Let me get this out of the way. I'm stupid. There it's done. If I sound like I don't have any knowledge on something or if I sound like an idiot, then you'll know why...cause I told you so. I'm legitimately not trying to troll or sound stupid on purpose. When it comes to audio, after all I've tried to cram into my brain, I still get dumbfounded time and time again.

Here's my current situation: I just upgraded my computer, after having to, due to a power surge. Lost my mobo, gpu, cpu, and memory. My new rig runs phenomenal(it better after nearly $1000 worth of freaking upgrades) but I want to do away with on board sound. When I plug in my AKG Q701's they sound really low and weak even at max volume. So I did some looking on sound cards with built-in headphone amps in them and came across these two that seem to fit my needs(what do I know though..):

Asus Xonar Essence STX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010

HT Omega Claro Halo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271004

So of course I read on both, cause I can never make up my mind and heard that both cards can amp higher impedence cans better than low(Q701's are only 62ohm) which I thought was weird(this is what I read, not what I said). Others say they'll be fine. Yet still others say a Desktop Amp/dac combo is the better route. Which I would connect through the Mobo's optical out, I'm assuming. As far as that is concerned, I wouldn't know which to get or where to get it when it comes to amps or dacs. Now what would be the better route? I mostly will be gaming as well as talking through Skype/vent/etc during competitive/co-op games with friends(LoL, BF3, Diablo 3 etc.) I would also like whatever setup to be good for music and movies if I choose to listen/watch them. I'd say 80/20 ratio

Opt for a cheaper sound card such as: Asus Xonar DX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&Tpk=asus%20xonar%20dx and then pair it with an amp/dac?

Or shoot for a good Amp/dac combo through optical out(which I assume is where it would be plugged in)

...or another option completely. Thanks in advance for any info. Budget is around $200 or cheaper.

You are screwed. You could try going back into the service menu and scrolling through until you find your original settings, which you hopefully still have. Otherwise, there's nothing you can do.

WiiRocks66

Yeah I was afraid of that. Granted I've been able to fix my settings on custom, but it's mostly warm1 and warm2 that look identical to Normal....I see what I can do. If not see if I can afford a calibrator, or wait till my TV get a power outage...got 3 1/2 more years for that to happen, I guess -_-

It's been awhile since I've visited this forum, or posted but I think I may have run into a snag and now am perplexed on what to do.

I own a Panasonic Viera Plasma VT20/25 series that I got last year, and so far everything has been great with this tv. Just about everything looks amazing(Avatar on Blu-ray is an orgasm for the eyes ^_^). I've taken care of the set, I aged the panel for the 100 hours with break-in slides when I first got it and avoid leaving still images for extended periods of time.

Now to my problem. I was taking some advice from AVSforum and saw a thread pertaining to my exact model of tv. Here there were picture settings that were recommended. With some slight tweaking, I agreed, but then they talked about the offset menu. In this menu you change different values(such as R-Cut, G-Drv etc.) some you may know what these are, well I set them according to the thread(btw this was a very popular thread by known calibrator on the site, not just some random person) Before setting anything I wrote all my previous settings just in case I wanted to revert back. I did this all around May 2011.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, for some odd reason I decided to reset these values their defaults, don't know why(It's was probably one of my LCD lover friends who commented that plasma's don't look "crisp"....uhhhhh)but whatever the reason I got into the offset menu and you use the "3" and "4" buttons to change the values up and down and you press "1" to cycle throught the different options in the menu. You can also change the values on a certain temperature(Warm, normal, Cool). Well I got distracted and for some reason(probably due to my spastic Brain) I was changing values when I thought I was cycling through options. Once I realized the error in my stupidity I had changed things to an unknown amount. Even though I wrote down the presets from when I got the TV, I changed it(it seems) in a different temperature.

What resulted from this? Well on my TV the Normal, Warm1, and Warm 2 temperatures look exactly the same...not good. And I had to change so many settings, but now it seems I need to adjust brightness/color/contrast for each game. And I can't look online for the defaults because each Tv set has different defaults so no two are alike. So I'm in a sort of pickle and have no clue were to turn. I cannot afford a Calibrator, or anytime soon. I got a 4-year extended Warranty on the TV but I don't think it covers idiocy. Figured I ask here, and any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. Please don't mock or ridicule lol, I'm stupid I know it ;p

Might get VM-B, Dead space 2 and the Fear 1 and 2 pack. I may get another title...maybe Ghostbusters since it's only 2.49

I'm hoping for some kind of price drop(no matter how minimal) come Black Friday on the HD 6990. I'd be upgrading from a GTX 260, so it's time for an upgrade. There are a ton of games I'd like to run better that I currently have(MEtro, Deus EX HR, Shogun 2) and future titles besides BF3(Batman AC, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3). I could in turn get the card now, but I would kick myself if it actually did get somewhat of a price decrease. I hope my patience pays off...But I'm not holding my breath...:(

Id think it would be better to run crossfire 6970 than the gtx 580 classified, no? That thing is $750(ouch). Now I guess it comes down to which brand?

I'm leaning towards XFX and/or Sapphire what do you guys think?

Yeah I think I may stick with the 6970 and crossfire it down the line. Btw that was a typo I meant 6 gb of ram ;). With the money I save I may get myself another 2 gb stick of ram and maybe some cheese. But knowing me Im still gonna think about cause I'm dumb...just dumb no need to make fun of the TC since Im doing it here...sorry I'm just so indecisive on things like this lol. But right now I'm leaning in favor of the HD 6970

Thanks for the fast responses. I wasn't planning on running crossfire/SLI any time soon..I should of mentioned that prior, but it would be quite cheap for the 6970 whenever that time comes. I guess I wanted the best single-GPU card setup for right now. And maybe...just maybe I was drawn to the free copy of Arkham City included with the GTX 560, 570 or 580(just a little).

I was also interested in the 5970, but I've heard from different sources about it not being a good choice, can anyone elaborate?

Thanks again guys for the help, I appreaciate it