[CooCooMcBottoms]

Hello everyone,
 
After picking up my first few paychecks at my new job I've managed to save up enough money to treat myself to some delicious earcandy. I've ordered a Denon AH-D2000 from J&R and am waiting for them to arrive (actually managed to save around $100 by reading this site and calling them). In the meantime, I'd like to make a few upgrades to my rig in anticipation of this awesomeness. Also, I'd like these upgrades to be multi-functional, meaning I can use them in my desktop, laptop, and ipod as well (although ipod compatibility gets the least priority).
 
I'm mainly looking for cost-effective upgrades and eliminating bottlenecks. My system is a Dell XPS 8300 running "Integrated 7.1 with THX® TruStudio PC™sound". Would upgrading to a discrete sound card provide much of a difference for the desktop?
 
Regarding AMPs/DACs, I'd prefer something transportable. I'm thinking about either the Fiio E7, E10, or E17. From my understanding, each of these also works as an independent soundcard, thus eliminating my need to purchase a discrete sound card from above (can someone confirm?). Which of these would you guys recommend as being the most cost-effective? 
 
I've also noticed a number of people pairing the E7 with a Fiio E9 AMP. Is this (or combinations like this, with the E10/E17) a worthwhile upgrade?
 
And one last thing... in the situation the AMP/DAC isn't recommended to purchase, would getting one of those USB sound cards be worthwhile? I've seen a number of cheap ones on Amazon, but if they suck, I might just have to shell for a PCI.
 
Hopefully I didn't sound like too much of an idiot with this post, I'm just getting into this new stuff. Any other comments and thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[NamelessPFG]

If it's USB, it's effectively its own sound card in a sense. This can be great if you want a transportable sound system between desktop and laptop, but USB audio devices (especially audiophile DACs) generally lack the gaming DSP features that internal sound cards normally have, so I'd steer clear if 3D gaming is even the slightest of your concerns.
 
May I ask exactly what you plan to use the new sound system for? This can help people here make better suggestions.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

After picking up my first few paychecks at my new job I've managed to save up enough money to treat myself to some delicious earcandy. I've ordered a Denon AH-D2000 from J&R and am waiting for them to arrive (actually managed to save around $100 by reading this site and calling them). In the meantime, I'd like to make a few upgrades to my rig in anticipation of this awesomeness. Also, I'd like these upgrades to be multi-functional, meaning I can use them in my desktop, laptop, and ipod as well (although iPod compatibility gets the least priority).
I'm mainly looking for cost-effective upgrades and eliminating bottlenecks. My system is a Dell XPS 8300 running "Integrated 7.1 with THX® TruStudio PC™sound". Would upgrading to a discrete sound card provide much of a difference for the desktop?
Regarding AMPs/DACs, I'd prefer something transportable. I'm thinking about either the Fiio E7, E10, or E17. From my understanding, each of these also works as an independent sound card, thus eliminating my need to purchase a discrete sound card from above (can someone confirm?). Which of these would you guys recommend as being the most cost-effective? 
I've also noticed a number of people pairing the E7 with a Fiio E9 AMP. Is this (or combinations like this, with the E10/E17) a worthwhile upgrade?
And one last thing... in the situation the AMP/DAC isn't recommended to purchase, would getting one of those USB sound cards be worthwhile? I've seen a number of cheap ones on Amazon, but if they suck, I might just have to shell for a PCI.
Hopefully I didn't sound like too much of an idiot with this post, I'm just getting into this new stuff. Any other comments and thoughts would be appreciated.

One problem is some sound cards come with a high impedance (like 10-Ohm) and you want the headphone connected to it to be at least 10 times the Ohm rating of the headphone jack.
Asus Xonar sound cards come with a impedance of 10-ohms, so they work better with headphones that are 100-Ohms or higher.
But headphones under 100-Ohms still work fairly well with Xonar cards.
I'm guessing the built in sound on your dell (headphone jack) comes with a high impedance, have no idea on how much.
The Denon AH-D200 is only 25-Ohm.
Portable headphone amplifier come with a lower impedance, but are usually battery powered, so you would want to recharge every day or two.

 

[CooCooMcBottoms]

I'd mainly use it for music, but eventually I'd like to be able to create my own mixes as a hobby. And I don't mind the fact I'd have to recharge a portable amp, I can just plug it in before I go to sleep. The downside of getting a PCI soundcard is I can't use it with my laptop, so I'm leaning heavily towards the portable solution.
 
Can someone confirm if E10 and E17 also function as soundcards? I know the E7 is, as it says so on Fiio's website, but nothing on the other two.
 
If they are, I'm thinking about getting:
 
1. E7/E10/E17, depending on which one is most cost effective (and maybe combining with E9 if it's worthwhile?) or
2. High-end USB soundcard, if E7/E10/E17 aren't recommended

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I'd mainly use it for music, but eventually I'd like to be able to create my own mixes as a hobby. And I don't mind the fact I'd have to recharge a portable amp, I can just plug it in before I go to sleep. The downside of getting a PCI soundcard is I can't use it with my laptop, so I'm leaning heavily towards the portable solution.
 
Can someone confirm if E10 and E17 also function as soundcards? I know the E7 is, as it says so on Fiio's website, but nothing on the other two.
 
If they are, I'm thinking about getting:
 
1. E7/E10/E17, depending on which one is most cost effective (and maybe combining with E9 if it's worthwhile?) or
2. High-end USB soundcard, if E7/E10/E17 aren't recommended

The E7, E10, E17 only output audio from a computer (laptop).
They can not feed audio into a computer.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Creating your own mixes? You might not want an audiophile DAC, then, because as PurpleAngel said, they are only output devices. No inputs for microphones, line-in, etc.
 
You may want some sort of professional audio interface instead, as those tend to have robust outputs AND inputs.

 

[NPORec50]

I use an 0404 USB between laptop and desktop, but a Babyface is in my future, hopefully. Check it out.