're new to the headphone game start with the amp alone and get used to it. see if you start noticing deficiencies in your sound, like computer noise, hiss, etc. if you do and its offensive, add a dac. hope this helps! ps - to hook up the dac and amp, it's easy. plug the dac into the computer via an available usb port. get a pair of rca cables (red/white) and hook them up from the dac to the amp. that's assuming you have independent units like the modi and magni or vali. they have all on one units and that's even easier. one usb cable. good luck!
1580598
Marie, You should get excellent sound thru the ipod. I continually listen thru mine. I can't answer pertaining to your laptop. A great feature of these headphones is they are so comfortable you don't realize you are wearing them. Hope this helps you choose.
1017590
I personally don't have any problems with using them with my PC, but since every PC is different at how they output sound it just depends on how much output your PC gives.This pair also doesn't need to be terribly loud since they have excellent sound isolation.
760992
Some headphones have more electrical resistance to increase sound quality these headphones don't need an amp because most devices have enough power to push them all the amp will do is make the sound louder and slightly better but in my opinion I'd save the money and not buy the amp the headphones sound just fine even with the slight increase in ohms which is the same thing as electrical resistance hope this helps
1526583
That probably depends on how good your hearing is/how loud you like your music. I have never needed an amp using these headphones.