[DarkWolf]

I have had Hifi-Man HE-5LE for around a year, and just got an NFB-10SE. I feel that I have "arrived." That said, the NFB-10 will take S/PDIF out that many onboard solutions have, or just plug right into USB. It will also provide DAC output and would do wonders for something like powered studio monitors. You can sometimes find M-Audio BX5a for example for a very reasonable price, and they will at least knock the socks off any 'computer speaker' setup, unless you really must have surround sound. All these components exceed your budget together, especially if bought new, but something like the NFB-10 would be a good platform to start from. I bought my stuff second hand and am about $950 into the phones and amp.