Who knows a thing or three about headphones and soundcards?

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So I'm looking into Blue's Mo-Fi headphones. In part because I need new headphones, and in part because my current setup (motherboard's built-in sound card and some M-Audio monitor speakers) isn't cutting it. They have issues hitting some notes on occasion. I was reading reviews for the Soundblaster X7 external amp and had found that that's one way to expand the range of your audio. So, from my basic understanding...

Could I purchase the Mo-Fi and hook them up into my motherboard's audio-out and their built-in amp coupled with their being analog audio takes care of that difference and call it a day?

Do I need to have a dedicated sound card in order to hear a difference with these headphones?

Would my money be better spent on something like the X7 that has DAC and an amp, or on an internal card as opposed to these? I prefer to game with headphones on (no need for a headset, I've got a studio mic).

The problem is I just don't know a thing about audio, honestly. Any advice is appreciated.
 
Solution
You are in the right direction of external preamp/DAC. External give you portability to plug it to what unit it's capable of. Unless all those unit are in one location/cabinet unit or something like that. This also allows you to plug in your game console without having to turn your PC on.

Your M-Audio speakers are active I gather, then you really don't need another amp from the X7. If you are willing to spend that much on a unit then may I suggest you check on Arcam rDAC or Parasound Zdac v.2, Unlike the Sound blaster X7, these are not 5.1 though. And these will certainly add some presence from your M-Audio that you haven't heard before when it was just connected to your PC. I myself would like to get one of these but after...

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That's not really an answer to my question. Still looking.
 

rexter

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You are in the right direction of external preamp/DAC. External give you portability to plug it to what unit it's capable of. Unless all those unit are in one location/cabinet unit or something like that. This also allows you to plug in your game console without having to turn your PC on.

Your M-Audio speakers are active I gather, then you really don't need another amp from the X7. If you are willing to spend that much on a unit then may I suggest you check on Arcam rDAC or Parasound Zdac v.2, Unlike the Sound blaster X7, these are not 5.1 though. And these will certainly add some presence from your M-Audio that you haven't heard before when it was just connected to your PC. I myself would like to get one of these but after replacing my sound blaster driver with KX project, I could stay with my old Audigy card connected to BX6 for at least a year more or so.

One other thing though is why you prefer the Blue's Mo-Fi headphone?
 
Solution