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Xonar Essence STX

F

fornarmr

Gawd
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
552
Does this sound card have all of the same features as, say, an x-fi xtremegamer when it come to gaming? What I mean is stuff like all the gaming features such as EAX support and all of the CMSS stuff.

I am thinking about purchasing this soundcard as an upgrade to my xtremegamer.
 
Nope, STX does NOT have the game-focused feature set of Creative or Auzentech X-Fi cards.

Asus has hacked EAX somewhat, but it is a hack.

STX is utterly amazing for music, if you're just gaming though save some money and get the Auzentech X-Fi Forte.

The Forte will also sound much better than any of Creative's cards.

Oh, and XP or Vista? In XP I'd have to say Auzentech X-Fi regardless, with Vista the STX becomes a bit more viable due to a slowly-moving shift away from DS3D / EAX to OpenAL & other new formats
 
Arkangyl said:
The Forte will also sound much better than any of Creative's cards.
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Not to go too OT but out of curiosity, what makes the Forte sound better than something like the Fatal1ty Pro (Basically an Extreme Music) or the newer Fatal1ty Titanium which are similarly priced? I'm in the market for a new soundcard (Can't fit the two slot EMU 1212m anymore) but the Forte looks pretty stripped down.
 
Arkangyl said:
Nope, STX does NOT have the game-focused feature set of Creative or Auzentech X-Fi cards.

Asus has hacked EAX somewhat, but it is a hack.

STX is utterly amazing for music, if you're just gaming though save some money and get the Auzentech X-Fi Forte.

The Forte will also sound much better than any of Creative's cards.

Oh, and XP or Vista? In XP I'd have to say Auzentech X-Fi regardless, with Vista the STX becomes a bit more viable due to a slowly-moving shift away from DS3D / EAX to OpenAL & other new formats
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I am using Vista 64. Go with the STX in this case then? The real reason why I am even thinking of replacing my x-fi xtremegamer is because I want to amp my headphones and the STX has a built in amp. What do you think?
 
fornarmr said:
I am using Vista 64. Go with the STX in this case then? The real reason why I am even thinking of replacing my x-fi xtremegamer is because I want to amp my headphones and the STX has a built in amp. What do you think?
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It depends on what headphones you're using and what kind of gains you're expecting to see from the STX's built-in amp.
 
Auzentech X-Fi Forte also has a built in headphone amp. For gaming, go with Auzentech. For music and movie, go with Asus
 
You could always just get/build an external amp.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have an Asus XONAR Essence STX, but it just seems very pricey considering you already have an Xi-fi and "all" you're looking for is an amp. That'd be like upgrading from a Q6600 to a Q9450 for SSE4. You already got some good stuff, might as well stick with it and add onto it. With that $200 that the STX would cost you, you could get a Little Dot MkIII amp. Or you could get a cheaper amp (like an altoid mint cMoy amp) and get even better headphones.
 
Neurofreeze said:
You could always just get/build an external amp.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have an Asus XONAR Essence STX, but it just seems very pricey considering you already have an Xi-fi and "all" you're looking for is an amp. That'd be like upgrading from a Q6600 to a Q9450 for SSE4. You already got some good stuff, might as well stick with it and add onto it. With that $200 that the STX would cost you, you could get a Little Dot MkIII amp. Or you could get a cheaper amp (like an altoid mint cMoy amp) and get even better headphones.
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The X-Fi Extreme Gamer, isn't a particularly good card, it's just a Audigy in sheep's clothing however I agree with what you're saying. There's no point imo to buy the STX just for its built in headphone amp. It's better than nothing of course but many people have said it can't even stack up to the entry level likes of the Gilmore Lite and Little Dot MkII amps. If you need a good soundcard and you like the built in amp as a bonus, than its worth it but to buy it purely based on the built-in amp is silly to me.
 
I think I am going to get the Beyerdynamic DT 770's. Maybe the DT 990's (are they closed like the 770s?).

Could you point me toward places to purchase these amps you listed? I put in searches for these previously and do not see any places to buy them. How would a Total Airhead work for one of those Beyer models? It seems simple to just plug that into my soundcard and then run my headphone from there.

The reason why the STX was appealing to me was because I have $200 to Amazon but if I can find any of those other amps there then I guess that could work too. Is the Auzentech's amp decent?

Sorry, a lot of questions because I am new to headphones with regard to gaming and PCs.
 
fornarmr said:
I think I am going to get the Beyerdynamic DT 770's. Maybe the DT 990's (are they closed like the 770s?).

Could you point me toward places to purchase these amps you listed? I put in searches for these previously and do not see any places to buy them. How would a Total Airhead work for one of those Beyer models? It seems simple to just plug that into my soundcard and then run my headphone from there.

The reason why the STX was appealing to me was because I have $200 to Amazon but if I can find any of those other amps there then I guess that could work too. Is the Auzentech's amp decent?

Sorry, a lot of questions because I am new to headphones with regard to gaming and PCs.
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DT990s are a different beast than the DT770 sonically, make sure you know what you're looking for before you pull the trigger. The DT990s are open cans as well, not closed like the DT770s.

The Gilmore Lite is sold direct through Head-amp, its one of the best (IMO) entry level solid state headphone amps. It can also be found used at Head-Fi. The Little Dot MkII can be purchased through the distributor on eBay and can also be found used at Head-Fi. I don't believe either are re-sold through Amazon.

As for the Airhead, I have never tried a Headroom amp. They are well generally well regarded so I'm sure it will perform well, I personally don't care for their amp casings however (They look cheap). You might also want to look at the Total Bithead. It's a USB DAC and a headphone amp however, you don't get all the X-fi gaming "extras".
 
I am 99% going with the DT 770's because they are closed and I like bass.

Right, that's why I mentioned the Total Airhead since it's not a DAC and I can still use my x-fi xtremegamer. I also posted on head-fi and someone said it might be a waste to plug an amp into my xtremegamer b/c it will just be amplifying a crappy sound card?

So if I am using these headphones mainly for gaming the STX is really just a waste would you say?

Whoa and I just checked the price on the Gilmore Lite... $300+... don't think I really want to spend that kind of money.
 
If you're going for the [in]famous DT770 bass, I think you may be more looking for the oldschool DT770 2005 edition. I've heard that the newer DT770 Pros (both 80 and 250) aren't quite the same. Some people like them more, some less. It's hard to say.

Anyone want to chime in on that? I'm not a DT770 owner and I've only personally auditioned the 2005 edition, not any of the new ones.

If you wanted to go really really cheap, there's always cMoy headphone amps. You could get a pretty fancy one (in terms of cMoy amps) at http://www.jseaber.com/cMoy/news.htm for a mere $65. You can build one yourself for even less although I wouldn't suggest it unless you like building/tinkering with electronics. It's a step above system building and you're not guaranteed to get good results. I enjoy doing it for the sake of doing it, not because it's cost effective (honestly, with the tinkering and extra parts I have, it isn't cheaper).
 
Wow, missed a few posts here.

-X-Fi Forte & STX both have headphone amps, are made for headphones, and do damn well with headphones.
-With Vista X-Fi has diminished importance but it still does do something (with ALchemy)


IMO The Auzentech X-Fi Forte will sound better than the Creative XtremeGamer and at $110 will be cheaper than just getting external amps, mainly because GOOD amps will also require a seperate PSU and will run north of $200 for the pair.

If you're mostly gaming, just get the X-Fi Forte, it does do games better than the STX and it's $90ish cheaper which is a decent chunk of cash.

I went with the STX beacuse I thought about it and realized that 70% of my computer audio is music & movie and thus it made more sense. It sounds WORLDS better than my old Audigy 2 / Razer AC-1 / Foxconn Bloodrage Sonar (decent thing too).

The main reason I'd reccomend against the XtremeGamer + AMP, besides the cost of AMP + amp power, is that the audio signal will have to go through the XtremeGamers AMP to get to the external AMP and thus will be somewhat polluted regardless.

There ARE mods to the Creative cards to put better AMPS on them linky to head-fi howto if you want to save some $$$ and use the $200 Amazon on headphones.
 
Hmm I have been researching the Auzentech X-fi Forte and it looks like that will be the way to go for me. Since I am ONLY gaming I don't need that powerful of an amp. I am running an evga 680i SLI A1 board with dual 8800 ultras so I need to look inside and see if I have any spare pci-e slots available as the ones right above and below the top 8800 will not work.

I guess geting the Beyer DT 770 Pro (80 ohm) is a good choice then for this sound card?

http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-Pro-80-Closed-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0016MNAAI

By the way thanks for the help thus far everyone!
 
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Looks like a good combo!

That mobo ought have 2 x1 PCI-E slots and 3 x16 slots.

Just as a reminder, ALL PCI-E slots are phyiscally compatable, so the x1 Forte will fit just fine in the spare x16 PCI-E slot :)
 
ssbaudi said:
Is the STX better than the HT Omega Claro + I just bought?
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You did just fine..maybe a different sound signature with the STX, also depends on your setup. You could be at the top of your game already
 
I'm using it with a 2.0 setup (Audioengine A5's) right now, and a 2.1 in the future. I also use it with he JVC HARX-900's for gaming.

knowing this and that I don't need 7.1 at all, should I sent the Claro back and pick up the STX? I like that the Asus card is pci-E, which would allow me to add a second GPU later (the 4870 i'm using covers up the PCI slots)
 
ssbaudi said:
I'm using it with a 2.0 setup (Audioengine A5's) right now, and a 2.1 in the future. I also use it with he JVC HARX-900's for gaming.

knowing this and that I don't need 7.1 at all, should I sent the Claro back and pick up the STX? I like that the Asus card is pci-E, which would allow me to add a second GPU later (the 4870 i'm using covers up the PCI slots)
Click to expand...

Forgot the details...If your need PCI e Then of course the Asus
 
I just might... Looks like the STX is tailor made for people with 2.0 systems with the RCA outs. dang newegg and their restocking fee. The soundcard sends a pop through my speakers when I boot up the computer, maybe I can use that as an RMA reason?
 
Yeah. I'd say about 80% music and 20% gaming, with headphones. I'm going to RMA the Claro+ because I will never use more than 2.1. I'm just mad that I lose 27 bucks to the egg's restocking fee. I am a little bummed that I didnt do the research and/or see this thread before I pulled the trigger on the HT Omega. Its a great soundcard but the STX just has more features that I want at the same price.
 
ssbaudi said:
Yeah. I'd say about 80% music and 20% gaming, with headphones. I'm going to RMA the Claro+ because I will never use more than 2.1. I'm just mad that I lose 27 bucks to the egg's restocking fee. I am a little bummed that I didnt do the research and/or see this thread before I pulled the trigger on the HT Omega. Its a great soundcard but the STX just has more features that I want at the same price.
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It's hard to get the information you need when you are making these sorts of decisions. The amount of noise out there is exceedingly high.

The STX possesses a few advantageous features that I feel are relevant:

(a) It uses the TI PCM1792, which is their top of the line d/a converter and the performance is substantially higher than the Asahi-Kasei converter in the Claro. It is also much higher performance than the Crystal/Cirrus chips Creative uses.

(b) The PCM1792 is a current-output chip, which means that you're getting the output straight out of the bit ladders rather than after a switched capacitor filter + buffer like on a voltage output chip. This means, essentially, more control over what the output is going to sound like and you can avoid some of the performance limitations imposed by the v-out architecture. It also means avoiding the capacitor coupling direct out of the dac output that is generally employed with v-out designs. I usually buffer the output on a v-out dac before going to the coupling caps in any design I work on, but manufacturers tend to follow the app notes which infrequently employ such an approach, and it seems to me that performance suffers for it. Plus, the coupling caps are generally of poor quality and aluminum electrolytic type, which means even more distortion versus something like using film capacitors.

(c) It uses relatively good film capacitors for the analog LPF, which is nice for keeping distortion down

(d) Both the i/v (current to voltage conversion) and active LPF op-amps are socketed, so you can tweak fairly easily.

The stock chips are decent, though not my preference. If you decide to try something else there, let me know and I'll try to help you out. If you have soldering skills, that would be helpful as some of the better chips require use of an SOIC-to-DIP adaptor to use here, which means soldering a surface mount part onto the adaptor. It's not exceedingly difficult to do, though :).

The only thing I'm slightly unsure about is whether it has clean enough power to use some of the chips I'm thinking of, but it's probably at least worth a shot. I'd probably have picked up one of these cards except that I already have a high performance external dac setup that I use for everything (both gaming and music).
 
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Hey, thanks a lot for the help Filburt!

I just got off the phone with newegg, and they are waiving my restocking fee, which i'm very happy about! I'm going to place an order for the STX today from zipzoomfly, because it seems they have the best price w/ free shipping (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009915&prodlist=froogle). I'm really excited for this card in a lot of ways - the fact that is PCI-E, that it has better D/A converters that you pointed out, and especially the headphone amp!

I looked through a pretty massive thread over at Head-Fi that discussed swapping components on the STX and the varying results. I'm such a tinkerer that I would probably end up wanting to mess around with swapping chips as long as I knew what the outcome would be like.
 
I just got my STX, and the amp on it is really great! Blows my Cmoy out of the water!

Question for the smarties out there, is there any difference to what I have the sample rate set to? I just set it to the highest (192 Khz) but there are the three other options (44.1, 48, and 96) and they have to be there for a reason - I just don't know the difference!
 
Standard redbook audio is encoded at a sample rate of 44.1khz. Standard DVD audio (Not DVD-A) is encoded at 48khz. If you set the sample rate to non-native, the card will be upsampling the signal to whatever you have it set to (i.e. 192kHz).
 
I personally wouldn't trust anything short of something like a Benchmark DAC1 or a Northstar M192 to upsample properly but some people swear by it regardless of the source doing the upsampling. Just give it a try, if you like it, leave it. If not, switch it back to 44.1kHz.
 
For us with dedicated headphone amps is it possible to totally bypass the amp section for purest possible sound? I do have an external Dac so can always run digital but how is the Essence with bit perfect? Some mentioned they had to convert to Wav and play back or he got errors?

I like my Elite PRO but the console is acting up lately and then I loose the digital out.
Also one more thing I am no bass freak. Elite Pro gives me all the bass I need and perhaps even a tad much. The Essence is mentioned to have quite a bit more bass emphasis? I am also afraid it would be to warm overly. My system needs something neutral and absolutely nothing to warm if I am going to run through the Essence DAC.
 
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