How can I improve my sound system?

[Cromulent]

I currently use the on-board sound card on my computer which feeds to a Denon PMA-500AE connected to some Tanoy Mercury-M2 speakers. I'd like to get a new sound card and am seriously consider the Asus Xonar Essence STX and a new amp. I'd like the digital output from the sound card to go directly into the amp as that appears to offer the best sound quality.

Is my plan the right one? If so is the Asus Xonar Essence STX the best sound card to get? Which amp should I upgrade too? I think a second hand amp would be best to get the most out of my budget.

My budget is about £300 - £350 for the whole lot.

 

[Cromulent]

What will the uses be?

If it's for 2 channel listening, you could get a USB DAC and connect that to your amp.

Yep. Primarily stereo music. I don't really care about sound quality in games.

I've not considered a USB DAC. Do you have any recommendations for things to look for?

Would that still not be limited by the quality of my on-board sound card though? I'm pretty sure that is the weakest link in my current configuration. It is a Realtek on-board sound card on an Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboard.

Edit: Just realised that is a stupid question as I assume the USB DAC bypasses the on-board sound? I'm not very familiar with these things at all so you'll have to excuse the stupid questions .

 

[Cromulent]

I certainly wouldnt be spending all your budget on a dac with the amp/speakers you have.

I always thought my speakers were the best part of my current set up. Are they really that bad? I always assumed that I'd get more from upgrading the amp than I would from upgrading the speakers since the amp was always a cheap model that was bought just to get me through Uni.

The speakers I've borrowed since they were better than my original ones. I've read a few reviews on them and they seem reasonably positive given that they were originally a reasonably priced set.

 

[Cromulent]

Don't get me wrong, they're not bad by any means but i always find that i find the biggest changes when swapping speakers, especially at the lower end of the spectrum.

I think it depends what your future plans are. If you want to spend £350 now and that’s it the approach would be different (for me) than if you were spending that now and then maybe wanted to spend again in x months time.

Again it all depends on what you feel you're missing and what you'd like to improve really.

I can't really afford to spend more than £350 for the foreseeable future. Perhaps in a year I can add some more stuff to my system but for the time being I'll have to make do with £350.

 

[Cromulent]

Thanks for the advice. I'm having a major reorganisation of my room which will include moving the speakers to a better location listening wise. If they still sound rubbish after the move I'll look into upgrading components.

Based on the advice here and elsewhere I'll upgrade components in the following order:

Sound Card
Speakers
Amp

but I'm hoping that the move will help as the sound won't be muffled any more by furniture and other bits and pieces.

 

[Cromulent]

No no no!

Sound card is a waste of money. A dac will connect via USB or optical and give analogue out like a sound card does. Just use your motherboard or existing optical out.

USB DAC First. Something like a Beresford or second hand DACmagic
Speakers second. Dali zensor one.

That should use most of your budget.

Later on... Amp third. Not sure what's worth going for here but see what richer sounds have.

I'll look into those DACs then. Thanks!