[Secone]

Hey there! I've been wandering around this site for a very long time now, and I figured it was about time I finally signed up and asked something that's been on my mind for a very long time, mainly, I want to know what piece of equipment do I have that needs upgrading the most.
 
I'm using a gaming laptop that's about 3 years old now, and since it's a laptop, getting an internal sound card is kind of something that can't really be done, unless someone has advice on how I would go about getting one in it.
 
So currently, I have an external sound card, the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro (http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Surround-5.1/M/B0044DEDCA.htm), and connected to that is the Electric Avenues PA2V2 amp(http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplifiers.html), and then connected to that are my headphones, ATH-AD700s (http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU).
 
I feel like mainly what's holding me back right now is my sound card, but I'm not quite sure where I should be going from here. I like my ATH-AD700s, as a good sound stage is something I'm focused on, since I mainly listen to ambient electronic music and electronic music in general such as Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, along with some harder stuff like Nine Inch Nails, Enter Shikari, and the like.
 
I'm also a bit tight on money at the moment, so I was hoping there was something in the $100-200 range that would be good for me to have. Still, even if there's something outside of that price range, I'd like to know about it anyways, for the future when I can spare a bit more cash.
 
Anyways, I'm just generally looking for tips and suggestions on how I can improve this setup. Thanks very much, I hope I didn't my first post TOO terrible.

 

[linglingjr]

The ODAC is highly regarded for the price:
http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=46
 
The Schiit modi could also be a good choice if you want to spend less.  I have no experience with that amp but I would assume that the sound blaster is the weakest part of your rig.

 

[davebucklin]

If you get an odac or the modi, you will still need an amp. A good option might be the Fiio E07 or E17 as this is a combo. Given your current setup, I think this will be a good move for you.

 

[linglingjr]

He already has a PA2V2
 
both the e7/e27 are portable dac and amps it would be pointless to get that plus a desktop dac that will outperform both of those imo.  After 
If you get the odac or modi (or anything else at that quality level) your amp will be the next thing you'd want to upgrade.  

 

[Secone]

I think I'm definitely gonna go with the modi, it's cheaper and some reviews I read made it seem like it was pretty much equal with the ODAC, thank you both so much for the help! I'll definitely take a look at amps later when I have more cash flow.