Soundcard + Amp, on a (somewhat) tight budget, considering a Xonar Essence

[oorza]

Hey guys, this is my first post here, so kindly tell me if I'm posting in the wrong place, as this post seems to qualify for two forums

Basically, my story is that I just bought a pair of HD-650s, after some pretty intensive research into what I wanted in headphones (good bass, great acoustic rock sound) and now I believe it's time to upgrade my sound card and purchase a head phone amp. I apologize in advance for the heart attack I just gave some of you for not having an amp with these headphones, but I under-calculcated the amount of money I lost at the casino this weekend and the bankroll is short for spending for a wee bit.

So, I need a new soundcard, as well, preferably PCI-E, although I can live with PCI (I'm gradually saving to rebuild the entire PC, and the motherboard I want - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P doesn't play nice with PCI and SLI). I do have a specific and somewhat unique requirement for it, though, in that I'm a linux fanatic and incompatibility with linux is definitely a deal-breaker for me. I've not even considered the X-Fi series of cards since they were released because of their horrid linux support (maybe in another 2 or 3 years).

Regarding budget, I need this sooner and not later, which puts me between $300 and $500 for both of them so I can purchase in less than two weeks. After some pretty decent research I've located the Asus Xonar Essence STX and it caught my eye because it satisfies all of the criteria: budget, PCI-E, has onboard amp. The only lingering questions are the sound quality of that card and if I can do better for the same price ($200 at newegg) or for slightly higher (I'm not willing to spend more than $500 for both of them together).

What are your thoughts and experiences with that card and using it as the only headphone amp? Can I do better? Oh, and one final note, I live in a small apartment that's shared, so speakers aren't really a concern for me right now (and won't be for a while, as I prefer headphones anyhow).

Thanks in advance!

 

[hertz]

You may also consider DAC+amp solutions. For example, some amps in the $200-$300 range, such as the Darkvoice 336se, the Head-Direct EF1. Even though Xonar Essence STX is great, I believe a dedicate headphone amp is better. With the amp, then you can look for standalone DACs, such as the Tianyun Zero, the Zhaolu D3, the Musiland SVDAC05/06 or Pacific Valve Giga Lab Moon or Fathom NOS DAC, etc.

Or you can purchase the Audio-gd Compass(DAC+amp).

Xonar is still great as a DAC. If your budget is still tight, you may also consider some used high-end sound cards, such as the M-Audio Revolution 5.1, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or Audiophile 192, the E-MU 1212M, etc.