Finally, something I can be proud of in this town, supergrannies (and a Dr Who).

Toy Story 1, 2 and 3

OK OK, Analogue v Digital is a pointless argument without a proper context.

Analogue has an infinate range of values, so steering would be analogue, you can turn the wheel as much or as little as you like. Digital has strict ranges, the most basic being 1 and 0, and then combinations of this making more detailed ranges of values for PCM Audio.

Anyway, back to the point, DVI is better than VGA, pixels work digitally, as do original video signals. Digital to Digital works best with the digital cable in between, so DVI. Analogue transmission between the source and monitor causes noise and syncronisation problems, and an overall loss in quality (not a big loss though). Huge resolutions are also not supported by VGA.

PCM is Digital. RCA connections are analogue.

the DAC or Digital to Analogue Converter takes PCM and turns it into an analogue signal, just variances in current. RCA/3.5mm jacks/any other standard analogue cable will send this at the quality it came out of the DAC (or preamp, or whatever). It could pick up some minor noise along the way though. Once its plugged into the amp, all that happens is it is amplified (and any EQ, tone, etc you have set) and it comes out the speakers.

The question really is, how good is the DAC in the original device, and how good is the DAC in the receiver you have. Personally, I wouldnt use the RCA from the PS3 unless you cant use anything else. The digital signal given out over HDMI or SPDIF will be perfect until the DAC in your amp/receiver touches it. And the DAC in the PS3 will be basic at best, and will be noisy.

I would recommend the Auzentech Forte as a new soundcard, great price and great features. I upgraded to the Forte this week, from my older X-Fi Fatal1ty, because of the dedicated headphone amp, which will work with any of the headphones listed here, and more. If you are looking for a particular sound, warmer for example, then a dedicated amp wouldnt be a bad idea either, but there are a lot to choose from, and they are not cheap, especially when you are spending around $100 on the cans, not $300+. Cheaper amps exist, but at that point a soundcard is the best option I feel.

I own the HD555s, and they are a great headphone for gaming and movies. They are pretty strong with music too, the bass is nice and punchy. If you are a music lover, then perhaps a different headphone would be better, depending on what you want from your music. I honestly can't help you much there, I personally havnt listened to AKGs, Audio Technicas, Grados, Beyerdynamics etc. I need to find somewhere which can demo some of these headphones, I want to know what they are like.

My setup now is the Forte with the Sennheiser HD650s, and because of that, i can say the 555s certainly lack a bit in the mids, which is something the other brands might perfom better on.

TLDR: HD555 is a good headphone, but for music alone, consider some of the others listed. And get a good amp, either in the Soundcard or External.

DVI is better than VGA. The digital signal means there is no noise on the image on screen, VGA can suffer from noise, and analogue signals need to have the clock and phase tuned. Fuzzy lines and out of focus parts can also appear on the monitor. DVI also benefits from HDCP which allows bluray playback to your monitor from certain software. Overall the difference isnt massive, but a standard DVI cable should be pretty cheap, so go for it.

Now, Digital vs Analogue audio, this is an argument which can pretty much never be solved.

FLAC isnt a viable argument for digital audio, its just a lossless compression container, it doesnt make anything sound better, it just keeps true to the original source. I like both Digital and Analogue audio anyway.

24" 1920*1200 PC Monitor

Logitech Z5500 5.1 Digital Speakers

PC capable of 1080p playback

Xbox360

Works fine for me.

I prefer the UK for bands which is most of the stuff i listen too.

Oasis, Biffy Clyro, Blur, Coldplay, Kasabian, Muse, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree (who are amazing), as well as all the older bands which were more influential, so The Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc. Also Queen had some cool stuff.

The US has some cool stuff too obviously, Smashing Pumpkins, RHCP, NIN (my brother is a big fan, so ill add it).

Electronic/House/Pop wise, pretty even between the America and Europe. I love Daft Punk (French) and Deadmau5 (Canadian) for example

a 1920*1080 monitor would be around 23" to 24", and for a computer it is certainly noticeable. Not so much in games, but in everyday desktop use, the extra space is great. In games, the jaggies do decrease in size somewhat, but the main visual difference is due to both the resolution increase and overall size difference.

With the effects added on, I would recommend the newer larger monitor, and 2 or 4x AA shouldnt be an issue on high spec hardware.

ESET NOD32, amazing program, best payed Antivirus/spyware by a mile