So I have some nice headphones... what do I upgrade next?!

[Yslen]

Hi guys, I've been reading through various forum posts for the last few days trying to get a handle on where I should be looking for an upgrade to my PC audio, now that I've got some decent headphones. There's way too much info here for me to actually come to any kind of a conclusion this century, so I thought I'd ask for help!
 
All my music is generic CD quality and ripped to MP3 (320kbps) or FLAC. I ripped a couple of albums to FLAC but in a blind test I can't tell the difference, so I've left the rest as MP3 for now. 
 
At the moment I've got an Asus Xonar DX sound card and some AKG K-601's <hugs (gently!)>. These two together sound alright, but there seems to be a significant improvement when I run a low-ish volume signal from the Xonar into my hi-fi amp and use the headphone output on that.
 
Given the nature of my hi-fi (Akai M459 seperates... anyone know anything at all about these? The amp does seem to add a bit of distortion, to my ears, so I assume it's rubbish!) I assume that means the Xonar is woefully inequipped to drive my headphones by itself.
 
I'm also using this PC for gaming (headphones) and movies (usually using the hi-fi speakers).
 
So, given all that... what do I do next?
 
I've looked at amps of all sizes but realised I need to get a better source... so I've looked at some DACs, but can't decide whether a better soundcard would be more suitable on my budget, especially as with a DAC i'd likely be keeping the DX anyway (right?) so I couldn't sell that for cash. I've looked at DAC/AMP combos, but many seem to be designed to be portable and arguably no better than what I'm already using. 
 
As for my budget... it's probably about £200 at the moment - and i'd want a significant jump in SQ for that. If the difference is only going to be minor I have plenty of other things to spend £200 on!
 
From what little I understand I currently have some nice headphones with a very mediocre DAC and an amp that is probably pretty poor (though I've no idea, honestly, I didn't buy it so I don't know how much it cost). The impedence of the 'phones means I need an amp so would a good amp improve things even with the Xonar DX as a source? Or would I see a bigger jump by swapping that out for something better - either internal or external? Or are they both bad enough that I could spend £200 on an external DAC/AMP and see a significant improvement?
 
Alright, sorry about the stupidly long post with several redundant sections in it. It's 7:50am and I've not been to bed yet....
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Yslen

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

Hi guys, I've been reading through various forum posts for the last few days trying to get a handle on where I should be looking for an upgrade to my PC audio, now that I've got some decent headphones. There's way too much info here for me to actually come to any kind of a conclusion this century, so I thought I'd ask for help!
 
All my music is generic CD quality and ripped to MP3 (320kbps) or FLAC. I ripped a couple of albums to FLAC but in a blind test I can't tell the difference, so I've left the rest as MP3 for now. 
 
At the moment I've got an Asus Xonar DX sound card and some AKG K-601's <hugs (gently!)>. These two together sound alright, but there seems to be a significant improvement when I run a low-ish volume signal from the Xonar into my hi-fi amp and use the headphone output on that.
 
Given the nature of my hi-fi (Akai M459 seperates... anyone know anything at all about these? The amp does seem to add a bit of distortion, to my ears, so I assume it's rubbish!) I assume that means the Xonar is woefully inequipped to drive my headphones by itself.
 
I'm also using this PC for gaming (headphones) and movies (usually using the hi-fi speakers).
 
So, given all that... what do I do next?
 
I've looked at amps of all sizes but realised I need to get a better source... so I've looked at some DACs, but can't decide whether a better soundcard would be more suitable on my budget, especially as with a DAC i'd likely be keeping the DX anyway (right?) so I couldn't sell that for cash. I've looked at DAC/AMP combos, but many seem to be designed to be portable and arguably no better than what I'm already using. 
 
As for my budget... it's probably about £200 at the moment - and i'd want a significant jump in SQ for that. If the difference is only going to be minor I have plenty of other things to spend £200 on!
 
From what little I understand I currently have some nice headphones with a very mediocre DAC and an amp that is probably pretty poor (though I've no idea, honestly, I didn't buy it so I don't know how much it cost). The impedence of the 'phones means I need an amp so would a good amp improve things even with the Xonar DX as a source? Or would I see a bigger jump by swapping that out for something better - either internal or external? Or are they both bad enough that I could spend £200 on an external DAC/AMP and see a significant improvement?
 
Alright, sorry about the stupidly long post with several redundant sections in it. It's 7:50am and I've not been to bed yet....
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Yslen

Get a cheap DAC/Amp combo. This way you are improving your source AND getting some really nice amplification (which you badly need). Something from Audio-GD or the Audinst Hud MX-1 would be a good option. There are plenty of others. I have for sale a Audio-gd FUN located in London atm that would be perfect for your needs.