New sound card and headphones (perhaps amp too) for about $600 bucks total?

well i got the old x-fi creative pci and bose around ear. Im in love with them. but i would say get the pci-e sound card. the sound card i got has eax 5.0 (for gaming) an ifent setting for movies and music. sound card 100 bose headphones $130 also bass is nice very nice and unlike my old sony studios dose not need to be on full blast to get good mids and lows. but u need to break them in play sound like 50% for 4-5 hours the 75 % 4-5 hour then full 4-5 hours, they got better with age. wire i rolled over 100+ time still holding in. beats SENNHEISER $400 pair my brother got , also i owned them like over 1 1/2 years.

My suggestions would fall along the Audiotechnica / senn line fro balance and open back goodness. nice open sound stages, with a wide experience. and very well balanced, not overly bassy, and overall well priced

instead of an soundcard I would suggest a USB DAC

Headphones:

Senns:

$210 - HD600s - same driver as HD580s, great bang for buck cans, comfortable, and killer balance and precision in audio

OR

$286 - HD650s - Same drivers, better cable, these are the retired flagship cans of the senn line (disminding the orpheus) still great bang for buck, personally own and love these cans, are amazing in classical, jazz, and symphonic pieces, but also play very well to alternative/rock and electronica, although I cannot speak for hip-hop.

ATH:

$150 - AD700 Amazing headphones, the most comfortable set I own, and They are the cheapest ones (discounting free ipod/zune/psp iem sets) amazing sound stage, really well balanced and play nicely with an added amp. great for rock (although grados are better)(may be able to find them cheaper)

OR

~$300 - AD900 - Have not had the pleasure of owning these yet, am looking for a pair of AD2000s myself, but if they follow the suit of the AD700s, are beautifully balanced, VERY comfortable with the wing style headband, and play well to an amp. (again, you may be able to find them cheaper elsewhere, newegg no longer carries these )

DACs:

$200 - EMU-0404 - a great starter DAC, takes USB, S/PDIF, or Fiber in, and has an integrated headphone amp to add a little boost to your cans, but can be bypassed later in place of a more powerful dedicated amp leaving you with a great DAC

$166 - Zero DAC - I would even recommend this one over the E-MU as it is very open to mod-ability, swappable opamps, cap replacements and the likes, but very similar in performance to the E-MU 0404 and a little cheaper if you trust chinabay

i am currently using a creative sound blaster x-fi xtrememusic card with a pair of grado sr-80i's and really like them. i also used chinesekiwi's x-fi tweak and that helped alot.

total spent for this setup was $130 ($30 for card, $100 for cans).

Depending on how mobile you want this setup to be, don't count out the Shure SE530. I'd put them on par with the Senn 600 and having near total sound isolation is wonderful on planes, road trips, skiing, etc. If you've never heard a killer pair of IEMs, try 'em out! If you're wanting a stationary setup, I'd also recommend the Senn 600.

Either

A) You like the Bose sound signature
B) Your brother doesn't not have an amp to power those "$400 Sennheisers"
C) Both

Bose = not terribad, but more insanely overpriced and deliberately so. Bose has more than the resources and know-how to produce great headphones at a good price but they don't cuz it's not as profitable as pumping that cash into marketing mediocre sounding overpriced audio equipment.

My guess is definitely a C.

mmm...K701/K702 and your genres don't mix too well tbh....
Not to mention the odd soundstage and fit.....

Anyway my suggestion:

Musiland Monitor 02 USB DAC - $150

+

Sony SA5000 - $357

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-SA500.../dp/B0007N55KK

= $507.

The reason why I recommended this was this:

* Suits your genres
* Does not need to be amped
* The significant issue of proper amplification with headphones that need to be amped. I don't believe mid-fi headphones like the HD600 can be properly amped until you hit amps that sell for $300 unless you buy a DIY design amp like the CKKIII. If you are willing to do that, then it changes the whole ball game in terms of my recommendation.

the Musiland is insane bang for buck. Believe that. Worth far more than the $150 price
suggests. It beats my opamp upgraded STX.

The only 'problem' you might find with the SA5000 is that it's a detail monster and thus your indie rock recordings will sound 'even more indie', meaning it'll reveal how badly / low-fi it was recorded at. Sony makes very good high-end headphones. Don't be put off cuz it's Sony.