No problem at all but I figured I could get a better clarity or even discover new nuances in the stuff I hear with a DAC/AMP.
Considering I am planning to use it with some AKG 7XX and some other contentious earphones. That's what a DAC/AMP is for right? Correct me if i'm wrong, never found the need to use extra equipment and just found out about DACs/AMP.
Advice XDragon?
You're probably reading too much into what dac/amps can bring to you. You planning on buying one (especially at your budget) without testing/knowing if it makes a difference?
I'd suggest going down to shops/distros to test various dac/amps out (don't be afraid to try expensive ones). I would be impressed if you could tell any improvements at all, unless your current sources are absolutely abysmal. Your 7xx might benefit from amping though, so I would just suggest just an amp if you really wanted to spend money.
I'm just trying to be as objective as possible, no snakeoil audiophool bs here. Why spend money if it doesn't have a perceivable difference? Even if you do find improvements, are they even worth the money? I can tell differences with external amps but they're absolutely not worth the cost ratio at all, and DACs don't make a difference to me at all, unless comparing to my laptop's horrible DAC.
Edit: Just checked, your k7xx doesn't have ridiculous impedance values and has a decent sensitivity as well, so I doubt it would have a significant benefit from amping. Though specs on paper are one thing, go try them out with amps to be sure. Remember to be unbiased, if you can't tell a difference, save your money and use it elsewhere or better transducers where they matter. Also, well mastered/recorded music is important as well, codec doesn't matter above 256kbps mp3 so please spend the time to explore what you can and enjoy your music