Need help with PC audio setup

[Bazyzzy]

Hi everyone! I'm new here but have been reading the forum for a few months now. I have to admit that I am a noob and don't know that many specific terms, etc. I would welcome any help there is.
For a number of years I've been using the same setup for my PC. Mostly I play competitive games, listen to music (various genres, but mainly rock or electronic), so that's going to be the primary purpose of my setup. Music I listen on Spotify. Hopefully Tidal, when they finally get to my country. In terms of sound, I'm not really sure what I like. I just don't know much. Probably a bit warmer? Though I'm not a basshead, sometimes I enjoy vibrations from low frequency. So correct me here pls, I assume something balanced would be the choice. And I can't really just try stuff out. So it's basically I get what I order; not much chance for experiments there.
Currently I am using:

• Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd gen
• V-MODA wireless 2 closed headphones
• Rode PodMic
• Edifier R1280DBs active speakers

But I decided to step up the game and update my setup. There are a number of reasons: first of all my v-moda sound dull and low range compared to bose earbuds i own, as well it's impossible to use them for a few hours straight. My sound card sometimes hits me with static (though pc is grounded), becomes glitchy and breaks sound under heavy pc load (like doing renders, launching games etc), so i have to replug it. Delays are noticeable even with tweaked settings in focusrite driver. On top of that, I would want to be able to increase my gain a bit more on my mic (now its on 100%). And in general, get better sound.

- What decisions are already made:

• I would definitely keep the PodMic; it's great. I love how it looks, and sound seems pretty good to be. Not even talking how tanky it is.
• V-MODA is getting replaced by Fiio JT7. I've spent tons of time researching and decided to listen to @solderdude and get those

- The next step is replacing Scarlett. After reading the forum, I've realized replacing it with an all-in-one device is not the best idea, so will be picking separate components. I'm not looking for the best gear, but mostly the best bang-for-the-buck gear in the mid-range. Ideally around 200$ or less per device. First in the list is DAC/Headphone amp. For now both my headphones and Edifier speakers will be connected to the device, so it should be able to play both at the same time, or even better, be able to easily switch output without the need to unplug anything. Reading the forum, I narrowed down the list to a few pieces (But any other suggestions are welcome.)

1. Fosi ZH3
2. Fosi K7
3. Topping DX5 II
4. Fiio K7
5. Fiio K11

Thanks a lot to @solderdude who kindly replied to me in private and narrowed it down to the Zh3, Dx5II, Fiio K7. I decided not to go with Dx5 for it having some mixed feedback on the forum. So it was between ZH3 and K7. Decided to go with Fosi ZH3.
- Next is what to use with PodMic. I can still keep Scarlett for it, but ideally I would replace it with something. Any ideas here? Haven't researched it yet. Went with the Focusrite Vocaster One. It was a great price on discount and has over 70 dB of gain, which is perfect for my Podmic. I had to run it on almost full gain on Scarlett, which had
significant noise. I will be using it only for the mic anyway, so it should be sufficient.

- And after that, would be good to get new speakers and an amp for them. I like my Edifiers; they are pretty good for their price. But i was already feeling like buying a sub for them, so decided maybe it's time to just upgrade them completely. Haven't settled on new ones yet, but from research it looks like amirm highly praised the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62, so potentially them. But they are kinda pricey. And I don't know yet if they will need a sub. In terms of amplifier, people here seem to love the Fosi ZA3. // Since I'm going for ZH3, it makes sense to keep it paired and get ZA3. However, I'm open to any other suggestion.

So at this point the question is: Do i keep my active Edifier speakers and get a sub for them, or Do i switch to passive and get new speakers + amplifier.
1. It's a matter of sub than. Should i just get Edifier T5? I assume it should have good synergy with my speakers. Or smth else?
2. Should i go for Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 or smth else? With an amp, I'm pretty solid with ZA3, if it is sufficient, of course.

I would really appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

 

[kyuu]

And after that, would be good to get new speakers and an amp for them. I like my Edifiers; they are pretty good for their price. But i was already feeling like buying a sub for them, so decided maybe it's time to just upgrade them completely. Haven't settled on new ones yet, but from research it looks like amirm highly praised the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62, so potentially them. But they are kinda pricey. And I don't know yet if they will need a sub. In terms of amplifier, people here seem to love the Fosi ZA3. However, I'm open to any other suggestion.

There's no particular reason to use passives plus an amp for a desktop setup (I assume that's what you're looking at since this is for your PC). It would be helpful to know what your limitations are in terms of budget and size.

 

[Bazyzzy]

There's no particular reason to use passives plus an amp for a desktop setup (I assume that's what you're looking at since this is for your PC). It would be helpful to know what your limitations are in terms of budget and size.

Yes, I'm looking specifically for a desktop setup. I am not even sure myself if I need a passive + amp; that was just my impression from researching forums after a while, i do not have experience myself and am not sure if I will even hear the difference. I can tell so far that when occasionally going loud enough with my Edifiers, the sound gets muddy, like everything is mixed and blended into a mess. My assumption was that it might be because they have to work as sub as well, so by adding a separate sub i would fix that. I was just thinking to make it simple and get the Edifier T5. But then got into all this complex audiophile stuff...
Realistically, I just want to have something that will sound good enough for occasional music listening at my desk and gaming (though usually, to get more directionality, I switch to my headphones while gaming).

In terms of size and price:
- would be good to get something under 250-300$ i guess, but if those Elac's are such a huge step up, i probably could go for them
- it definitely has to be some shelf speakers, nothing too huge. They are standing right at my desk on both sides of the pc screen. Edifiers are approximately 146 mm (W) x 234 mm (H) x 196 mm (D), and im pretty happy with the size, but can go bigger if needed. No hard limits here, just common sense