The STX is a audiophile product simple as that. Compare the specifications and measured results to anything that you consider "audiophile" grade...

The price and the fact that it is a internal souncard seems to suggest to some that it cannot sound as good as it actually does.

There have been man soundcards released that offer amazing sound.

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I just mean a $200 internal do everything soundcard as audiophile equipment is a little misleading. I don't think many "audiophiles" would call the STX an audiophile grade DAC or amp. Sort of the same way most people wouldn't call the Koss ksc75 audiophile headphones despite their being nice and a great value.

I think the issue is performance. Yes, the STX has an audiophile grade chip and some audiophile grade caps, but overall it is not designed to the (often) extreme audiophile performance standards. The major glaring omission is a proper power supply. That is a very important item in audiophile equipment (and especially DACs).

I understand that a lot of people here really want to believe that they can get the same thing for $200 that usually costs $600 or (much) more. If you want to believe that of course no one will stop you and many people here will encourage that thinking. But I'm telling you from first hand experience that implementation is extremely important.
I have compared the headroom micro ultra to the asus xonar dx and the dac 707 super pro. All 3 use the same chip yet in comparision the dac 707 sounds like absolute crap. I honestly couldn't believe it had the same chip and had to open it up to check. The xonar was better and the micro was head and shoulders above both.
I'm not talking about tiny differences. The difference between the 707 and the micro was huge like an sr-60 compared to an rs-1.

A good computer power supply will barely have any ripple or voltage fluctuation. And it's pretty easy to get a half decent one at that.

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I can definitely believe this. There is a reason why a high end DAC (such as the Reference 1 by Audio-GD) and the STX have such a huge difference in size/complexity. Right off the bat, I can think of a few changes that could potentially improve the STX's DAC output; separating the L/R DAC section, having a dedicated regulated PSU for the STX, adding jitter reduction, clock-phase improvements etc.

The STX is a card that plays above its asking price but I would never claim that it beats out DACs and amps 4 times its price (as some have claimed), unless you're comparing it to a ripoff DAC/amp.

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Many times, external DAC's are larger because they require all the components needed to make them external such as power supply units. Also, size equates to value for many, the bigger it is the better it is.

If you have half a idea on electronics a soundcard and a DAC share a great deal of similar design ideas.

I don't even want to get into the STX can beat this or beat that unit. What I do know is the STX's measurements and sound quality can surpass a great deal of gear that many consider "audiophile" -Which is a word I personally dis-like.

Are there improvements that can be implemented on the STX, Damn right their are. If the STX sounds this good now, imagine how good the next series will sound.

I find though many suggesting what the STX can and cannot do is put fourth by people who have never even tested the card.

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or people comparing it to $600-$1200 units, and saying "because it isn't the best ever, regardless of how much more expensive or refined this is, we win, because some external WAS better, so we've won the thread, kthx!"

@ Robscix

Yes, those who claimed that the STX isn't up to standard with the big boys haven't tried the STX.

Now on the flip side, you claim that the STX is comparable, if not better than most external DACs out there, so what external DACs have you tried? Care to list them?

yea and while you´re at at could you say something about the internal amp? is it really low-end like chinesekiwi states?

What do you consider low end? The specifications and measured output of the card line outs and headphone outs are very,very good.
I know many like the quality of the headphone amp, but it is a chip amp and there is always room for improvements in any design.

The actual specs and measured results are well beyond many external units. I know spec's aren't everything but the aren't something to just be ignored either.

I must have been given the wrong impression, I really can't be bothered turning this into a STX vs. this or that thread. Have a listen to the card and then make your opinions.

It seems though many just give a knee jerk reaction, the card is internal so it cannot be any good.

Can you give us a reference as to what you've tried in terms of external DACs and Amps? It would really help if you can put them in your signature.

hey chill im on your side!

i own the card myself and I´m totaly happy with it. I got a lot of heat from other members myself when I was searching for good cans for the STX.

2/3 just think that soundcarts cant compete in general so its good that there´s you amongst others who can explain and do justice to this sweet card.

...having said that the flame war against this card cant be stopped, as it would make too many users unhappy by having much more expensive equipment that loses bang for he buck value.


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I suspect the performance of the stx will be partly determined by the power regulation of the motherboard and the power supply used by your computer.

When comparing a soundcard to an external DAC, IMO you must look at the cost of the rest of the PC as well, and not just the price of the card.

At least part of the cost advantage of a PC solution would be that the parts are mass produced as compared to a standalone DAC. As such it is not unreasonable for the stx to outperform DACs in its price range.

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Lower end doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. It's just on the greater scale of things, it's towards the lower end.

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The performance of the STX has zero to do with the power regulation of the motherboard. The STX, has a seperate molex connector, so the power required for the analog amplification sections has nothing to do with the PCI-E slot at all.

seems like this thread died, but I want tochime in and mention that specifically because the pcie stx has an external connector allows connection of a good, audiophile approved external linear power supply. i have built one with completely seperate 12v and 5v sections, choke filtered, and well regulated. it made a huge difference. i also put lme49720 metal can opamps in all three slots.

stock it was sweet, lush and syrupy. now it is sweet, liquid, detailed, dynamic and has great soundstage.

it is connected analog to my main speaker rig, and makes me very happy.

i may do some other tweeks/mods on the board, but for now it kicks serious butt.

i have no idea how the headphone out sounds-- never used it.

as for comparisons to $XXX external dacs, etc.... when you add the $60 for opamps, and $250-ish for the external psu, it now is in the price range of $600 dacs - is it better than those? haven't heard them all, so I can't say. To my ears, it would take a benchmark or cary xciter to do better, and' i'd still use the external psu for it anyway.