Buying Sennheiser HD600's - Do I need an amplifier with this setup?

[barryhutchison0308]

Hi I am upgrading my headset from a gaming headset to standalone headphones, the Sennheiser HD600's.

I am wondering if I need to buy a separate amplifier for the headphones to get the most out of them? The primary use will be for gaming and for music through my desktop rig.

I am unsure whether my motherboard will provide enough power allowing me not to have to buy the amp. I was planning on using the 3.5mm jack to plug the headphones in.

I am using an MSI Gaming M5 z370 motherboard.

Also will there be a difference between using the front panel jack or the rear panel jack?

 

[americanaudiophile]

I don't think there will be any difference in the jack location. You can't hurt anything by trying them with the mobo. Worse case you won't get the volume you want.
The HD600s are a 300 ohm load. That is much higher than standard consumer headphones so they will likely sound better and play much louder with a headphone amp. For music purposes a DAC + Amp or DAC/AMP will sound better than the mobo dac/amp. Your mobo does have a spdif digital audio output and many DACs use USB so you have two options in how to connect the DAC.
You can check out
http://www.schiit.com/home
for some affordable options.