Hey all,   Pretty new to sound cards on my PC, but I am having trouble with my Xonar STX. When listening to music on my Q701's, bass causes distorted sound. From what I've heard default settings should allow you to at least listen to music at pretty good quality.   My Q701's are also...

Quote: I won't be too critical with music. A lot of the sound cards I was looking at were around the same price as the fiio e9, so i figured it would be an easier setup. Also was not sure on the quality a sound card could provide within that budget.   ^^PurpleAngel thanks for the...

My motherboard is ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 which is Realtek ALC892. Not sure if that's decent or terrible. I was looking at the fiio e9 amp possibly. Would that be decent enough for the Q701s?

Hey thanks a lot for the reply.   So just purchasing an amp alone would be sufficient in getting the high quality surround sound out of the Q701 headphones? I will have to do some research on a good one for myself. Would like to spend under $100 if possible.   Thanks again for the response.

So I've managed to come across a pair of AKG Q701s, and know nothing about audio for computer setups. I am aware that my motherboard supports 7.1 surround sound, although I'm not sure it does for headphones.   My question is what hardware do I need to get the most out of these headphones...