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Asus Xonar Essence STX Thread

G

German Muscle

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
7,277
I think its time for a thread on this card since quite a few have it.

I just got one myself. Ive heard the Asus drivers are pretty much equal to Creative at best. I say Daniel K has drivers for these cards to but they are over a year old. Anyone running the Daniel K drivers on this card?

I know the amps can be changed. Can anyone post up more information on this? How to change them, what are good amps to replace them with, etc.

What else can i expect when getting this card this week? Any cool features i should check out?
Im coming from on board sound to this card. I know just using a 20 dollar creative card is extremely noticeable over the on board so this will be much better im sure. My cans are Audio Technica ATH-A700.

Maybe we can get this thread going as a dedicated thread for this card with all kinds of good information with enough participation.
 
I've had mine for years. Love it for gaming. Couldn't imagine gaming without it on my PC.

My go to gaming headphone AKG Q701. Unified drivers are great for this card.

I've got friends who've messed with the Op-Amp's but honestly the sound difference isn't quite as dramatic as you would expect. I don't find it to be a very worth while venture.
 
Hmm, what are the main benefits to those unified divers? The description seems kinda scattershot or vague at times...
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/headphone-data-sheet-downloads

Hey, if you are considering the Q701, look at the measurements for it, specifically the impedance vs. frequency. You'll see that it spikes up at the high frequencies. I think the Q701 might sound bright if you use it directly with the Xonar STX, and it will not be properly damped because the STX has 10 Ohms of output impedance on the headphone output.

So, to summarize: it might sound slightly bright, and the driver may not be properly damped, resulting in loose bass response. I'm not 100% perfect at reading measurements yet though, so take this with a grain of salt until someone else confirms it.
 
Impulse said:
Hmm, what are the main benefits to those unified divers? The description seems kinda scattershot or vague at times...
Click to expand...

The lower dpc latency is probably the biggest benefit. Its also a more up to date c-media driver and is a little lighter weight than the asus package. I never had any problems with the Asus driver though.
 
The asus xonar Phoebus should hit stores within the month. It's pretty much the stx plus 7.1 analog and updated GX and Dolby home theater.
 
There's a massive thread on tweaking over at head-fi. I swapped out opamps first thing, as the stock ones really aren't that great IMHO.
 
ShatteredX said:
The asus xonar Phoebus should hit stores within the month. It's pretty much the stx plus 7.1 analog and updated GX and Dolby home theater.
Click to expand...

It'll probably be $200+ too, if not $250+ since it comes w/a mic/control pod and other fluff. I don't really need any of that or 7.1 analog so I ordered the STX last night.

I think I'll stick to the ASUS drivers at first since I kept reading about issues w/switching from headphones to speakers while using those unified drivers.
 
Impulse said:
It'll probably be $200+ too, if not $250+ since it comes w/a mic/control pod and other fluff. I don't really need any of that or 7.1 analog so I ordered the STX last night.

I think I'll stick to the ASUS drivers at first since I kept reading about issues w/switching from headphones to speakers while using those unified drivers.
Click to expand...

It will be 199. I highly doubt its a STX with 7.1.
 
Impulse said:
So you're thinking it's more of an upscale or gamer version DX than an upgrade on the STX?
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likely. The STX is audiophile grade. Gaming grade isnt ever that high of quality even though everyone tries to market it that way.

I can just look at it and see that with that price and the knob and stuff that comes with it drives the card cost down to be able to make money at 199. When card costs are driven down it means quality suffers. Its not layed out like the STX either.
 
German Muscle said:
likely. The STX is audiophile grade. Gaming grade isn't ever that high of quality even though everyone tries to market it that way.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, gaming hardware when it come to sounds is usually somewhat less high-end than equipment marketed to people who are in it just for good music/sound.


That being said, I hooked my STX up to my AT A900X headphones last night. Impedence set properly. I also have a pair of speakers hooked up via RCA composite cable. I get a crackling sound occasionally when music is not playing, or when new maps are loading in BF3 and no audio is being output. Functions fine otherwise. I'm confused as to why this would be. Changing settings in the STX software control panel doesn't do anything but affect the tone of the fuzz/crackle.

Lastest Drivers from ASUS website installed, which I believe are early 2011.

Also, anyone game on BF3 with this and have a favorite driver/setting? The sound is incredible, I just wish I could make it a little less realistic...lol. Sometimes the helicopters and tanks drown out all the other sounds (as they should). I'm still playing with the mixer in search for my favorite settings.
 
Try the unified drivers. I think that has to do with the high dpc latency. Its at least worth a shot.

For gaming I just like to set the channels to 8 which will automatically set windows to 7.1 and activate Dolby headphone with the second setting. I forget what its called in the Asus package.
 
I absolutely love my STX. Fantastic upgrade over the crappy Creative card I had. The only set of cans I currently have right now are Senn HD595s. They sound absolutely fantastic with the STX.

I just use the Asus drivers, never had any issues. Stock opamps as well.
 
I used both unified and official Asus Xonar drivers. Sonically, barely heard a difference. As for UI, I prefer the Cmedia one from the Unified drivers.
However, when setting the gain for headphones, it's absent from the CMedia UI, though the Unified drivers still has the Asus Xonar UI (however apparently the UI increases Latency so says someone, though I measured it and showed no real increase).

I still prefer the Unified drivers, only because of the easier configuration (except for the headphone gain) as well as not having to deal with GX mode, which is absolutely useless anyways since most of the time all it does is freeze the computer.

One of these days I'll actually change the damn opamps. Sounds awesome as it is right now. Using DT990 600 Ohms with these. Haven't really plugged in the headphone with a better amp, so I dunno if the Xonar STX is underperforming or not. Had my friend plug in his HD650 and that sounded beautiful, though I prefer the DT990 for gaming and movies, while the HD650 was just better for music.
 
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Just came home to a box on my doorstep. Its all installed and im playing with it.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts so far.
spooge1.gif
 
Mine's due to be delivered today but it's raining cats and dogs here, I hope it doesn't scare the UPS guy away!
 
The Essence STX and ST are blissful cards. My budget Op-amp of choice is National's LME49720. you can get a pair of them on EBAY for around eight dollars and three more for shipping.
 
Can someone clarify what it takes to get 7.1/5.1 out of the card? I'm looking for a decent HTPC solution, and am driving blind.
 
cvgd said:
Can someone clarify what it takes to get 7.1/5.1 out of the card? I'm looking for a decent HTPC solution, and am driving blind.
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You need an AVR that does Dolby Digital Live 5.1 or 7.1 decoding and takes an SPDIF or TOSLINK input. In Windows you set Speakers as your default audio device, and you tell your STX drivers to output 6/8-channel audio over SPDIF out in DDL.

It is convoluted and complicated because SPDIF and TOSLINK were originally designed as digital connections for only PCM lossless 2-channel stereo...anything more than 2-channels requires compression voodoo, hence DDL.
 
cvgd said:
Can someone clarify what it takes to get 7.1/5.1 out of the card? I'm looking for a decent HTPC solution, and am driving blind.
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Do you already have one? Because otherwise I wouldn't buy one if you are looking for 5.1/7.1 sound - there are cheaper solutions that do that natively. The STX is really focused on headphones/stereo.
 
I don't already have one.

I don't want to just pass through the digital sound, as there's no reason to prefer digital sound from the card over digital sound from the motherboard. The whole point is paying for the DAC and processing, right? Is there something I'm missing?

I currently have a zvox sound base, which is very good for what it is, but was purchased a while ago when space was at more of a premium. I'd like to put together a system with better performance.

If I want surround, is it really best to just get a receiver? I have two small Dayton Audio amps that I use for different purposes, but nothing with an actual processor.
 
cvgd said:
I don't already have one.

I don't want to just pass through the digital sound, as there's no reason to prefer digital sound from the card over digital sound from the motherboard. The whole point is paying for the DAC and processing, right? Is there something I'm missing?

I currently have a zvox sound base, which is very good for what it is, but was purchased a while ago when space was at more of a premium. I'd like to put together a system with better performance.

If I want surround, is it really best to just get a receiver? I have two small Dayton Audio amps that I use for different purposes, but nothing with an actual processor.
Click to expand...

It depends on what you want to do.

If your HTPC is only for movies, then yes there is little point beyond digital SPDIF/TOSLINK on the motherboard. Catch being motherboard SPDIF/TOSLINK can only broadcast pre-bitstreamed and compressed surround sound. That is to say DVDs....if you want to play and hear games in 2.1 or surroundsound, and they almost exclusively generate PCM in their sound engines, you are screwed as motherboards almost never have the ability to do on-the-fly encoding from PCM to DDL or DTS and broadcast over SPDIF/TOSLINK.
 
Whats the Smart Volume? Initially the volume wouldnt go up high without having it on. Now it works without it being on. Now that its not on and i can turn it up pretty loud it got rid of my static/feedback coming through the headset. The more i play with it i end up working kinks out and it makes me love it more.
 
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the STX when I first got mine. With my HD598 the bass was a little lacking and it was a touch on the bright side. I just switched out the op amps and now it sounds like I was expecting.
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the STX when I first got mine. With my HD598 the bass was a little lacking and it was a touch on the bright side. I just switched out the op amps and now it sounds like I was expecting.
Click to expand...

I just got an STX a few days ago and I have to say I'm rather underwhelmed (coming from Realtek ALC892). Like you, I find that the bass is lacking and it is very bright and the treble is somewhat harsh.

What OP amps did you change to?
 
Is there any problem with using multiple outlets simultaneously? I've been looking to get rid of my separate amp and DAC (don't use cans as much anymore, and they take up a lot of space) and the STX seems like the best option to replace it. I also want to plugin my 2.1 speakers into it (they use a single cable, so I imagine an rca adapter would work). It'd be great if I could leave both plugged in and switch between outputs in software.
 
cesium666 said:
Is there any problem with using multiple outlets simultaneously? I've been looking to get rid of my separate amp and DAC (don't use cans as much anymore, and they take up a lot of space) and the STX seems like the best option to replace it. I also want to plugin my 2.1 speakers into it (they use a single cable, so I imagine an rca adapter would work). It'd be great if I could leave both plugged in and switch between outputs in software.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats one thing that I'm really liking. I can leave my headphones and 2.0 speakers plugged into the RCA and switch between the two on the fly via the control panel.
 
legit, i may have to buy this then. trying my cans right now on integrated sound - so muddy haha
 
Yeah, the STX has a hardware switch that you control in software... Unlike other cards that force mute the speaker out when headphones are plugged in with no way to switch, like the Titanium HD.
 
You can also make an account with National Semiconductor by having a business address. You can request samples, up to five at one time, and they will be UPSed to you. They take a week to arrive for me in CA 91214.
 
How is the Xonar STX for grounding? Almost every internal sound card I've had has suffered from poor grounding, resulting in a low hum or buzz (sometimes not so low) with my high end speakers and cans. I just ripped an Auzentech card out of my system because of horrid, ear shattering electronic squealing. I've heard the Xonar has some sort of "special" grounding method. How does it do, in this regard?
 
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I've had no problems with the STX, but I had the same problem as you with my Forte.
 
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