Hi, I'm a relative newbie with a pair of D2000s that I like.  I have the non-HD version of the X-Fi Titanium that I bought a while back to use with my AD-700s for gaming (for the virtual surround), but I'm looking to get something more suited for music.
 
However, since I'm fairly new to this type of stuff, I'm not sure if it's better to just get a nicer sound card, or if I should go for an amp/DAC setup.  I'm looking to spend up to $200 or so, so I guess I'd be looking at something like the STX or the Schiit stack.  My thought was that I could hook up the D2000s to the amp/DAC combo to use for music and have my AD700s plugged into the Titanium for dedicated gaming use.  However, if I went for the sound card, I figure I could just leave my D2000s hooked up and could just switch between gaming and music settings, which would allow me to conserve space as well as have fewer cables.
 
Basically, I guess I'm asking for the pros/cons of either path, as well as if it'd even be worth it to begin with.  I might also consider bumping up my budget, but only if it's something that'd be a worthwhile investment.  I may get a pair of HE-400s sometime down the road, but for the time being I'll be sticking with my D2000s.
 
Thanks for any help.

Honestly, having owned the D2000, I'm going to say this isn't a good use of money. Especially because I'm not seeing a clear-cut "I want to fix this" or "I want to change this" but am seeing more of a "I have some money burning a hole in my pocket" theme.

The D2000 are very easily driven, and very stable, and will more or less sound like the D2000 out of anything clean. The X-Fi should easily qualify for that. You also aren't going to do much better in terms of gaming or virtualization support; the newer SoundCore products aren't an upgrade so much as a sidegrade (as in, if you had no soundcard, I'd suggest one, but you already have a working X-Fi).

What obob said basically. But if you still want to upgrade, best bet would be to just get an external amp. The nice thing about the Ti HD is that it is made with audiophiles in mind, so all the common audio connectors are there: 3.5, RCA, optical/coax and digital. Something that the other X-FI's don't have. That way you won't have to give up CMSS, surround sound or anything that the Ti HD offers, but will still at least have an external volume control, maybe a sound quality increase with that. A decent amp like the Asgard would be a good match for the D2000 and most headphones out there thanks to the solid state design.

Hmm, fair enough.  I guess I'll keep what I have since it doesn't sound like it'd be worth it.