A/V Help me upgrade my sound

[rainbowbridge]

I want to upgrade my PC sound so I get a more immersive experience in classical music &
3d movies.

I have a decent PC running an Asus P8Z68- VPro running but only standard real tek system board sound.

Headphones I am using a Sennheiser PC 360 Gaming Headset with MIC

Also I dsconnect the Sen 360 headphones from my system board to connect to a casio PX 350 piano.

Gaming sound is taking a back seat thou going forward.

I want good music + musical instrument and movie sound quality.



What do we need to upgrade here?

Sound card = Asus Xonar D2 PCI Sound Card? ?
Headphones = (Sennheiser HD600 300 ohm headphones ?)
Amp as they are 300 oh m headphones?



As a rough guide in price

Sound card up to = £200
headphones = £200 to £275
Digital Amp = ??



My concerns are.
If we are going to upgrade from an already very decent Sen 360 have to go to at least a HD600?
If I do need an Amp how can I easily switch between my PC and Casio Piano?

The headphones and set up is purely for home use no mobile use.

[AlphaAngel]

If looking at that sound card be aware that the D2 is PCI and the D2X is PCI-E.

[jrs77]

What do you consider good movie sound?

For music and making music nothing beats pure 2.0 stereo, and that is best with a USB-DAC. An USB-DAC usually has an integrated amp to power a pair of 300mOhm headphones aswell.

A good USB-DAC with an additional LineIn to connect your ePiano doesn't cost a fortune either and will have a better sound-quality then a PCI(e) soundcard aswell.

[Yslen]

Classical music? AKG-K601, though they're hard to find. I've had mine 3-4 years and I'm still stunned every time I use them. I'm worried I'll sit on them or something and won't be able to find another set :/

The K-702 is within your budget, also. Pair with a good amp/DAC combo (you'll get tons of suggestions I'm sure) and you're sorted.

I suppose I should also add the Audio Technica ADH AD-700/AD-900. The 900's might be slightly above your budget depending on what price you can find them at. The 700's aren't as good as the AKG's, IMO, but they're cheaper and easier to find for sale.

There's also the AKG K-550, which is actually pretty cheap for what you get. Extreme clarity and great soundstage, though being a closed back design there's not that same open, airy quality to the sound as with the others I've mentioned.

I think that's most of the options, though I've probably missed a few!

[jinq-sea]

If you ask me, in this instance it's all about a good USB DAC. Little Dot make some good ones, with decent headphone amps built in. Depends on budget though! The Little Dot jobs are over £200, but well worth the outlay in my opinion...

However - you won't need the Headphone amp separately as it's part of the DAC.

Try this, perhaps: Little Dot DAC_II?

[MSHunter]

Amp with build in Sound card BurBrown DAC£250
AKG MKII headphones

[jrs77]

Audioengine D1 would be a good choice for an USB-DAC aswell, but it lacks a stereo-input for your ePiano.

A very cheap option to try out an USB-DAC first before deciding on a more expensive model would be the Behringer U-Control UCA 202, which costs only €25 and has additional stereo-inputs for your ePiano aswell.