In 2019, in an effort to find a better sound solution for my then-new Sennheiser HD6xx headphones, I ended up purchasing–and falling in love with–the EVGA Nu Audio internal sound card for my computer. This was after trying an Fiio K3 external unit and being wholly unimpressed with it; if I remember correctly, my headphones were rather quiet even on max volume for that device. Generally, I didn’t know what I was doing.

Fast-foward, it’s been almost five years, and I’m still using the audio card. Unfortunately, I view it as an unwanted crutch: I’m designing the rest of my PC builds around the need to include it, because I fear going without. For context, despite the lackluster community discussion 4-5 years ago ( https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/afhmos/nu_audio_new_soundcard_from_evga/ ), the card really does a much better job than its critics suspected; certainly, it has performed much better than the Fiio K3 which was often recommended instead (at that time). Unfortunately, the card is basically unsupported and, as EVGA is basically out of business, I will eventually need something else.

Though I learn a bit more everyday, I regret that I still don’t understand a lot about audiophile nomenclature, so comparing this product to others makes me go cross-eyed. These are the specs for this card that I was able to scrape from the site (https://www.evga.com/articles/archive/01281/evga-nu-audio/default.asp ):

Audio DSP:
XMOS xCORE-200
Native DSD Support (up to x256)

Output Configuration:
2 Channel (Analog)
5.1 Channel (Digital via S/PDIF)

Dynamic Range (DNR) / Signal-to-Noise (SNR):
123dB (Stereo Playback)

Playback Format:
Up to 384kHz, 32bit (Stereo)
Up to 192kHz, 24bit (Optical)

Headphone Amp:
16-600ohm (Independent Analog Control)

Maximum Voltage:
8Vrms

Maximum Current:
250mA

I/O:
Stereo Out (RCA L/R)
Headphone Out (6.3mm)
Line-In (3.5mm)
Mic-In (3.5mm)
Optical Out (TOSLINK Passthrough)
Front Panel Header

Premium Components:
DAC - AKM AK4493
ADC - AKM AK5572
OP-AMP (Headphone) - ADI OP275
OP-AMP (Line Out) - ADI AD8056
Capacitors - WIMA, Audio Note(UK), Nichicon
Power Regulators - Texas Instruments TPS7A47/TPS7A33 ultralow-noise power solution

Switchable OP-AMPs:
Headphone, Line out

Which of these specs is important to ensure that I have similar performance for my headphones, with whatever replacement product I choose? Are there any specs I can safely ignore? If you need another product example, I was recently looking at the Fiio K7, as it’s about $200 (about what I paid for the EVGA card 4-5 years ago).

P.S. Right now, I use the provided RCA to 3.5mm adapter (https://images.evga.com/products/gallery/712-P1-AN01-KR_XL_2.jpg) to connect to a pair of powered Klipsch desktop speakers. I don’t use external speakers much anymore, but I’d like to maintain this versatility. I would plan on doing something similar, unless there’s a better way?