Best sub $100 external sound card / amp?

[theshickness]

Hello!
Budget Audiophile here, as the title says I'm looking for the best external sound card / amp under 100 bucks (I'm tired of my integrated sound!). I'm looking at a few now and would like some insight. The two I'm looking at now will be linked below.
Thanks!
http/www.amazon.com/Creative-Performance-Headphone-Integrated-Microphone/dp/B00EZT7RE4

https/www.massdrop.com/buy/creative-sound-blaster-e3-usb-dac-amp-combo?referer=7ZW6WM&mode=guest_open&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Audiophile%20A%20Product%20Announcement%202015-08-20&utm_term=Community%20-%20Audiophile%20-%20MAU%20%28Active%29

 

[americanaudiophile]

If you are a budget audiophile then consider music oriented products rather than gaming ones. Something like this is in your price range
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-e10k-olympus-2-usb-dac-and-headphone-amplifier/?gclid=COygrfycuMcCFZYYHwodY0sP9w
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-andes-usb-dac-headphone-amp-e07k/

 

[theshickness]

If you are a budget audiophile then consider music oriented products rather than gaming ones. Something like this is in your price range
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-e10k-olympus-2-usb-dac-and-headphone-amplifier/?gclid=COygrfycuMcCFZYYHwodY0sP9w
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-andes-usb-dac-headphone-amp-e07k/

Thanks! I am looking at gaming ones because I'm trying to find a good balance between music and gaming as I do both.

 

[theshickness]

If you are a budget audiophile then consider music oriented products rather than gaming ones. Something like this is in your price range
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-e10k-olympus-2-usb-dac-and-headphone-amplifier/?gclid=COygrfycuMcCFZYYHwodY0sP9w
http/audio46.com/shop/fiio-andes-usb-dac-headphone-amp-e07k/

Also, I am specifically looking for sound card / amp combos

 

[ssddx]

the omni, x-fi 5.1, u5 and u7 are all decent options if you absolutely require a soundcard for 5.1

if you're looking for 2.1/2.0 only, there are nice amps and dac/amps which are specifically made for high end headphones which AA mentioned a few of.

 

[theshickness]

the omni, x-fi 5.1, u5 and u7 are all decent options if you absolutely require a soundcard for 5.1

if you're looking for 2.1/2.0 only, there are nice amps and dac/amps which are specifically made for high end headphones which AA mentioned a few of.

Okay! That's settled then, I will just stick to a nice DAC/amp for my headphones, as I do not use a speaker system or even 2.1, thanks guys!

 

[ssddx]

you might want to list what headphones you have... so we can give you an idea of what would work best.

 

[theshickness]

you might want to list what headphones you have... so we can give you an idea of what would work best.

Currently I only have SuperLux HD 668Bs and Audio Technica ATH-AD700Xs, nothing crazy but I know I can squeak a bit better performance out of them if I escape from my onboard sound card.

 

[ssddx]

for those cans an external headphone amp really is not required. any soundcard would do.

if you want virtual surround sound, you would need to go with a usb soundcard option (i'm guessing you have a laptop which is why you avoided internal cards).

if you do not care about virtual surround you could go with a cheap fiio as AA suggested. the fiios tend to add a bit of warm quality to sound so might push a little more bass (though still they are going to be light) out of the 700x.

if you're eventually looking at heavier cans to drive, you might want to pick something appropriate now instead of spending more on better things later... but as far as what you have now - none of it is hard to drive.

 

[theshickness]

for those cans an external headphone amp really is not required. any soundcard would do.

if you want virtual surround sound, you would need to go with a usb soundcard option (i'm guessing you have a laptop which is why you avoided internal cards).

if you do not care about virtual surround you could go with a cheap fiio as AA suggested. the fiios tend to add a bit of warm quality to sound so might push a little more bass (though still they are going to be light) out of the 700x.

if you're eventually looking at heavier cans to drive, you might want to pick something appropriate now instead of spending more on better things later... but as far as what you have now - none of it is hard to drive.

I don't have a laptop, and was mainly looking into externals because I can take ti with me and plug it in anywhere and into almost everything, I know I have no true need for a soundcard or amp with my setup but that little extra push in quality would be nice.

 

[ssddx]

headphone amps are plug and play with any pc, the soundcards would require software.

as for plug and play with non-pc devices... your luck may vary.