asus integrated audio vs asus audio card

[Dunkinidaho]

Realizing that integrated audio has gotten much better over the years I'm investigating whether the Realtek ALC887 codec in the ASUS H87M-plus MB is adequate for music playback. I'm considering an Asus xonar card, perhaps the D2 or similar. Whether that move would be worth the cost or not is what this question is about. Other items in the chain are a pair of Audioengine 5+ in a 2.0 configuration. This is a dedicated computer system with no connections to other audio equipment.

 

thanks