Soundcard advice

[Darkfeign]

So over the summer I'm intending to upgrade my hard drives and refresh them a bit, as they're starting to get fairly noisy, so I'm unsure how much money i'll have to spare.

 

However, for the past year I've been thinking about investing in a soundcard. I figured it wasn't so necessary for myself until around Christmas time where I found a pair of Sennheiser HD 558s in the Blue Cross sale over here in the UK for just £100, which was a fantastic deal at the time! Since then, I've been blown away by the comfort and sound quality of these headphones, and have considered saving up for a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros (80 ohms).

 

So I'm just wondering, considering these are both low impedance headphones, (particularly the 558s, at 50ohms I believe), is it worth purchasing a soundcard such as this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Xonar-D2X-XDT-Express/dp/B0011BC1FO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=10D1SH5VEFNFH&coliid=I1SET3XIJWRVQR

 

I'm really into my music and a lot of the video games I play, I play to enjoy the surroundings as much as the gameplay (The Witcher 2 for example). I'm just not sure if it's worth getting a decent soundcard for my current set up, or if it would be more worthwhile a purchase with the 250ohms version of the DT770s?

 

Thanks for any advice.

[Gorgatron]

Personally I would vouch for a USB amp/DAC like the Fiio E10. The DT 770 80ohm is great. I love these headphones a lot. The Fiio E10 has a bass boost which you may like. My issue with sound cards is the risk of EMI when the sound card is near other components. A USB device will avoid that.

 

edit: link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-Analogue-Convertor/dp/B005VO7LG6/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1373589341&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=fiio+e10

[t0wer]

I'd second the e10.

with the line out, you can still use it as a dedicated DAC if you find the need to upgrade the amp or use it with speakers.

[Darkfeign]

I've read a lot of good stuff about these, thanks guys.

[Gorgatron]

I've read a lot of good stuff about these, thanks guys.

No problem dude, I love you.