[PancakeFace22]

Hello everyone. I have practically no experience with high-end audio equipment, so please bear with me. 
 
I have decided that it is time for me to purchase a quality audio setup for my gaming PC. I decided to go with the Essence STX as my sound card, because it seems to be the most highly regarded PC sound card for overall quality, and I wanted to make sure that I have Dolby Headphone for when I want to play some games. 
 
I have not received the headphones or sound card yet, so I have no personal experience with how they sound together. However, most threads and reviews that I have read claim that the HE-500s can really benefit from a powerful amp. Considering this, I have decided that I also want to purchase an external amp to plug into the RCA connection on the card for when I want to listen to music and maybe some movies or whatever else can benefit from the improved sound. 
 
What amps do you guys recommend for a max budget of ~$500-600? I can be a bit flexible with the budget, but I'd really rather not go over $600 if I can avoid it. 
 
So far in my research, I have more or less decided that I will most likely prefer the sound of a tube amp. A few examples that have stood out to me are the Woo WA6, HiFiMAN EF5, and Schiit Lyr. All of these seem to have pretty good reviews, although I have read that the WA6 may not have quite enough power to get the most out of the HE-500s. Does anyone have any experience with using one of these amps with the Essence STX and HE-500s?
 
I'm also very open to other recommendations for quality tube amps that will fit in my budget. I haven't done enough reading to know about many other quality options that I'm sure are out there. It will be a couple of weeks before I will be able to purchase the amp too, so I will be continuing my research on my own as well.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Essence STX has more then enough power to drive the HE-500, it is the best for driving the HE-500?
Ask here about what works well for driving the HE-500.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-proving-to-be-a-great-headphone-and-standing-the-test-of-time
 
If you decide on getting an external headphone amplifier for the HE-500.
Get the Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, same audio processor (CMI8788) as the Essence STX & ST.
So with the DX/D1 you will have the same audio features as the STX/STX.
You can get the DX (PCI-E) or D1 (PCI) used for $50-$60.
Then plug in any external headphone amplifier you like, into the DX/D1.

 

[PancakeFace22]

Thank you for the input PurpleAngel. 
 
From what I've read, the STX amp will drive the HE-500s pretty well as you said, but I've also read in several reviews that a powerful dedicated amp can get much better performance out of them. The one amp I seem to keep reading is one of the best for getting the most out of the HE-500s is the Lyr, but I am still looking at all of my options for now since it will be a little while before I can buy one anyways.
 
And the reason I prefer the STX is because my plan is to have the amp plugged into the RCA jack of the card (acts a a DAC only through this type of connection) so that I can use it as a fairly standard amp/DAC combo for music and movies, and then I can plug the headphones into the headphone output on the card for gaming when I want to use the Dolby Headphone functionality. The reason I think I will prefer this setup is because I read a few threads discussing Dolby Headphone functionality in different scenarios, and several people stated that they noticed a reduction in sound quality with Dolby Headphone enabled when the rest of the equipment they are using is fairly high quality.
 
Also I want to be able to try out some OpAmp rolling, which is only possible on the ST/STX among the Asus sound card offerings.
 
Again, thank you for the info. I will be reading through the thread that you linked and any other ones that I can find that might contain the info I'm looking for.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thank you for the input PurpleAngel. 
From what I've read, the STX amp will drive the HE-500s pretty well as you said, but I've also read in several reviews that a powerful dedicated amp can get much better performance out of them. The one amp I seem to keep reading is one of the best for getting the most out of the HE-500s is the Lyr, but I am still looking at all of my options for now since it will be a little while before I can buy one anyways.
And the reason I prefer the STX is because my plan is to have the amp plugged into the RCA jack of the card (acts a a DAC only through this type of connection) so that I can use it as a fairly standard amp/DAC combo for music and movies, and then I can plug the headphones into the headphone output on the card for gaming when I want to use the Dolby Headphone functionality. The reason I think I will prefer this setup is because I read a few threads discussing Dolby Headphone functionality in different scenarios, and several people stated that they noticed a reduction in sound quality with Dolby Headphone enabled when the rest of the equipment they are using is fairly high quality.
Also I want to be able to try out some OpAmp rolling, which is only possible on the ST/STX among the Asus sound card offerings.
Again, thank you for the info. I will be reading through the thread that you linked and any other ones that I can find that might contain the info I'm looking for.

I myself use an 02 amp plugged into the STX's RCA output, I figured it's less then 1-Ohm impedance is a benefit with my ATH-A900X, for listening to music.
Just I like to start out presenting the best value setup.