Reddit mentions of ASUS Xonar U7 7.1 USB Sound Card and Headphone Amplifier

Almost any sound card will be an upgrade compared to your onboard Realtek audio. The main benefits will be slightly cleaner sounding audio stream and additional features like the Dolby enhancements (which are nice for headphones and stereo systems).

Let me give you a few options that would be farily decent:

• ~$100: Asus Xonar U7 - Fairly new so may be a bit hard to find. Offers some decent features, especially for headphones. Also has an optical out for Home Theatre systems. Plus it's a USB device so you can take it with you if you have a laptop.
  
  
• ~$60: Asus Xonar DSX - PCI-E based card, basically the entry level card I would go for if you want an internal sound card. Has a decent set of features and has 7.1 analog output (for the cheaper surround sound systems).
  
  
• ~$180: Asus Xonar Essence STX - Probably the best solution for headphones as far as PCI-E sound cards go. Decent DAC, reasonable integrated headphone amp, and all the other typical Dolby features. Note that this, like the U7, does not have multiple 3.5mm analog outs like the DSX.
  
  Now the above DAC's/sound cards are suggested if you are looking for something that has support for a surround sound speaker system and also has the virtual surround software (Dolby headphone/Dolby home theater). If you don't care about those and are only going to have either a stereo (2 channel) setup then I would probably recommend something different.

Hey guys, Posted in here a few times now seems every week i have a new question and an idea for an upgrade searing it's self into my mind.

Currently looking at getting the AT2020 Microphone

I currently have a pair of Sennheiser HD 579's

My question is, Will both of these connect correctly to This Mix Amp. If not, what is a better mix amp to use?

Thank you for the continued help as i continue to upgrade my build.

Asus Xonar U5: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00MI8IDRE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499551731&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=asus+xonar+u5&dpPl=1&dpID=415czWFsIkL&ref=plSrch

Asus Xonar U7: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00CP53ML2/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499551731&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=asus+xonar+u5&dpPl=1&dpID=414hGNCNO-L&ref=plSrch

I have the U7 and love it. 😀

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CP53ML2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_hRslxbTBJQRM6

this one :)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CP53ML2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2F5K4JEE2HZCG&coliid=I1G8S0FB4FE80K&psc=1

this is a DAC/AMP that has a headphone out and a mic input. So if you've got the vmoda boompro mic, you can use the splitter no problem with this.

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I have this:
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Xonar-U7-Sound-Card/dp/B00CP53ML2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485041042&sr=1-1&keywords=xonar+u7
works great, little over your price, at $80, but you might consider ..