Newbie question - Headset and Amp for laptop

[SuperMarioY]

Greetings all.

I have recently bought Lenovo Legion 7i laptop and I am planning to invest some money to buy audiophile grade headset / sound card as I spend a lot of time listening music.

I am after the best quality sound I can get, I am not bothered if headphones are open/closed cup as I live on my own, earphones are also an option.

Would you suggest sound card and if so please recommend something to get me going, I have not looked into it at all.

Depending on the mood I listen to anything, progressive house being the most dominant genre.

As far as budget is concerned it is not unlimited but I am happy to pay top price for top sound quality.

Thanks in advance.
Mario

 

[PieterG]

If you need very portable audio, take a look at the products from Ifi. You can get a DAC/amp that slips into your laptop bag. It replaces your built-in audio chip and acts as an external one.

A desktop setup - less portable - will generally give you more high quality options. I'm thinking of DAC/amp solutions from Fiio, Topping, SMSL, Fosi, Chord ... It's important to look at the pairing of an amp with your headphones. Some headphones have high impedance and require strong power from the amp to perform well.

For example, i'm very happy with my Topping DX5-II and Sennheiser HD620s. I need closed headphones, and these are a bit darker, but that character is offset nicely by the resolving power of the Topping, which presents mids and highs with fine detail without getting harsh. Sennheiser also have a few open models that are considered reference class.

What's your music source? At my desk i play Tidal on the pc and have the Topping connected via USB. I assume since you're asking for a solution for your laptop that you're also playing your music on the laptop.

 

[Entrigo]

If this is for both gaming and music, the Kithara headphones sound like the best solution. They are a collab between Asus/Rog and Hifiman and get pretty good reviews.

 

[SuperMarioY]

If you need very portable audio, take a look at the products from Ifi. You can get a DAC/amp that slips into your laptop bag. It replaces your built-in audio chip and acts as an external one.

A desktop setup - less portable - will generally give you more high quality options. I'm thinking of DAC/amp solutions from Fiio, Topping, SMSL, Fosi, Chord ... It's important to look at the pairing of an amp with your headphones. Some headphones have high impedance and require strong power from the amp to perform well.

For example, i'm very happy with my Topping DX5-II and Sennheiser HD620s. I need closed headphones, and these are a bit darker, but that character is offset nicely by the resolving power of the Topping, which presents mids and highs with fine detail without getting harsh. Sennheiser also have a few open models that are considered reference class.

What's your music source? At my desk i play Tidal on the pc and have the Topping connected via USB. I assume since you're asking for a solution for your laptop that you're also playing your music on the laptop.

Thanks very much Pieter, this is exactly what I need.
To answer your first question, no, I am not after portable audio.
Music source is Tidal and as far as physical files are concerned they are all in FLAC format.
Yes that is correct, I play my music on Lenovo laptop so my plan is to spend a little bit of money to get the best sound possible. I live on my own and it is very quiet here so I am leaning towards open-cup headset.
I started going through your list, looking at Fiio K9 AKM at the moment.
It looks like there is more to it than I thought, as you mentioned, pairing of an amp with headphones etc.
Somebody recommended Shure headphones, I will look at that and Sennheiser you recommended.
Thanks very much for your time.

 

[SuperMarioY]

If this is for both gaming and music, the Kithara headphones sound like the best solution. They are a collab between Asus/Rog and Hifiman and get pretty good reviews.

No, not for gaming. I have Turtlebeach hooked up to my XBox and that works for gaming very well.
I am after a laptop setup purely for music listening. Pieter provided a few pointers so I am investigating that at the moment.

 

[RTHerringbone]

I can definitely recommend giving open-back headphones a chance. Do your research of course, but the sense of spaciousness they offer is quite spectacular. Downside is that they're usually pretty heavy and massive, but it's worth the compromise and they don't actually feel that bulky when you wear them.

The FiiO K9 does look good and should have plenty of power to drive most headphones. My much more modest K13 R2R has no issues pushing both sets of planar headphones that I have.

 

[PieterG]

Music source is Tidal and as far as physical files are concerned they are all in FLAC format.
I live on my own and it is very quiet here so I am leaning towards open-cup headset.
I started going through your list, looking at Fiio K9 AKM at the moment.
It looks like there is more to it than I thought, as you mentioned, pairing of an amp with headphones etc.
Somebody recommended Shure headphones, I will look at that and Sennheiser you recommended.

The setup you're after is similar to mine. The K9 AKM version is a solid choice and should pair well with resolving open back headphones like the Sennheiser 6xx models.

I considered the K15 for my setup. It's described as more neutral and detailed, has a more recent architecture and some additional features (extra inputs, Airplay streaming, touchscreen, PEQ, ...) Comparing it now, i have the impression that the K9 may lack the newest chips but makes up for it with an excellent power supply, low noise floor and build quality.

Regarding the headphones: i mention Sennheiser because they are proven references at a reasonable price (besides the 800 series). One thing they do have is high impedance, but the Fiio DAC can handle them. There are many other options out there depending on how you like your music to sound, and how much you want to spend. Perhaps you can do a bit of research, narrow down your list of options, and ask this forum about specific models you'd consider.

 

[SuperMarioY]

Right...

It looks like it could be: FiiO K17
and
Focal Clear Mg Professional or Sennheiser HD 800 S.

I've had bad experience with Sennheiser in the past, gaming headset broke down just after a year of casual usage.
As for Fiio and not being an expert, I am wondering if it is worth getting FiiO K17 over FiiO K15.
FiiO K17 is 50%+ more expensive then FiiO K15 but would I appreciate the difference considering my current lack of knowledge on the subject. People are telling me that would build over time and go for it but FiiO K17 and Focal Clear Mg Professional would set me back £2k which is a touch on expensive side.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

If you are going to buy headphones as good as the Clear Mg or HD800S, you will hear the benefit of going with the better DAC/amp.

 

[RTHerringbone]

@SuperMarioY note that the K17 doesn't support native Tidal Connect. I *think* that means that you have to set it as an output device, wired from your laptop.

I didn't look too deeply into this, but it sounded like a PITA so I scrubbed the K17 from my wishlist as a result.

 

[SuperMarioY]

@SuperMarioY note that the K17 doesn't support native Tidal Connect. I *think* that means that you have to set it as an output device, wired from your laptop.

I didn't look too deeply into this, but it sounded like a PITA so I scrubbed the K17 from my wishlist as a result.

Thanks, I am still in research stage so comments are of course incredibly welcome.

If you could recommend an alternative to K17 it would be much appreciated.

It looks like you are correct, this is what I found just now:

How to use streaming mode in K17: Roon Ready function​

Not able to post a URL in here incredibly enough.

 

[RTHerringbone]

If you could recommend an alternative to K17 it would be much appreciated.

I don't have enough experience with different setups to really help I'm afraid.

All I know is that my combination of a WiiM Ultra (to act as the streamer) and a FiiO K13R2R can drive hungry headphones, looks pretty nice, it's compact and works seamlessly with Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. Cheaper for those two units combined than one K17.

The only downside is the FiiO Control app is nasty but you don't even need to use that unless you want to EQ things. I just turn EQ off and use the Tidal Connect app from my phone.