[PurpleAngel]

  I currently own a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's which I connect to the Xonar DGX (Which is a PCI-E variant of the Xonar DG for anybody who doesn't know). I'm wondering if there would be a noticeable difference if I'd upgrade to an external DAC/Amp combo like a FiiO E10K? Suggestions are welcome, my budget for a DAC/Amp is around 70-80 dollars.

 
Here is a nice aftermarket cable ($14-$22) for the HD598.
3.5mm plug and can come in one of five lengths.
I got one for my HD558
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261255113290?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=560215640802&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[dannydamsky]

   
Here is a nice aftermarket cable ($14-$22) for the HD598.
3.5mm plug and can come in one of five lengths.
I got one for my HD558
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261255113290?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=560215640802&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Why would I need an aftermarket cable?

 

[dannydamsky]

  Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, before installing the DGX or the driver software?
If you have no need of a sound card's headphone surround sound features, then the E10K might be a good buy.
I would not expect a big increase in audio quality, over the Xonar DGX.
Schiit Fulla might offer a little better audio quality, over the E10K (but no line-output feature).

I did disable the motherboard's on-board audio. How big of a difference will an upgrade like that make? Is it worth it for someone on a tight budget?

 

[dannydamsky]

What do you use for a source for your music? Is it an online service or is it 320k mp3/flac files?

That will make a difference. You might not notice a difference from something like Pandora or Spotify, but you might with flac files locally.

 
Using Foobar2000 with ASUS' ASIO drivers, all my library is strictly FLACs.

 

[cel4145]

I did disable the motherboard's on-board audio. How big of a difference will an upgrade like that make? Is it worth it for someone on a tight budget?

Hard for anyone to predict because it partially depends on how noisy (or not) your PC environment is for the DG/DGX. This (I believe) is partially why some people report greater improvements over others going from an internal sound card to an external DAC/amp setup.

 

[dannydamsky]

Hard for anyone to predict because it partially depends on how noisy (or not) your PC environment is for the DG/DGX. This (I believe) is partially why some people report greater improvements over others going from an internal sound card to an external DAC/amp setup.

 
Well I don't know if it's related but the reason I went for a Xonar in the first place is because my Realtek on-board card started making funny noises. But PC noise aside, how big will the difference be? So if my PC is not noisy, will the difference be noticeable?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Why would I need an aftermarket cable?

 
The Sennheiser HD558 come stock with a cable that has a 1/4" plug
and a 1/4" female to 1/8" male adapter.
Using the aftermarket cable makes things a little less bulky
The aftermarket cable comes with a nice nylon sleeve.
My head sits about 2 feet from my headphone amplifier jack, using a cable shorter then the stock 10 feet means less cable lying around the floor for me to trip over.

 

[dannydamsky]

The Sennheiser HD558 come stock with a cable that has a 1/4" plug
and a 1/4" female to 1/8" male adapter.
Using the aftermarket cable makes things a little less bulky
The aftermarket cable comes with a nice nylon sleeve.
My head sits about 2 feet from my headphone amplifier jack, using a cable shorter then the stock 10 feet means less cable lying around the floor for me to trip over.

Well at the moment I'm connecting my phones to the DGX, so the cable goes to the back of the PC, so the length of the stock cable is something I need to have at the moment. I'll see if I'll mind it when/if I get a Fulla or an E10K