09-13-2011, 12:46 PM
lazydays wrote:
Those seem pretty exotic. Are you in the audio business or an enthusiast? What flaws in the mac's headphone option make you want to get one of these. Not questioning your choice, I want to educate myself on the topic as I know nothing about DACS.
A couple hundred dollars for a quality headphone amplifier shouldn't be considered exotic if it makes the music sound better, am I right? Keep in mind it helps if the source files are better than today's lowest-common-denominator lossy (mp3 or AAC) files.
The consideration is the same as it's always been, does the listener care about any differences they may hear? If yes=money well spent. If no=waste of money.
More to your question: a computer's built-in headphone amplifier is an afterthought. Made to get 'er dun, but not with much concern (meaning: resources spent) for quality.