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I'd first focus on the source, amp, cables and then finally with these extraneous mods if you still aren't satisfied. Trust me, the former make a world of difference. Moving away from a midlevel soundcard alone (no matter how upgraded it is) will solve a lot of issues.
Thanks, but I wouldn't be completely reliant on an assumption that Sennheiser made something that couldn't be improved, even if it is quite good, there have already been a couple of improvements. It's just a matter of time before someone tries more and finds something good and then eventually most people come to accept it as real.
I don't really have issues with the system. It's OK. I'd like some more bass heft. The imaging is very good, and I mean in front me, not 'in my head' due to the CMedia 'Crossfeed'.
This soundcard should be viewed as components on a board, not as a soundcard. It's now beyond anything that 'normal' 'modifier' would call modified. View it as the CMedia DSP, the AK4396 DAC and a DC coupled analogue stage using LME49710HA op-amps. Now I'm not saying it can't be better, I know it can. But I'd not expect much commercial stuff to be all that much better. There's a 70 page thread on this soundcard on another forum and none of the people have any idea what they're doing with hardware. I do have some idea at least. One option I'm considering to remove the DAC chip and analogue stage from the soundcard which, will allow for better power supplies, and feeding if from the DSP with I²S. I'd like to dispense with the ATX sized PC but need to keep the cross feed that the DSP provides. And do it relatively cheaply. But I have been thinking about trying the Phonitor and Realiser but they both looked like they'd not really do it, I might feel I had to re-organise their innards to get rid of the copper tracking and solder joints and probably very low cost resistors and capacitors, etc. You might think that statement sounds so arrogant that I must be delusional, but I have been doing this for years.
I started 'improving' commercial 'high end' stuff about 20 years ago for myself and then for discerning people often with decent budgets, and it's often not all that difficult to do.
A commercial item is mainly a cost saving measure. A £2000 box may be £200 in parts, and usually not very good ones. My CD player analogue stage PSU, (one of 5 PSU's in there), now used for the headphone amp, cost me about £300 in parts and that's only 'cause I knew how to make discrete regs, otherwise add another £100. Of course if I'd made 100 of these then the price would come down a bit but not all that much as I and a friend were making PSU's to sell in the late '90's and importing Nichicon KZ capacitors by the 1000. I'm not saying that that PSU can't be better either. I'm planning to try out some Super Teddy Regs to see if they're better then connect the regs direct and close to the amp chips so as to delete nearly all the (silver that I'm using) PSU wire from the equation as post reg PSU wire has had an effect on the sound previously.
I spent a couple years very carefully crafting the sound of that soundcard. It's better sounding that the better Asus Sonnar stuff, I know this a pal has that and asked me to modify it for him.
The Wire amp apparently has particular good measurements by any standard. And it will have good sound due to being minimalist DC coupled with nearly no copper tracks and state of the art chips and capacitors. Copper tracks are a veil to the sound, etc. In just about all cases people with that and the O2 prefer The Wire (as in straight wire with gain) but I don't have any comparison data to high priced commercial amplifiers.
I'm in a different position to most end users, I don't have to buy and try 15 different boxes to get a sound I like, I can change the build or design of what I have.
