You definitely hear the difference between plugging it in straight into your computer/phone (weak but clear) vs plugging it into and Amp/DAC or portable amp (powerful and defined).

Not sure if it's because I'm not using the right amp or the drivers are just

Pair them with a good DAC/AMP and they will blow your mind.

Make sure you have a good amp though as they require a ton of power, more than a pair of 600 ohm cans require to properly produce full audio

Nano dac/amp combo and would recommend a headphone amp.

Also, if you plan to pick these, as mentioned in most forums, be ready with a strong Amp

(have fiio Q1 portable dac/amp as I wanted these for portable use

Plays well through unamped devices, but an amp makes them bloom a little fuller.

Incredible sound when paired with a decent amp

Bring your best high power head amp though, you're not going to be able to get good sound on your portable device unless your portable is a Fiio X5 or equivalent, and even then something like the Schiit Audio Asgard II is a much better match

I think it's because they feel they will sell them and make a profit and because they want to help you out because you will spend way on a good Amp/DAC.

They definitely need a good amp to take all the juice out of them

The mids are smooth and relaxing, but you will need a decent headphone amp to get the most out of this area of the headphone

It still depends on the power that drives it (see the first paragraph so see my setup), so take the time and do your research on picking your Amp/DAC or even portable amp

I tried the iFi IDSD Nano Black Label (my favorite DAC/AMP) which unbelievably was still shy

the former being a much better amp, one of the best single ended solid state amps available and a damn fine tube hybrid) and Chord Mojo setup (best DAC for under $1,000)

To recap: $150 for the headphones, $100 for the amp, another $100 for a portable amp, and $60 for good earpads

Fostex is still king!-Upgraded my amp to the Ifi iCan SE; the fostex needs the power and it is worth every watt you can

A good amp is a must to they sing

The sound card in my iMac doesn't quite do the job, but even an inexpensive portable amp makes a big difference.

These require a very powerful amp

*can* likely power them, the experience will be MUCH better if you use a portable DAC/amp

In my opinion, both T40 and T50 ,with proper amp, sound maybe not better but at least as good as my HD 600.Thought HD

Need a good Headphone amp (some portable amps may not be able to drive them very loud either).

If you are in need of a cheap/great portable amp to power these, check out the SMSL sAp-7 amp, it provides enough power to produce good sounds out of them

For gaming, I recommend the Creative G5, because it's a soundcard/dac/amp, lets you plug in your microphone, gives you many settings to fine-tune your sound, and most importantly provides support for 7.1 surround sound, which TO ME made so much difference that I won't be letting go of it for a cheaper/better amp

But beware, you will need an amp to drive these, its a MUST.

For gaming, I recommend the Creative G5, because it's a soundcard/dac/amp, lets you plug in your microphone, gives you many settings to fine-tune your sound, and most importantly provides support for 7.1 surround sound, which TO ME made so much difference that I won't be letting go of it for a cheaper/better amp

If you are in need of a cheap/great portable amp to power these, check out the SMSL sAp-7 amp, it provides enough power to produce good sounds out of them

but you MUST use a powerful amp to push them to excellence.

I can definitely say that I love using them for gaming over all my other headsets (I have at least 5 other pairs), as well as for all sorts of music listening