Are these good headphones for $100?

[DarkMortar]

I was thinking of the Sennheiser HD555 headphones for $99.99.
Amazon.com: Sennheiser HD-555 Audiophile Headphones: Electronics

Are these good? And are they the best deal for the money?

Also, there is one problem, I am currently using my laptop, and it has an
Sigmatel integrated sound chip, and of course a built-in headphone jack.
Well, what can I do to improve this situation? Should I get a sound card
for the laptop, but then I am hearing about these "headphone amps"
well I dont want to spend too much, so help me get a good deal,
if thats what i need. I also hear there are "pre-amps." Well I need these amps to
connect to my laptop as i listen through my headphones.
Help me out here, thanks.

 

[peterhuang913]

How good are you at audio? If you're not that good, then you won't notice much.

 

[DarkMortar]

Lets put it this way, I am picky,
and I think that I have a pretty good ear.
So its important, but I dont have that much money.

 

[krazyq]

Why dont you get these instead.
Buy.com - Jabra C820s Active Noise Rejection Headphone - C820s

dont forget to click this link to get 5%off, or you can use GC to get $10 off.
Buy.com - Coupons

 

[viperman5000]

They're good. I actually went up to the next model, the HD-595.

Check out head-fi.org for reviews.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

As for audio chipsets, usually the integrated one is good enough. Modern audio chips, even basic ones, get pretty good sound quality if you use good enough speakers/headphones. I use my laptop a lot for music, and it's internal card is great. I can crank up the bass in VLC using 2-pass EQ and it works good, and doesn't distort the high sounds. Some older computers have awful integrated sound, but if your laptop is newer (and I'm talking "newer" not "recent", mine's from 2000 and it works fine), you should have no problem.

Headphones, that's a different story. If I had $100 to spend on headphones, I would, but the best I can do is $20-$30 at most for big studio headphones, which actually still have good sound.

 

[viperman5000]

As the amp part goes, the HD-555/595 line doesn't need an amp. I just use my iPod with them, and they sound very nice. Just allow them to "burn-in" for about 100 hours to really get the proper sound.

 

[Brinson]

"Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers,
You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers." ---Billy Joel

 

[gurusan]

the sennheisers are excellent headphones, you won't be disappointed

 

[krazyq]

the sennheisers are excellent headphones, you won't be disappointed

what about the jabras?