Plug headphones into case, motherboard, or Corsair sp2500 desktop controller for best audio quality?

[biggles]

Does it make a difference which one to plug into? Headphones are Audio Technica ATH-AD700.

Also, I am considering upgrading PC to a Ryzen 3600 with the MSI Tomahawk motherboard. The only problem is that this board only has realtek 892 vs 1150 on current board for onboard audio. Would this degrade the sound quality over the current setup? I have read that it only matters if speakers or headphones are high end enough.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Does it make a difference which one to plug into? Headphones are Audio Technica ATH-AD700.

Motherboard, least noise, hopefully.

Would this degrade the sound quality over the current setup?

More important than the DAC chip itself is the implementation on the board. Isolation, amps, etc.

I have read that it only matters if speakers or headphones are high end enough.

Depends on why they're high-end. Plenty of high-end headphones that are easy to drive that will then reveal deficiencies but run just fine off of a good cellphone. Plenty of not so high-end headphones that need a good amp to get to workable volumes, and plenty between.