Just bought it in black :) Should be here on Thursday, it has stock tubes which I'll try by themselves with my 598's before getting into some different ones :D

  Thanks for the reply! Would you recommend any particular tubes? I don't want to spend too much though :) I'm reading through this thread and seeing lots of options, but I'm not sure which one would be a good fit for my musical tastes and headphones.

Is the Aune T1 a good match for a pair of Sennheiser 598's? I probably will upgrade to different headphones at some point (most likely a closed pair) but I would like it to sound good for now at least. My music tastes are mostly rock, pretty much no classical or anything.

The Schiit Magni/Modi looks fairly good in this price range, is there anything better value? I'm in the UK so that could limit my choices, but don't be afraid to suggest anything as importing is always an option. I'll use it for music mainly, I do play games but I'm fairly casual so its no big...

Specifically this one http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/ehp-o2d-miniature-desktop-headphone-amplifier-with-usb-dac/ I'm roughly 50/50 on gaming and music. I could deal with positional audio being slightly less in games, if there was a significant increase in music. I'm sure...

:( That doesn't sound good. I unplugged the cable and put it back in, and it seems to have fixed it. I'll see if it happens again, if I does I'd just buy a new cable, right?     Edit: After listening to some music, it almost sounds better. Could be placebo though.

They have a problem where if I twist the cable in the 598's a little, the sound gets all messed up. (Can't really describe it) Should I be worried? Thanks

Hey, I'm about to buy a Titanium HD. From reading through this thread, this card is still the best for gaming? I was thinking of an Esscense ST/STX, but the I think the Titanium HD is nearly as good. Any advice before I buy this? Does the surround sound work well with Valve games? And does it...

Thanks! That's assuming nobody bids on it though... (I should probably stop talking ;))

Would i Fiio E9 be any good? Very good deal on eBay. E7+E9 for £50

Alright, before I buy this card, will I need any extra cables to hook up my mic and headphones? They both use normal sized connectors. I'll probably wait for the E12, but are there any other recommended amps? I've already looked at the 02, Magni and all of the Fiios. Thanks

And it's better at gaming? I'm sold :) Unfortuneatly the two amps you mentioned are really expensive here, almost twice as much as the sound card itself :/ I think I'll just buy the sound card now, and either buy a cheap amp or save up for one of those two.

Alright, thanks for the help everybody. I could get a Titanium HD for £60. I've heard they are better for gaming, but I'm worried about driver support. I'd guess the Essence is better for music? I don't play games all that seriously, and I'm on Skype most of the time, but I still wouldn't like...

Quote: Yeah, I can hopefully get it :) If I wanted to an external AMP, what would you recommend? Also, what plugin should I choose for Foobar? Bit confused :P

Yeah, I should be able to get the ST for around £80 on eBay. Should I be looking at external amp too? Schiit seem to be recommended, but I can't find them here. The 02 Amp is pretty pricey as well. Perhaps I should keep the £130 and sell the Sennheisers to upgrade to something even better? No...