Bought Sony MDR XB1000s almost a year ago and they've been great. A mate of mine bought a soundcard and reckons it made a big difference and convinced me to buy one. I read into reviews, and they said that this was a good card for headphones, and they are bang on. It always felt like there was something missing when i first listened to my MDRs, and i kinda felt ripped off after upgrading from MDR XB700s but this card truly justifies the upgrade. I have a modern motherboard ( MSI GD65 8D) and the audio quality increase this card gives over my mobo soundcard is staggering. Max volume increase this card gives is just crazy. HQ audio is completely flawless; no signs of clipping even at max volumes. First impressions were amazing, and it still continues to amaze me.

Installation for me was a hassle; power supply really has to be jammed in there for it to work and when it eventually did, the drivers gave me the ****s (I am running windows 8, maybe compatibility issues) and telling me to make sure the card is properly installed etc etc. but after trying a few downloaded versions from asus website, it finally worked.

However, the better the audio equipment you have, the more difference you will notice. I use my Astro A40s for teamspeak/skype and my Sonys for me-time, and the difference I find is MUCH greater on the Sonys than it is on the A40s

To sum this up, best $170 I have spent on this computer. 100% reccommend it for people who truly appreciate music and have a good pair of headphones.