[skuzzzzy]

so im either looking for a soundcard + speakers or home theater setup.
 
soundcard i was looking at was asus xonar essence stx and klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers.
 
just seeing what you guys think the best i could do with $400. my current speakers are m-audio av30, and i use sennheiser hd555 headphones with onboard ALC889 soundcard.
 
 
mostly gaming and watching movies.
 
 
i purchased a creative x-fi titanium hd yesterday for $100 but sending it back since i found out i cant have headphones and speakers plugged in at the same time.

 

[Remonster]

Pretty much any system I've seen mutes the speaker output when you plug in speakers, what's the point of having both at the same time?
 
I used to have the Promedia 2.1s and currently have the A5s and I can tell you that the A5s are in an entirely different world, in fact I'm confident the A5s paired with your current sound card will still sound better than the Promedias and either of those cards you listed so I would get the A5s (around $350, you can probably find them for less) and then save up to get a nice sound card a little later.
 
EDIT: For some reason I thought you asked about the A5s, I still maintain they sound a ton better but if you need a lot of deep bass they won't work for you. The Promedias have a pretty decent subwoofer, it doesn't go incredibly deep and is a little boomy but at that price it's not bad at all.

 

[skuzzzzy]

im not looking to spend that much for only speakers. i also want something that will benefit my headphones.

 

[NamelessPFG]

X-Fi Titanium HD not letting you use speakers and headphones at the same time? How so?
 
There's both stereo RCA-out and a specially-amplified headphone 3.5mm-out. Just connect the speakers to the RCA jacks with an adapter cable and the headphones to the dedicated rear headphone jack. (Try to avoid the front-panel jack whenever possible; they tend to introduce noise.)
 
Also, if you go into Console Launcher -> Settings or Audio Control Panel, there should be a Headphone Detection tab with an "Automatically mute speakers" box. Uncheck that if you want your speakers and headphones playing simultaneously for some reason.