Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › A noob's first look at a Xonar ST
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

A noob's first look at a Xonar ST

post #1 of 7
12/15/10 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 

I just got this sound card in the mail yesterday and it is my first departure from on board audio.  I must say that I am somewhat disappointed.  I was expecting (hoping for) beautiful crystal clarity, which is not what I received.  

 

I can't say, however, that all is the same, so I will list them here:

 

1.  The biggest difference that I've noticed so far is that I can turn up the volume without my ears hurting.  I don't know what causes this, but I'm pleased in this regard.

 

2.  No unrelenting 'noise'!  This much was clear the moment I put my headphones on. At first I thought something wasn't quite right, that the audio wasn't working because this 'noise' has become so familiar to me, but all was well.  Now, I don't hear ANY -- at all!

 

3.  The lows are much clearer now.  Previously, I found bass to be a bit of an annoyance, like being lightly punched in the side of the head.  Part of the problem, perhaps, was that the on board audio didn't differentiate between the notes well at very low levels; it all mostly sounded the same -- and rough.  I suppose it may be called "muddy"(?).

 

4.  The mids no longer sound so suppressed.  I wouldn't say it sounds as upfront as the highs are (with my ATH-M50s), but I no longer have to use the mixer to boost it. I've since returned to a flat equalizer.

 

Dolby Headphone.  It's... good.. I think.  I really can't decide whether I like it or not - at least for music.  I haven't tested it (or GX) thoroughly in video games.  Only briefly.

 

In the end, I was truly hoping to find a difference as clear as night and day, but I would say there is no difference in clarity, spare for the lows.  Maybe my board just has good audio; I do recall that when I was reading the reviews prior to purchasing, it had good reviews in that regard.  It's an Asus P6T, FYI.

 

And that's all I have to say about that.  I know I read once that sound cards have burn in as well, but when I searched for any more information in the matter, I came up empty-handed.  Maybe it was just one mad man's ravings.

 

The sound card is physically a beautiful piece of work, however...

Reply
post #2 of 7
12/15/10 at 5:26pm

to get the most out of your stuff, everything needs to be good. i'm not saying that your things aren't good, but there are other factors at play as well.

 

what kind of recordings are you listening to? no matter how good your setup is, it's only as good as the weakest link. listening to headphones (not calling the m50's bad, but they're hardly the most analytical / revealing headphone) on a good source won't make them better than they are, just like listening to a lossy recording on a good source wont make it any less lossy.

 

or maybe you were just expecting too much, i dunno :p

Reply
post #3 of 7
12/15/10 at 6:25pm
Thread Starter 

Oh woops, I meant to include that information, but it slipped my mind.  Everything was in FLAC.

Reply
post #4 of 7
12/16/10 at 4:51am

Sadly, flac is no guarantee for great recording quality.

 

 

"I was expecting (hoping for) beautiful crystal clarity"

 

That begs for a headphone upgrade, doesn't it?

 

Unless you upgraded from a very crappy source you shouldn't expect day/night differences. I know, such claims show up all over this place... the hype is stronger than the truth! tongue.gif


Edited by xnor - 12/16/10 at 4:58am
Reply
post #5 of 7
12/18/10 at 9:47am

You should post a screenshot of the Xonar Audio Center too.

Reply
post #6 of 7
12/19/10 at 11:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnor View Post

That begs for a headphone upgrade, doesn't it?


I had the notion that the closer to the source a change is made, the bigger difference one would see in quality.  Since the soundcard comes first in the.. egg relay race, one might call it, I figured it would be best to improve that.

Reply
post #7 of 7
12/20/10 at 12:10am



 

Quote:
Originally Posted by 80r View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by xnor View Post

That begs for a headphone upgrade, doesn't it?


I had the notion that the closer to the source a change is made, the bigger difference one would see in quality.  Since the soundcard comes first in the.. egg relay race, one might call it, I figured it would be best to improve that.

 

That is true. No matter how good the amp & speakers (headphones) you will always be limited by the source. Note though no matter how good the source is that we have there is anouther source beyond that that we have no control over except if we can listen before we buy & thatis the recording it self. The better our source the more revealing of the flaws that are made by the coices made in the studios. Not all stuios have or always use the best electronics when making these recordings. Usually the best sounding recordings are made with simple miking with very little or no mixing with pracically no changes made in the mastering phase. Most often nowdays recordings do not qualify as good recordings consequently  the benefits of good sources goes largely unnoticed or even worse may even in some cases sound worse than a low end source with these recordings due to the ruthless revealing character of the essence series soundcards. Yes I own the Essence STX soundcard & yes it is ruthlessly revealing of poor recordings but sounds absolutely superb on good recordings.

 

Note I hear more of the benefits on my speakers than I do my headphones & I have some highly rated headphones. The speaker I have are not that highly rated but they have been modified to bring out thier best & sound really revealing in thier own right. I love the soundstage I get with speakers more than I get with headphones no matter how good the headphone.

 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Computer Audio
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › A noob's first look at a Xonar ST