Just ordered Xonar STX...

Ruoh

Ruoh

Supreme [H]ardness
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For a pair of MAudio AV40's and a ATM50's. Hoping this card will last through a few upgrades on the output side, as the onboard soundcard just doesn't sound quite right to me. :eek:
 
Comparing a Xonar STX to on board sound is like comparing a Kia to the Space Shuttle...

Barely sharing the planet together. You'll be quite happy don't worry , unless you want to spend around $1000+ you'll be hard pressed to find a better value with the kind of DAC the STX has and the excellent amp as well.
 
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Any thoughts on this card for gaming with Dolby headphone?
Looking to upgrade my forte and the stx is the only thing to go to. I really need something similar to my forte's cmss3d for my different sets of stereo cans while playing fps games like bf3
 
Its excellent for Dolby Headphone , again the DAC it has on board just blows away pretty much anything that isn't at least 2-3x the price of it.

The effect is quite similar to CMSS3D , I find it more convincing but its user subjective so I can't tell you if you'll find it the same way.
 
Cool ty sounds like you know what you speak of from reading some of your other posts
Ruoh Congrats on the stx I am jelly lol
 
Rattle said:
Any thoughts on this card for gaming with Dolby headphone?
Looking to upgrade my forte and the stx is the only thing to go to. I really need something similar to my forte's cmss3d for my different sets of stereo cans while playing fps games like bf3
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I love dolby headphone. I made a similar move recently and have been very pleased with my xonar. I'm really impressed with dolby headphone in the games that I've tried.
 
what are some good dolby headphones?

and how is the Win7 support for this sound card today? i heard they need alot work.
 
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what are dolby headphones?

I have ATH ad700's, dt770 pros and sr850's
 
Dolby Headphone is a sound processing technology that is supported by the sound card. It maps multichannel inputs into a stereo signal for headphones, giving you a pretty good surround simulation. If the soundcard supports it, then it will work with all headphones. There are no Dolby headphones, except that some USB headsets include Dolby headphone as part of their DAC (in place of a sound card).
 
Forceman said:
Dolby Headphone is a sound processing technology that is supported by the sound card. It maps multichannel inputs into a stereo signal for headphones, giving you a pretty good surround simulation. If the soundcard supports it, then it will work with all headphones. There are no Dolby headphones, except that some USB headsets include Dolby headphone as part of their DAC (in place of a sound card).
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This.

Just think of Dolby Headphones are Dolby Digital Live where its encoded on the fly. Dolby headphone seems to respond better to closed headphone setups because the outside noise leaking into open headphones can prevent quality separation in my opinion.
 
Rattle said:
what are dolby headphones?

I have ATH ad700's, dt770 pros and sr850's
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Dolby headphones is emulated positional sound, meaning the software attempts to recreate 3D positioning. It's quite good with any open phones such as the ATH-AD700.

I personally use it with AKG-k701 and the Sennheiser HD-800 and it sounds awesome on both headphones. The HD-800 though... it's like wallhacks.
 
Anyone running the STX with AudioEngine A5's?

Just fishing for comments~
 
Be glad. I love my Xonar Essence STX.

I also had the opportunity to compare it between the Fiio E17 and the Essence STX, and the Essence STX blew away the Fiio E17. Then again, I think the E17 was lacking amping.

Whatever it was, the soundstage and imaging was next to nill on the E17 compared to the Essence STX.
 
Lakevren said:
Be glad. I love my Xonar Essence STX.

I also had the opportunity to compare it between the Fiio E17 and the Essence STX, and the Essence STX blew away the Fiio E17. Then again, I think the E17 was lacking amping.

Whatever it was, the soundstage and imaging was next to nill on the E17 compared to the Essence STX.
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The E17 (can only drive a maximum of 300 Ohm) can't hold a candle to the amping power of an STX (can drive a maximum of 600 Ohm) and really should be used with an E9 (can drive a maximum of 600 Ohm) for amping considering it was designed to fit into its charge/DAC slot like the E7.
 
BTW, will I be able to assign volume to the headphone out jack, independent of the line out jack (to the AV40's)? I'd like the windows volume to be lower when I plug in the headphones, since I don't have a knob to turn. ;)
 
Godmachine said:
The E17 (can only drive a maximum of 300 Ohm) can't hold a candle to the amping power of an STX (can drive a maximum of 600 Ohm) and really should be used with an E9 (can drive a maximum of 600 Ohm) for amping considering it was designed to fit into its charge/DAC slot like the E7.
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Yeah, about to experiment with E9+E17 soon enough. We'll see how that pans out.
 
Card arrived tonight. Going to stick with the stock op amps for now, but I guess I'll order up a set to have on hand. Wish my 24" Ultrasharp had shown up today as well.
 
Be sure to tell us your experience with this card and how you have it set up (and with what cans) once you enjoy what you're hearing.
 
Ruoh said:
For a pair of MAudio AV40's and a ATM50's. Hoping this card will last through a few upgrades on the output side, as the onboard soundcard just doesn't sound quite right to me. :eek:
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I'd like to know what you think as well. I have that same motherboard and have been trying to make this thing sound right since day one and I'm at a loss. It just doesn't sound right...Really disappointed with the onboard xfi2.
 
http://i39.tinypic.com/2v2k2sw.jpg

It's getting a little cramped in there. Anyway, the audio sounds excellent as to be expected. I don't think my FLAC rips really do it justice... I'm listening to some Led Zeppelin and hearing the clicks and pops in the original recordings.
 
One thing I noticed is that when you switch outputs, ie headphones to line out, the card will click. Similar to a receiver switching inputs. Played a couple hours of KoA with the headphones on, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Directional water sounds in dungeons (this is common of all sound cards I've ever heard) still sound funky... but all over sounds, and music are excellent.
 
Yep, Mechanical relays. Sounds kinda reassuring to me, like an actual amp or something.

The Essence STX (as well as the Xonar D1) takes a completely different approach to output switching by using miniature mechanical relays. The relays on the STX sound beefier than the Xonar D1 and produce a louder click. The Xonar cards allow you to keep both the front and rear plugged in. You can switch from the front to the back without interrupting the audio output and without any pause in the audio after the relay is activated.....
http://www.overclock.net/t/989286/u...s-the-dust-titanium-hd-vs-essence-stx-comparo
 
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I have mine coming in Thursday. Can't wait!! I had an x-fi card for about 5 years...finally died. Been on the onboard sound for about two years. Sounds like crap. Now I have a nice pair of Denon d2000 headphones and can't wait to hear them through the stx!!
 
ok it's official my like new used stx will be here soon
 
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I'll have mine tonight (stupid Fedex not counting the holiday as one of their 2 days). I'll post back thoughts on it and the DT880s.
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
What are you going to be upgrading from? Sorry if I missed it.
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Right now it's a Xonar DG (temp replacement for my dead X-Fi Forte while I figured out what I wanted to do) and HD555s. I've also been using AD700s, but just recently switched back to the Senns. I'm curious to see how the HD555s sound with the STX. Figure I'll try that out for a bit to how it stacks up to the DT880s.
 
I'll be interested to see what you think. I've heard good things about the Xonar DG. How are you liking the DG compared to the Forte? I'll be honest, as far as music goes I couldn't really tell the difference at default settings between the Titanium HD and Xonar DX, al least not with my HD598.
 
Actually I like the Xonar DG over the X-Fi, but I think that may have more to do with liking Dolby Headphone more than CMSS-3D. Sound-wise in music and games I didn't see a huge difference. I do prefer the HD555s over the AD700s though.
 
Gmok Bonecrusha said:
You guys that are snagging the STX should give some feed back. Others would appreciate it.
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What would you like to know, specifically? I've not had any driver issues, sound dropouts or any "technical" type problems. The sound is very clean, and it's hard to explain, but you can tell it's well amped. When listening to the line out on the motherboard (with my headphones) it's very obvious when it's pushing itself at higher volume levels. With the STX, it's seamless, it sounds just as good, only louder. If you've heard a lot of home theater systems, on the low, and high end, you'll know what I mean.
 
If you run the xfi in music creation, bit matched playback, digital output. It will simply play the source without any alterations. That is what I use for music and headphone gaming. In Bf3, the bullets really sizzle by you w/ a distinctly metallic ring to them.
 
spaceman said:
If you run the xfi in music creation, bit matched playback, digital output. It will simply play the source without any alterations. That is what I use for music and headphone gaming. In Bf3, the bullets really sizzle by you w/ a distinctly metallic ring to them.
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Really? No cmss-3d? The hard left to right pans don't bother you? I'll be honest with music on the titanium hd and hd598 I don't notice a difference between audio creation mode and entertainment mode.
 
Where the STX exceeds so well is driving higher grade headphones , its really what its meant for. If you have the right cans it will make them sing beautifully.

If you have a $100 pair of whatever than you likely won't notice the impact or benefit.
 
I ordered one and it will be here today. I have the same board as you, Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/Gen3. Since I've had this board I've been trying to figure out why the onboard xfi sounds so bad and I've come to the conclusion it just does so I bought an STX. I miss the onboard sound that was on my old BadAxe2. It was really nice. The one on the Gene-Z is pure garbage.
 
TypeO said:
I ordered one and it will be here today. I have the same board as you, Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/Gen3. Since I've had this board I've been trying to figure out why the onboard xfi sounds so bad and I've come to the conclusion it just does so I bought an STX. I miss the onboard sound that was on my old BadAxe2. It was really nice. The one on the Gene-Z is pure garbage.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the onboard audio on the MaxIV Gene-Z was a Realtek chip (and not Creative) and that X-Fi support was purely software.
 
erick_c said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the onboard audio on the MaxIV Gene-Z was a Realtek chip (and not Creative) and that X-Fi support was purely software.
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That's correct. It's too bad they don't advertise it for what it is. I was happy with the realtek chip of the BadAxe 2 but the one on the Gene-Z is just bad in my opinion. I ran into several issues getting the STX installed but it's working great now.
 
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