Amp/Sound Card

Hi there, You might want to look at the http://www.sightandsounduk.com/Pro-Ject-Head-box-II.html it's a very good little amp for what you'll need. Hope this helps :) EDIT: also look into the Creative Titanium HD, you might get away from using an amp with those 'phones.

While there is some bashing of Creative about drivers and some issues, I've had much more enjoyment than grief with all my Creative soundcards. But I have to be honest with you, that X-Fi you have is really the only one I strongly recommend everyone not to buy. Xtreme Audio is an older gen rebadge that doesn't have neither X-Fi APU nor the full fledged Audigy one.

Ok, so what are your listening habits? Music, games, movies?

In case someone didn't read my first paragraph, I'll say it again. Never get a X-Fi XtremeAudio.

XtremeGamer, XtremeMusic, Titanium, Fatal1ty, Titanium HD, all those are good, EXCEPT XtremeAudio.

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...This was a public announcement from a fellow Head-Fier

Well, for $10 it was indeed a nice buy ... compared to onboard, do note.

About gaming, that's a very big "if" you have there. While I'm not familiar as to which games are those you write in so few letters, aside starcraft, I assume they're RTS games.

If you will end up playing FPS games or something that needs positional cues, you'll have to get something with a X-Fi chipset, Creative or Auzentech.

The real issue here is your budget. But what headphones do you use, and do you already have anything in mind, be it DAC or amp?

Yes, I know of DotA. On that same line of thought, I just finished again WC3, felt like a trip to memory lane.

If gaming was out of the equation, there would be a few options, but I really feel you should save more money and get something that's actually good or you'll do a rather small leap.

What exactly are you unhappy with in your setup?

The HD555 are known to have good sound unamped, so it's not as much of a concern as you're making it. For now, I'd say enjoy your HD555, get familiarized with them, while saving some money and getting a more robust soundcard. The budget you have for a soundcard really isn't that much, and for 100USD you can already get something capable, so I do recommend you to enjoy your new cans for some time, while saving some more money and in a not distant future you'll upgrade your gear. After all, you do have something other than onboard, so hold on to that until you can get something really good.

Again, I'm just saying that in the long run your money will be better spent if you go down that path

A few cards that would fare quite well for what you look for are Auzentech Prelude, Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro (damn, that's a long name), and if you could stretch your budget a little, X-Fi Titanium HD would be a great upgrade from what you currently have.

EDIT: You can add X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro to that list, for a less expensive card.

Wait, you're mixing things up. You have to keep in mind that when people speak of DACs, those can be considered soundcards. Laptop users, for instance, use external DACs, while right now you're using an internal DAC.

The reason why I advised you on getting a DAC first and an amp later is because HD555 is known for being rather easy to drive, and would benefit from a cleaner source before getting amped IMHO.