Should i get an amp/sound card?

[Cody_49]

So i am looking to buy a pair of Sennheiser Game One's for myself in the very near future, and i heard you can get more out of the headset with an amp or a sound card. I'm not particularly an audio enthusiast but i have had a pretty mediocre headset for a while, and it would be nice to bump up my quality. Anyway I was wondering if the amp/sound card makes enough of a difference that i should buy it with my headset?


It should be noted that i'm currently using a notebook not a desktop

 

[ssddx]

the game one is pretty much a hd518/hd558. while they are easy to drive and normally do not need an amp, but will sound a bit better with a little amplification as they respond reasonably well to it. onboard audio on laptops tends to be pretty poor, worse than desktop motherboards generally, but that doesnt mean its always bad. if you have poor quality, buzzing, distortion, weak bass or low volume i would suggest getting something but if you do not then its optional.

that something could be an amp, a dac+amp or an external soundcard. which works for you depends on your needs such as if you need mic input or want to use the mic input on laptop (if yes, use external soundcard, if no any will work) and if you need virtual surround (if yes, use external soundcard, if no any will work). dac+amp units are specifically for headphones and offer the greatest quality but are 2.0 only with just headphone support not mic. an amp alone is just going to boost the power of your output so will use the laptop for all connections but just power up the headphone signal.

 

[Cody_49]

the game one is pretty much a hd518/hd558. while they are easy to drive and normally do not need an amp, but will sound a bit better with a little amplification as they respond reasonably well to it. onboard audio on laptops tends to be pretty poor, worse than desktop motherboards generally, but that doesnt mean its always bad. if you have poor quality, buzzing, distortion, weak bass or low volume i would suggest getting something but if you do not then its optional.

that something could be an amp, a dac+amp or an external soundcard. which works for you depends on your needs such as if you need mic input or want to use the mic input on laptop (if yes, use external soundcard, if no any will work) and if you need virtual surround (if yes, use external soundcard, if no any will work). dac+amp units are specifically for headphones and offer the greatest quality but are 2.0 only with just headphone support not mic. an amp alone is just going to boost the power of your output so will use the laptop for all connections but just power up the headphone signal.

From what i gather it seems i should go with an external soundcard, considering i very frequently use the mic on my current headset, and i do play some games where virtual surround comes in handy. Thank you for the feedback