Higher quality listening from MacBook

[irbdavid]

I noticed recently that music played back from my iPod touch sounds much better than the same music played on my MacBook. Same music file, same bitrate etc, same headphones. Does this sound plausible to people, or is it some judgement error on my part?

At any rate, what can I do to get better music out of my MacBook? I recently bought some new headphones - not awesome ones, but reasonably quality I think, for listening to at work. It doesn't seem to be too easy to get hold of a headphone amp with a built in DAC in the UK - are there any alternatives around? What about, for example, an external sound card, like the ones made by (shudder) creative etc?

[LFC_SL]

You could think about an external sound card/dac

As you have a macbook you have the choice of usb out or optical out. Your options will depend on your budget and desire of what you are looking to improve

[r@mside]

I use an Audigy ZS out of pcmcia in one of my notebooks and it is quite good with 50ohm impedance headphones - Echo Indigo would be better option. Does the macbook have pcmcia?

I've read good things about the quality of Meier Audio Amp/Dac combos. Great reputation for service and pretty quick delivery from Germany.