Headphone and Sound help

[GeTecknics]

Hey everyone so a couple weeks ago i started looking heavily into the sound situation on my computer i use the crosshair v formula mother board i wont get to far into specs as this is for audio assistance. i use the on board reltek chip for all my audio and i heard linus slick and diesel all say that this is not good that onboard sound is not good.I used my friends computer wih roughly the same stuff as mine but he had a sound card and its sounded great no static and no awkward tones. So i have no idea what to get i was looking at the Xonar essence STX but thats a headphone amp sound card and i just wanted to ask (i dont have a really tight budget) i want a sound card that can perform good with speakers and a headset or just a headset that would perform good without a sound card i have turtle beaches that i salvaged from my console days and know that i do like the freedom of wireless but anything that would work is good im not an audiophile but would like to know what is out there because as my computer gets better i dont want to be stuck in the same place with something as important as sound. Also i have one of my 560ti's above the x16 slot where a sound card would go so nothing that has to many tall solder points on the back like the blackmagic its hits one of the fans on the gpu and stops it from spinning. If a sound card is required no pci on pci-e i have a wireless card in the pci slot. thanks for any help i was looking into the mionix headset coming out soon that linus showcased at ces. As stated before not a really tight budget but i would like to keep it under 250 if i must have a sound card but if not then under 200

[Bazingaman18]

A sound card is a must. Since your on a budget get a ASUS XONAR DG http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-XONAR-Headphone-Audio-Card/dp/B0045JHJSS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361080504&sr=8-1&keywords=sound+card it works with both headsets and speakers. I don't have headset recommendation sorry but someone else will probably.

[OddballMV]

The amp in the sound card will mostly just make the headphone louder if they need it. It's the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) that will make more difference to sound quality, not sure whether or not this changes as you scale the Xonar line.

Are you saying you have a budget of $200-250 for a soundcard and a headset? I would recommend going for at least that Xonar DG regardless of what headphone you buy as it will be an improvement.

Also do you definitely want a headset or separate headphones and mic such as a clip on?