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Is this worth it?

S

Souljah

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
74
Is it worth replacing my Creative Labs X-Fi Champion edition with the Asus Xonar Essence STX? Is there noticeable improvement? I'll be pairing these with Sennheiser HD595 headphones and I currently don't have an amp. Would my money be better spent getting an External AMP? Total newb here looking for advice..
 
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If you're MOSTLY playing games and want the X-Fi compatibility, then stick with your current Creative card.

If you are MOSTLY listening to music or movies, then the Asus STX may prove to be better, plus it has an amplifier built into the headphone out port.

Just one perspective, wait for a couple other people to weigh in.
 
I mainly use it for gaming.. but I do use it for Music, VOD's and such. It's also being used for watching movies on my home theater system as well. So I guess pretty much all of the above.
 
I find the Essence to be the single best card for music/gaming with headphones + active monitors. I am more of a competitive gamer and I don't have a problem with the DH implementation for footsteps. You just don't need a Creative card anymore if you are a gamer. That time is past.

It's also really convenient to have a software switch so that you can plug both your amplified headphones and your speakers into one card at the same time and switch seamlessly between the two.

You will notice a difference, even with your 595's, which are easy to drive, with amplification BTW. One thing that plays into the value of the card is that if you are using it with a home theater system, that will bypass the excellent DAC of the Essence and go to your receiver (which can certainly have a good or better DAC). So keep that in mind. If you use your headphones enough, it may still be worth it.
 
An external headphone amp would be fine if you needed to keep the Creative card for the games that utilize it (which, off the top of my head, is slim to none), and you can use them with your iPod and other analog sources to drive your headphones. Otherwise, get the Asus Xonar STX, as it has a headphone amp built-in.
 
Thanks for the quick replies. They are appreciated. Now to find one for a good price. :)
 
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