Hi,

I was hoping someone could tell me what I should upgrade next/what my bottleneck is in terms of sound quality. I'm currently running Swan M10s (speakers) and Audio Technica mth-50x out of my PC. No amp/dac. Soundcard is the one that came with the motherboard - VIA VT2021. 

Should I be looking at getting a soundcard/dac/amp or would it have a negligible impact? Not looking at getting new headphones/speakers at this point.

Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
 

For me getting my first external DAC/Amp was the most significant upgrade in terms of sound quality. This I envy you, as you're yet to experience a massive difference for relatively small outlay.
 
The Audio-gd NFB-15 would be a perfect all-rounder for your setup, as it combines a very good DAC, a powerful headphone amp and a preamp for your speakers.

people say different things, but when I had the m50x, I thought that the sonic improvements when amps/dacs to be very minimal for the price of doubling your costs (probably cheapest combo would be in the $100ish range). honestly, for me even headphones in the $400ish range usually don't benefit that much for external equipment if they do not actually require amplification. things actually do sound better when they are louder, so I feel like a lot of people may confuse volume boost with actual sound quality improvements. this was my personal experience, but other people may say different. 
 
considering they are sub-$200 headphones, if you were thinking about experimenting with amps/dacs, I would stick with the entry level budget stuff with a good return policy. hard to say & probably a bit personal, what seems like no real change for me could be night-and-day for someone else.
 
edit: I personally think the suggested Audio-gd NFB-15 above is extreme overkill for your set-up. won't really be worth it for me unless I had a better $300-500+ open headphone, but it is a solid set-up so if you plan to upgrade in the future. just remember that your headphones have more impact on sound quality than anything else, so you should plan your budget accordingly.

i agree. getting an expensive dac/amp for the ath m50 is a waste UNLESS you plan on upgrading your headphones in the future.

I don't hear any difference between the magni/modi and my sound card with the m50s

hey guys, thanks so much for the advice. I had a look into nfb 15s but like some of the people above agreed it seemed like overkill considering my speakers are $150 and my headphones only slightly above that. That being said, when I decide to upgrade my gear I'll definitely be back here and check out some quality DAC/amps.

thanks!