The Xonar Essence STX Q/A, tweaking, impressions thread

[WeirdChild]

Quote:

I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the 49990! Did you order from frugalphile@ebay as well? What headphones are you using with your STX?

Well, I have ordinary Sony cans, Audioengine A5+ speakers, this setup allows me to edit video just fiune, been looking for a good deal on Sennheiser HD 650 and plan to get them before october ends (bday wish 

). Yes I got the opamps from frugalphile, he is a very realiable seller. Getting better headphones is mandatory, I do freelance work at night and speakers shake the walls a bit, neighbors will complain any day.

 

[elwappo99]

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Hi my name is alex, new to this forum, STX owner, and thanks to the useful information I found on this thread I took a leap and ordered some op amps:
 

(3) DUAL SOIC LME49990 DIP8 ADAPTER

 

(2) LME49720NA 

 
Will post my results after I have the chance to test them.

I ended up grabbing a pair of LME49720NA and really think they improve over stock. They are very light, but I think they are a tad on the cold side of what I'd like. I only put them in the I/V and not the buffer (I think the buffer already has that opamp or something close....)

 

[repman244]

I could be wrong here, but if you are using the headphone amp you don't need to change the buffer, only the I/V.
Quote:

I ended up grabbing a pair of LME49720NA and really think they improve over stock. They are very light, but I think they are a tad on the cold side of what I'd like. I only put them in the I/V and not the buffer (I think the buffer already has that opamp or something close....)

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

I could be wrong here, but if you are using the headphone amp you don't need to change the buffer, only the I/V.

 
 
Yes, you are correct. I changed from OPA2137, which I would advise everyone to stay away from. They have way too much distortion.

 

[WeirdChild]

Quote:

I could be wrong here, but if you are using the headphone amp you don't need to change the buffer, only the I/V.

 
Yes, I could verify that with my newbie mistake when I got a LME49710HA single opamp and used it in the buffer socket, RCA out sounded very bad and I was afraid I screwed something, but when I checked the HP out everything was untouched. 
 
Edit: STX only works with dual op amps, thats why.

 

[cel4145]

Getting the SR225i to use with my STX, and I already use HFI-780 and ATH-AD900X with it as well. Because of the lower impedance of these phones, does it make sense to get an O2 headphone amp to use with the STX?
 
I run the line out on my STX to an HK 3390 receiver for use with passive speakers and sub. So I would have to connect the O2 either to the headphone out on the STX or tape out on the HK 3390. 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Getting the SR225i to use with my STX, and I already use HFI-780 and ATH-AD900X with it as well. Because of the lower impedance of these phones, does it make sense to get an O2 headphone amp to use with the STX?

 
Yes, although it would not make a major difference, but it could be enough to be audible. If you connect the O2 to the headphone output of the sound card, then it is probably best to use the O2 at 1x gain.

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

 
Yes, I could verify that with my newbie mistake when I got a LME49710HA single opamp and used it in the buffer socket, RCA out sounded very bad and I was afraid I screwed something, but when I checked the HP out everything was untouched. 
 
Edit: STX only works with dual op amps, thats why.

If you wanna use single channel op-amps, you have to use two and install them into a dual op-amp adapter

 

[WeirdChild]

So Installed 3x LME49990 on my Xonar STX.
 
http://tinypic.com/r/j0uooi/6
 
(Got op amps from frugalphile on ebay)
 
Tested on bookshelf speakers (Audioengine A5+) * Only discerning audio setup I have ATM*
 
The quality of the reproduction has been increased in a way I can *feel* the vibration of the metal strings from THE doubro guitar of Stevie Ray Vaughn when he performed that unplugged show for example. Norah Jones sounds like shed made of flesh and bones, and never realized how organized where the drum lines from Pink Floyd...
 
Sorry I have no technical definitions to explain how it sounds, but I do agree sound stage is more notorious and real like. A great upgrade from stock op amps.
 
Finished a freelance project I hated doing, got some hated cash and so I just ordered the famous HD 650 and will be my first serious headphones ever.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

So Installed 3x LME49990 on my Xonar STX.
 
http://tinypic.com/r/j0uooi/6
 
(Got op amps from frugalphile on ebay)
 
Tested on bookshelf speakers (Audioengine A5+) * Only discerning audio setup I have ATM*
 
The quality of the reproduction has been increased in a way I can *feel* the vibration of the metal strings from THE doubro guitar of Stevie Ray Vaughn when he performed that unplugged show for example. Norah Jones sounds like shed made of flesh and bones, and never realized how organized where the drum lines from Pink Floyd...
 
Sorry I have no technical definitions to explain how it sounds, but I do agree sound stage is more notorious and real like. A great upgrade from stock op amps.
 
Finished a freelance project I hated doing, got some hated cash and so I just ordered the famous HD 650 and will be my first serious headphones ever.

Have you tried the "Unifed Xonar Drivers" from Brainbit?

 

[WeirdChild]

Quote:

Have you tried the "Unifed Xonar Drivers" from Brainbit?

 
Yes I have the 1.54 version from the these drivers. My configuration goes like these:
 
WIN7 > Unified Xonar Drivers> foobar2000 > FLAC (Not resampled) > ASIO (64 bit drivers) > Xonar STX >
 
With this setup foobar2000 becomes exclusive and takes over the STX.
 
When I am not listen to music and say I am gonna watch a movie I can tweak the Xonar Audio Center and equalize to my liking.
 
Took me a while to figure what were the best options for me, but once you get everything running is very pleasant.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
Yes I have the 1.54 version from the these drivers. My configuration goes like these:
 
WIN7 > Unified Xonar Drivers> foobar2000 > FLAC (Not resampled) > ASIO (64 bit drivers) > Xonar STX >
 
With this setup foobar2000 becomes exclusive and takes over the STX.
 
When I am not listen to music and say I am gonna watch a movie I can tweak the Xonar Audio Center and equalize to my liking.
 
Took me a while to figure what were the best options for me, but once you get everything running is very pleasant.

I use the exact same setup for music.
I use PowerDVD 11 for Blu-ray movies, it's fairly cheap on eBay, I think i paid around $32 for it.
Media Player Classic and VLC Media Player are good for most other video stuff and free at Codecguide-dot-com.

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

I use the exact same setup for music.
I use PowerDVD 11 for Blu-ray movies, it's fairly cheap on eBay, I think i paid around $32 for it.
Media Player Classic and VLC Media Player are good for most other video stuff and free at Codecguide-dot-com.

KM player

1. Audio: ac3 decoder -> Cyberlink audio decoder (dolby headphone on my laptop )
2. Video: DivxHD decoder (EVR renderer) with a few colour tweaks in the ATI Catalyst Control Centre, definately the best presentation

 
VLC player never did anything for me, but I must say MPC-HC really has got somewhere, the MPC video decoder is really amazing with some ATI Catalyst Control Centre colour tweaks, and I can apply the same Cyberlink Audio decoder butchery for dolby headphone, albeit much easier.
 
I still like my KM Player the most, maybe I'm just a tweaker lol.

 

[juanej]

So I got my asus xonar essence and I've been using it with my ath-m50, is it normal I have to crank the volume bar above 3/4 and sometimes all the way up so I can listen music at a good (drunk good if you know what I mean) level?
 
I'm using normal gain, and unified xonar drivers btw, the m50s have 38ohms of impedance

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

So I got my asus xonar essence and I've been using it with my ath-m50, is it normal I have to crank the volume bar above 3/4 and sometimes all the way up so I can listen music at a good (drunk good if you know what I mean) level?
 
I'm using normal gain, and unified xonar drivers btw, the m50s have 38ohms of impedance

 
How are you playing them? Your software might be set to a lower level?