Quote:
Originally Posted by laobrasuca
ok, very nice, thank you for your interest and research on this. About the power story, the fellow head-fier confirmed what I said.
So, power myth down. Those who say that STX can not power/drive a headphone (even of high impedance) please do not insist in this point anymore...
About the quality of construction, components.... Well, asus seems to make a great effort on producing a soundcard of same quality (or better) than many good/excellent amp out there. Using the EMI shield it would also reduce a lot the RFI (note that the shield also protects the amp part, not only the DAC). It is so well build that everyone in here seems to agree to say that the DAC of STX is excellent. Then, I re-ask my question: wouldn't it be more simple and less costly to replace the two stock 2114 by LM4562 instead of buying a whole new AMP? Or an outboard amp is really the way to go (based on the experience of those who really listened to an upgraded version of STX and could compare to good outboard amps)?
Could you ask this one more question to this same fellow head-fier: what do you think about an STX upgraded compared to an (no so expensive, like < 300 USD) outboard amp? I think this is the central subject of this topic.
lao
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I think the answer's included in the second quote: "I have no doubt a dedicated outboard amplifier of the same power as the soundcard would sound better."
I asked him about the STX and here is his response: "It looks like they tried to do a good job on this sound card, using TI chips, Nichicon audio-grade capacitors, and shielding.
Two immediate observations:
1. They don't specify the output impedance. Headphone amps should have 2 selectable output impedances: one low, the other higher around 120 ohms per the IEC spec. Some headphones (Sennheiser HD650, beyerdynamics, AKG K601s for example) sound better when driven by a higher source impedance
2. Maximum output is 2Vrms. This might be a problem with higher impedance headphones, limiting the maximum power delivered.
You would have to hear this unit to see if it sounds good. I still believe a dedicated outboard headphone amp using either discrete transistors or tubes will sound better, but it will cost more $$$."