Optimal soundcard for headphones?

[Savage6s]

Right now, I'm looking into buying a sound card to complement my headphones, since I live in an apartment, buying a sound system wouldn't be feasible or polite. Right now I'm running a set of Sony V-6's I use my computer fairly balanced between music/video and gaming. But here's the kicker, I have a fairly old am2/am3 micro board and I do not have an open pci express port. SO, what sound card should to accentuate my headphone use but uses a pci port? I only wanna spend about $70 usd on this, any suggestions? Or perhaps should I look into another set of headphones that perhaps bypass the soundcard on my pc?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[popatim]

heres a list of pci soundcards on newegg. I'm no audiophile but i've used the diamond in thepast with good results. I don't think you'd need a better card just for headphones but then I think onboard audio is good enough with headphones. Again I'm no audiophile, my ears arent that good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008658%20600011977&IsNodeId=1&name=PCI

 

[davcon]

ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020

 

[king smp]

%100 agree
nice little card

 

[gamerk316]

The best PCI cards are probably as follows, in more or less increasing performance [though for headphones, you should take a long look at the ASUS Xonar DG]

ASUS Xonar DG
ASUS Xonar DS [I'm pretty sure this is PCI, but need to check...]
ASUS Xonar D1
HT Omega Striker
Auzentech Prelude
ASUS Xonar D2
ASUS Essence ST [which is actually better then the somewhat older PCI-E based STX]

 

[Savage6s]

The best PCI cards are probably as follows, in more or less increasing performance [though for headphones, you should take a long look at the ASUS Xonar DG]

ASUS Xonar DG
ASUS Xonar DS [I'm pretty sure this is PCI, but need to check...]
ASUS Xonar D1
HT Omega Striker
Auzentech Prelude
ASUS Xonar D2
ASUS Essence ST [which is actually better then the somewhat older PCI-E based STX]

I think I'm gonna go with the DG, it was also recommended by king smp. It's well within my budget and it looks pretty solid. Realistically, how much of a difference should I expect to notice?

 

[king smp]

I own the card and compared to my onboard the difference to me is definitley noticeable.
I dont use the Dolby headphone feature (though since you pointed out the Logitech cans I think I will have to consider trying it out) but
with my Creative surround sound using the 1/8 analog outs there is clearly
a difference.
Also my onboard didnt have 5.1 through analog outputs so that was another factor

Also the software that comes with the DG is almost worth the $35 price alone.
It has about every sound control imaginable.
If you get the Logitech phones I imagine you will be pleasantly suprised
and please post back or Private Message me with a mini review of that setup
I would be very curious how it is.
For about $140 total that sounds like a great deal