[BeauRoger]

Im by no means an audiophile, but Istill cared enough to invest at least some money in a sound solution because I listen to music mostly through my computer and do a fair bit of gaming as well. I got myself a pair of Sennheiser HD598 to that end, and since i didnt want to spend too much more than that, settled for just a Xonar DGX sound card since it had an amp and apparently was much improved over the MOBO sound. Well, now im thinking about moving a step up or two, and im wondering how far I'd have to go to start hearing a real difference? I was honestly wondering if Sound Blaster Z would do the trick, or do i have to go further up in the price ladder start hearing a real difference?
 
Any insights or tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[PurpleAngel]

I say to go for the SB-Z.
Disabled the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, before installing an add-on sound card and it's software.

 

[BeauRoger]

  I say to go for the SB-Z.
Disabled the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, before installing an add-on sound card and it's software.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe i'll go for the SB-Z then. But how do external DACs like Fiios stack up to one of them, in roughly the same price range?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks for the reply. Maybe i'll go for the SB-Z then. But how do external DACs like Fiios stack up to one of them, in roughly the same price range?

 
A FiiO E10K or Schiit Fulla (both USB-DAC-amps) would not provide any headphone surround sound features, but otherwise they are good choices for improving audio quality.