[moiist]

Hello everyone,
 
I am new to the audio world, and I'm trying to get my head around all these terms and things that keep popping up through my readings.
I recently picked up some Sony MDR-7506 Professional headphones and they're great, a much better improvement in sound from my computer speakers. I am now interested in what i can do to further improve my sound, and explore the options for the future.
 
I currently don't have a dedicated sound card, so i plug the headphones into the audio jack on my PC tower. I have to lower volume quite a bit, so i don't think i need an AMP for the purpose of giving more volume control. What other purposes does an AMP have for me to possibly need one?
 
My motherboard is only about 1.5 years old, so the sound parts on that are respectable as far as i know. How much improvements does a DAC bring? I'm looking at the Schiit Magni-Modi combination because of their good price and reviews.
 
One last thing, I'm also interested in improving my speakers in the future. How does that affect my options and situation?
 
Overall, do I even need an AMP and/or a DAC? Through looking at all these wonderful headphones and other equipment on my googling of audio stuff, i feel like spending money, but im not sure how much good it will do. As i live in Western Australia my options are limited, and shipping costs are high.
 
Thanks for any information

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would think it's better to spend more money for the headphones, then the DAC/amp.
A low cost sound card like the Asus Xonar DG or DGX, might offer audio quality improvement over on-board audio.
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card is a step above the Xonar DG/DGX.
What is the make and model of your motherboard?
 
You live in Australia, you might like paying a lot of income and value added taxes.

 

[techboy]

A good headphone and dac can be a huge improvement. More so than the headphone itself,