You would probably achieve your goals better by getting a different set of headphones.  The Xonar DG has an internal headphone amp.  That said, it probably is not the greatest at $30 or whatever it is at now.  Your biggest immediate benefit is a silent noise floor from a dedicated sound card...

Quote: LOOKS THE BEST.  SOUNDS THE BEST.   Quote: LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ANOTHER HATER.  KEEP SAVING THOSE COINS.  ONE DAY YOU CAN AFFORD THE BEST.  

If you are going NHT, buy used.  I read their OLDER models were better made than the new revisions.

Quote: Wow.  That is a bit all over the place in terms of size and pricing.  Do you really want tower speakers just for a computer setup?  What country do you live in?  It is probably cheaper and easier to buy from a local manufacturer.  Another idea is to just buy locally used.  You...

  Quote: Off topic a bit, but what do you think of the Alesis MK2s compared to your other gear?  I am thinking about upgrading my office setup to something better and was considering them.  Good mention on the Bose, they are priced right, despite their reputation otherwise.   Back...

Newegg has a decent deal on Polk Monitor 40s   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290203 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290202   They seem big enough that you probably will not feel like needing a subwoofer right away.  You can spend the...

ABSOLUTELY.  The Beats line by Dr. Dre is the PINNACLE of audio excellence.  Beats owners ENJOY and FEEL the music on a level that is BEYOND REPROACH.  Instead of listening to their EQUIPMENT like a lot of so called audiophiles do, Beats owners listen to the MUSIC.  When you are listening to the...

There is not any difference in sound with using banana plugs vs bare wire.  It is just for convenience.

Fight the hype?  Why so angry?  Cant afford the Beats?   Those Ultrasones are NOT DR. DRE APPROVED.  

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SA-W2500-Performance-Line-Subwoofer/dp/B000OL3QTW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327003009&sr=8-3   Free shipping.   There are a few other subwoofers in this sort of price range that may be better, but shipping would ruin the deal.

You can go for the Creative Gigaworks T20.  They run for around $100 in Canada.

There is the Xonar U3. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Xonar-Sound-Cards-XONAR_U3/dp/B0054L8GVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326996733&sr=8-1   There arent many usb gaming soundcards out there.

Well I have read the imbalance is distractingly off.  The teardown pics on the original DTA-100 was a joke at diyaudio.

looks like we got a lot of jelus people here.  Nobody wants esoteric headphone models, they want something that is the best.

1. Beats Pro 2. Beats Studio 3. Beats Solo 4. iBeats 5. Beats Tour  

I heard the AV40 can sound a bit muddy in the bass area.  I would imagine the problem would be worse in its smaller sibling, but I dont have any personal experience with them.     Here are a couple ideas...

The Dayton DTA-100a stinks.  Quality control with that product is atrocious.  Most Dayton products are great, but not in this case.  There were so many problems with the DTA-100, P-E had to scrap it and try to revise it.  It does not seem the new DTA-100a fixes everything.  I am still reading...