[VXAce]

Good point.

 

[ChthonicMiasma]

Wow sorry to lose track of the thread
 
First off, I agree a new computer is definitely a necessity, and I'm currently waiting for next years Haswell-E to finally piece everything together. I've been saving up for it for a while, and this old girl still gets me through what I need (minus post 2010 gaming) even if it's a little on the slow side nowadays. There will be subsequent posts concerning this but they'll probably end up on techreports forums.
 
PurpleAngel - I'm mainly looking to upgrade for music, a stereo system for my computer will probably wait until after the new build (concerning movies and gaming). Currently using Windows 7, and I find that the headphone out through the Audigy has a hiss in the background so i opt to go from the GS4 to the E11.
 
thanks to everyone for the comments so far!

 

[VXAce]

Ah... gaming. I put that down a while back, though I'm sure your system will be awesome. Though Intel is just not really my thing. Too poor to go there yet.
 
Anyways, if you aren't too worried about your computer. I'd probably suggest the Schiit Magni/Modi combo, unless you plan to go even further then that in terms of amps and DACs. If you plan to get better headphones like the HD650s you are going to need something that can drive them. After all it's impedance is 300 ohms. Having an good amp and/or a DAC can go a long way, my K240 S might sound really nice off of the onboard sound in my PC, but they sound way better when I listen to them with an amp. 

 

[davidsh]

He want the schiit vali!

 Though it might not work too well with his hd-25.
 
I'd suggest some not too expensive DAC/amp and a new heapdhone.

 

[cel4145]

Wow sorry to lose track of the thread

First off, I agree a new computer is definitely a necessity, and I'm currently waiting for next years Haswell-E to finally piece everything together. I've been saving up for it for a while, and this old girl still gets me through what I need (minus post 2010 gaming) even if it's a little on the slow side nowadays. There will be subsequent posts concerning this but they'll probably end up on techreports forums.

PurpleAngel - I'm mainly looking to upgrade for music, a stereo system for my computer will probably wait until after the new build (concerning movies and gaming). Currently using Windows 7, and I find that the headphone out through the Audigy has a hiss in the background so i opt to go from the GS4 to the E11.

thanks to everyone for the comments so far!

You might be better to wait to upgrade until you build your computer. An internal sound card over an external DAC can be a plus for gaming since the sound card can support Dolby Headphone and other surround modes. An external DAC will not unless you get one that has an optical interface AND connect to an internal sound card that has those features.

 

[ChthonicMiasma]

Very good point cel i hadn't even thought of future surround sound capabilities. I'll now almost definitely wait until my build and get an internal soundcard with a good DAC, and I've uncovered a whole new area to explore. Any suggestions would be great but I'm sure I'll be headed right to research after this post.
 
So in the meantime (until Q3 '14) would I benefit by investing in a better amp or headphones just for music? Or better to wait out the new DAC?
 
VXAce - Yeah I've actually got a bit of a stockpile of games to play after I build the new rig, I've saved Skyrim (And now saved $ by getting the Anthology), the Assassin's Creed series, and I'm sure I'll put some good time into GTAV on it.  Do you think I would need more than Magni/Modi (or soundcard DAC/Magni as mentioned above) to fully enjoy the HD650s? Before they came out I was interested in the Asgard/Bifrost combo. I might have to go that way if so.
 
Davidsh - by Schiit vali are you referencing Valhalla? can anyone give me an idea of what kind of difference a Valhalla would make compared to an Asgard 2?

 

[cel4145]

The E11 can drive a lot of headphones that motherboard audio can't. You could certainly get better headphones and use the E11 with them, and even tryout an inexpensive external DAC to see if it would improve audio quality over your motherboard sound.

 

[davidsh]

The Vali is the newest Schiit, will come out soon. It seems to be a very promising product.
 
Anyway, I'd suggest you to wait till the right offer pops up and be open to gear you haven't previously considered. Especially used stuff. That requires a lot of research and being active on the forum, though.