CK Presents: Asus Essence STX review: A Comprehensive Look [Pics, not 56k friendly!] - Page 2

@ chinesekiwi - thanks for the review, was a pleasure to read. Finally someone that really testet and compared the internal amp

@ Alienns - man thats interesting! please continue posting about your experience with the stx and high end HiFi equipment. List everything, as I´m also very interested in this. Much appreciated!

I think many people have tested and compared the internal headphone amplifier with other units but can't be bothered playing that this is better then that game.

Yeah, I loved the well-written, comprehensive review, but I'm off-put every time I read something like "This amp beats <Arbitrarily large dollar value> amps" because being expensive is no indication of sound quality. It might be a $2000 stylish box you're buying.

Great review!

I'm considering adding the STX to my PC. I appreciate the comprehensive examination.

Thanks!

For those with some experience on the STX + External amp. Is it better to connect the amp directly to the STX's headphone out or via rca?

Use the RCA's outs. They are line level outputs.

Ye your right. RCAs would be the way to go. Would plugging my speakers into the headphone out be viable?

I've owned an Essence STX for about a month now, and strongly agree with your comparisons on the Hi-Fi mode vs. Dolby Headphones. It's funny because I didn't know what Dolby Headphones was when I bought the card, and now it's probably my favorite and most used feature. Without the DH feature enabled, music is flat and fatiguing. But check that magic box, and suddenly you're IN THE DAMN ROOM 5 feet from the musicians. Funny story about that... the first time I showed my girlfriend the difference the DH made, she suddenly got really tense when I turned them. It was late night and our daughter was sleeping in the same room, and she thought I accidentally turned on the large Audioengine speakers full blast! I had to laugh because the same thing happened to me the first night I was testing the DH feature. Anyways, it makes all music better, but ESPECIALLY acoustic/jam type music, as you mentioned. FWIW my headphones are the SR60's. Although I am COMPLETELY satisfied with my current set-up, I sometimes wonder what high-end 'phones would sound like. I have a hard time imagining HOW it could be better.

Gaming wise, I've only played Crysis so far. I can hear when footsteps are close to me or when enemies are rustling nearby in the bushes, but I can't always pin point the direction (unless the noise is really concentrated right or left). Maybe I need more practice? Or different headphones for 3D gaming? I dunno, but it's a very small point given the type of strategy the game requires.

Can't wait until my new sub gets here. Going to run Essence STX --> Audioengine A5 --> Martin Logan Dynamo... expecting good things

Yes it would. I've tried it with excellent results. It basically acts as a pre-amp for your speakers.

I used to be like this...enamored by the DH feature. In fact, I used it for a few months and loved it initially. As time went on, I realized the major downsides of using Dolby Headphone for music. Artificial, echoey, boomy sound, definitely not transparent, as it made every song sound like it was in the same room. It also destroys microdynamics and microdetails. All of this can be ignored in the first little while when using DH because of the MASSIVE increase in soundstage and added (artificial) room ambience, which literally makes it sound like there are speakers in front of you. However, eventually you come to realize how much fidelity and transparency you're really missing in music because of DH. This really applies to all DSP's. FWIW, DH is the best DSP I have ever tried, but it's NOT better than regular stereo music on a HIGH-END headphone system, not even close. The holographic soundstage you get from a stereo high-end headphone system blows away DH (not in sheer size, but you'll see what I mean once you hear it).

Also, the DH effect is more pleasing with lower end headphones and lower end gear in general.

I haven't gotten to the point where I notice it destroying the sound quality, but it's a possibility as I listen more. Although my current system is LIGHTYEARS ahead of my previous equipment, I recognize it's far from top-of-the-line. I just wanted to comment on "every sound sounding like it was in the same room." With just the DH feature checked on the STX, you can pick from 3 different room sizes. I do the majority of my listening on the largest room, but for some types of music and recordings, it has far too much "echo, boom/reverb," and I will switch to the smaller room settings which helps a lot. Just wanted to add that observation. I don't necessarily disagree with your conclusions; just haven't gotten there myself.

This is something I actually wondered about, but since I have limited experience with high-end 'phones, I had no way of knowing. The SR60's aren't the most expensive things, and can actually be quite fatiguing without DH on. I've been doing research into higher-end headphones too, but I just spent enough money for this month on speakers and subwoofer, so they will have to wait a bit. Can't wait though!

few questions please

1) I understand KS works on XP, but also in 24/32bit? or only 16 and 32?

2) How do you set the headphones output volume then? I always heard that software volume control would kill dynamics
or should you set it in foobar? at least it's 32bit

3) I'm truly intrigued by the sample rate in the drivers...which doesn't have an "auto" mode....does it make any glitch or anything if you change it while playing KS/ASIO? prolly it's only for DirectSound

hope someone can help, TIA!

I'm pleasantly surprised at how receptive you were to my comments, since when I was in your position, I felt I was, in retrospect, a bit stubborn on my belief of DH's superiority over everything. It took experience to convert me.
Also, I'm aware of the 3 room settings, of which I always found the smallest room to yield the least amount of resonance whilst retaining the characteristic room ambiance/acoustics.

All things considered, I don't mean to spoil your fun Enjoy DH as much as you can while you can, because eventually you will get to a point where nothing but the best will suffice, as many head-fi'ers do, and DH won't have the same effect on you that it does now.

Hi,

I ordered a pair of HE-5LE and was wondering if my ASUS Xonar Essence STX, and was wondering if it would be drive then good and why? Please. Also, what would be the diference (on headphone amplification, specialy in power driven trough HP out) betwen this and the Claro Halo, please? 

Edited by faverodefavero - 10/26/11 at 11:32am