Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Xonar Essence STX: Sneak Peek!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Xonar Essence STX: Sneak Peek! - Page 128

post #1906 of 2057
9/2/09 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by s2kphile View Post
^^^how much would that cost ROB?

I haven't followed the thread that much lately. But it seems that you guys are saying the 49720HA are better. Why? How does it differ from other OPAMPS?
It depends. They are good opamps but there are lots of great opamps out there. The LME49720 is in the same family as the LM4562 and the HA version is the best of the bunch (To-99, DIP8,SOIC) based on testing.
Reply
post #1907 of 2057
9/4/09 at 5:20pm
6 months has passed, since I got my STX, and 1x LT1364 + 2x LM6172 to go with it (suggested by Alydon)

I've absolutely enjoyed my card, and I wouldnt live without it.

Robscix,

I mainly returned to the thread to get up to speed on the whole OPAMP testing thing - A whole lot of testing, and a whole lot of posting has been done, since then.

Any chance you could do me a quick and dirty recap on the current situation on what stock OPAMP's people are using? - I noticed you started modding stuff yourself? - I gotta say, that stuff looks amazing to me.

Thanks in advance :-)

//Mordeous
Reply
post #1908 of 2057
9/4/09 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mordeous View Post
6 months has passed, since I got my STX, and 1x LT1364 + 2x LM6172 to go with it (suggested by Alydon)

I've absolutely enjoyed my card, and I wouldnt live without it.

Robscix,

I mainly returned to the thread to get up to speed on the whole OPAMP testing thing - A whole lot of testing, and a whole lot of posting has been done, since then.

Any chance you could do me a quick and dirty recap on the current situation on what stock OPAMP's people are using? - I noticed you started modding stuff yourself? - I gotta say, that stuff looks amazing to me.

Thanks in advance :-)

//Mordeous
Some have been testing out the LT1057's on this card. Other have been getting good results with the LME49720HA's in adapters. I have been testing out the Dual LME49710HA's in adapters which I build custom.
OPA2107's are also good opamps from the feedback aroudn here. Other People have been working with discrete opamps, which are built from components.

Thanx for the kinds words, I have been modding and working with opamps for quite a few years now.
I just don't usually mention it as I modand build for my own gear and personal testing. I give suggestion here and there based on my own testing though.
Hope this helps.
Reply
post #1909 of 2057
9/4/09 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCIX View Post
Some have been testing out the LT1057's on this card. Other have been getting good results with the LME49720HA's in adapters. I have been testing out the Dual LME49710HA's in adapters which I build custom.
OPA2107's are also good opamps from the feedback aroudn here. Other People have been working with discrete opamps, which are built from components.

Thanx for the kinds words, I have been modding and working with opamps for quite a few years now.
I just don't usually mention it as I modand build for my own gear and personal testing. I give suggestion here and there based on my own testing though.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info Rob.

Yeah, this helps - Gives me some points as what to look into.

Do you have any personal experience with dt880 and the stx? - I mean, which opamps would go well with it - Or am i still good with my current ones?

//Mordeous
Reply
post #1910 of 2057
9/4/09 at 7:18pm
Thread Starter 
Glad to help.
Nope no experince testing that combo...
If you like what your using great. If you want to try out some new ones...Never hurts.
Reply
post #1911 of 2057
9/9/09 at 10:16am
Playing around with RMAA I've noticed that with the Burson as output buffer the Stereo Crosstalk falls down to 53dB, against a value of 115dB with the lm4562! All the other parameters (noise, frequency response) are quite similar. Is it normal?
Reply
post #1912 of 2057
9/9/09 at 10:27am
yeah, I was told the same thing about Burson's on the Prodigy HD2. it would reach 60 dB crosstalk.

the story says that vynil is 35 dB anyway

but more importantly, how is the sound? narrower soundstage?
Reply
post #1913 of 2057
9/9/09 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by riderforever View Post
Playing around with RMAA I've noticed that with the Burson as output buffer the Stereo Crosstalk falls down to 53dB, against a value of 115dB with the lm4562! All the other parameters (noise, frequency response) are quite similar. Is it normal?
It depends on the design of the Burson unit. The LM4562NA is a very high spec opamp and can get some high numbers in this circuit. There are many other opamps that you could try that would give you better sound but may raise some of the values. This may be normal for this unit in this circuit.
Do you like the sound of the Burson unit over the LM4562?
Reply
post #1914 of 2057
9/9/09 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
yeah, I was told the same thing about Burson's on the Prodigy HD2. it would reach 60 dB crosstalk.

the story says that vynil is 35 dB anyway

but more importantly, how is the sound? narrower soundstage?
Crosstalk is NOT "Crossfeed" it has little to do with the soundstage.
Reply
post #1915 of 2057
9/10/09 at 10:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCIX View Post
It depends on the design of the Burson unit. The LM4562NA is a very high spec opamp and can get some high numbers in this circuit. There are many other opamps that you could try that would give you better sound but may raise some of the values. This may be normal for this unit in this circuit.
Do you like the sound of the Burson unit over the LM4562?
Definitely, I find it more relaxed, less harsh in the high frequencies, delivering a more textured sound.

I think the next step will be the Audio-Gd clock.
Reply
post #1916 of 2057
9/10/09 at 2:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by riderforever View Post
Definitely, I find it more relaxed, less harsh in the high frequencies, delivering a more textured sound.

I think the next step will be the Audio-Gd clock.
I had good results when testing with discrete also. Some people incorrectly base too much weight on the specifications.
There are opamps with great specs that sound awful. Boring, dead,sterile..cold etc.

There are other units with less stellar specifications that sound great, offering life and musicality.
Those that are new to opamps, think they can just browse the spec sheets and judge units this way without any testing, sorry but it doesn't work that way.

As for the clock, it is not as hard as you would think. Many XO are just two wires...some are three but stil a very simple device to change. Althoguh if you think you cannot do the mod, I would advise you take it to another as you can seriously damage your card. I think another member tested out the card with either no XO or a malfunctioning XO and all audio came through at incorrect speeds. Not Good.
Reply
post #1917 of 2057
9/11/09 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCIX View Post
I had good results when testing with discrete also. Some people incorrectly base too much weight on the specifications.
There are opamps with great specs that sound awful. Boring, dead,sterile..cold etc.

There are other units with less stellar specifications that sound great, offering life and musicality.
Those that are new to opamps, think they can just browse the spec sheets and judge units this way without any testing, sorry but it doesn't work that way.

As for the clock, it is not as hard as you would think. Many XO are just two wires...some are three but stil a very simple device to change. Althoguh if you think you cannot do the mod, I would advise you take it to another as you can seriously damage your card. I think another member tested out the card with either no XO or a malfunctioning XO and all audio came through at incorrect speeds. Not Good.
I confirm about the opamps to look just on the data sheets is a mistake. There is a study of some guy out there that shows tests and measurements of THD+N of all sorts of opamps. The discrete ones are in general in this tests not good. But I would say the discrete ones sound more natural, warm like. The music is alive, dynamic, musical, not death linear.
Reply
post #1918 of 2057
9/11/09 at 11:24am
Thread Starter 
Exactly. Any one measurment such as THD is just a part of a very large puzzle.
There are many opamps which may have higher values and yet still sound just amazing this includes the discretes.
Reply
post #1919 of 2057
9/11/09 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GWorlDofSPACE View Post
There is a study of some guy out there that shows tests and measurements of THD+N of all sorts of opamps. The discrete ones are in general in this tests not good. But I would say the discrete ones sound more natural, warm like. The music is alive, dynamic, musical, not death linear.
and same goes for the ST/STX RMAA measurements...they look good, but good RMAA figures don't mean bestest sound -by a long shot-.

it would indeed prolly take some pricey burson's and hack the XO to get something really nice sounding...yet, the drivers will still suck

but Asus says they use the best HP amp in their commercial bs(yet it's still a $2.25 IC ), and that their card yields stellar measurements...they prolly forgot to say that it sounds "digital" to death and harsh too...thoppa would blame it on the caps, and some other very knowledgeable ppl I know are also really not fond of the Essence SQ. I don't listen to sine waves.

I don't mean to troll, but at least I keep the usual asus rep busy
Reply
post #1920 of 2057
9/11/09 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GWorlDofSPACE View Post
I confirm about the opamps to look just on the data sheets is a mistake. There is a study of some guy out there that shows tests and measurements of THD+N of all sorts of opamps. The discrete ones are in general in this tests not good. But I would say the discrete ones sound more natural, warm like. The music is alive, dynamic, musical, not death linear.
Speaking of discretes, I have been testing out a few modules, both consumer models and a custom unit using a few cards and I am very happy with the results. I can understand why you prefer the bursons over the stock opamps. Although they may not measure as good as some of the higher spec opamps they definately have some great sound quality.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Computer Audio
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Xonar Essence STX: Sneak Peek!