Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Essence ST confusion or Auzen
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Essence ST confusion or Auzen

post #1 of 6
12/26/10 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 

Hello there Head-Fi! I've been an avid reader of these forums for quite some time now and have recently ordered a pair of AD900's from AccessoryJack.com, my next line of business was to upgrade the sound card in this rig.

 

I would like to say that I current run Sennheiser HD555s and HD595s from a Creative X-Fi Titanium. I do in-fact play quite a few games on this pc, and gaming would be a big thing, preeeetty big thing. I of course like to listen to music while Im on here not gaming, but gaming and music would take up the most of my time.

 

What I'm trying to narrow down is the sound card, I've looked at the ASUS Xonar Essence ST and love what I've seen as far as the quality with headphones, however, on the flip side I've heard some pretty awful things in regards to gaming and the sounds in games (Fallout 3, CounterStrike Source, etc.). Positional sound would be pretty positive, and from what I was reading the sound is amazing until someone in say, CounterStrike Source is close to you, and you don't hear footsteps anymore. That would be a no go with me, unless this has been fixed with an update to the drivers.

 

 

I have also taken a look at the Auzentech X-Fi Forte which looks to be a great mix of Xonar + X-Fi, however, if peeps here happen to have any experience with the Essence STX or ST as far as gaming goes and ASUS has better drivers that don't cause poor listening ambience in games, then I would love to hear your voice.

 

 

I say this because I am so swayed by the Essence, but don't want to jump on it with the AD900's if it will be poor for games.

 

I just want to also mention, I don't care about EAX, if the Xonar's GX works as far as positional audio that is fine by me. I'm just not wanting a disappointment when playing games.


Edited by sobe - 12/26/10 at 3:28pm
Reply
post #2 of 6
12/26/10 at 3:31pm

Auzentech X-Fi Forte vs Xonar Essence ST... for gaming Forte is usually often more recommended while Essence for music listening. I wish there were an Asus card with improved positional sound for games.

 

These two cards I've also been interested in but I need the best result for both music and gaming (both are equal important) so I could never decide which one to go for and I feel kX Audio drivers + Audigy 2 ZS handles both great while probably not handling the sound quality quite as good due to inferior old hardware but the software part from kX Audio drivers is amazing for gaming, better than friend's X-Fi card + Creative drivers (incl PAX modded etc) when I've compared with a friend's setup. The positional sound is very accurate, in Unreal Tournament series I can easily determine enemy locations based on footsteps and weapon noise etc and in Left 4 Dead I can kill zombies hiding behind trees or on another side of a wall based on the direction the noise comes from and I've been accused for cheating (wallhacking) several times. :p

 

The best thing is it works for both old and new games, no need for EAX support etc, there's a plugin called Surrounder+ which somehow changes stereo sound to pseudo surround sound in the drivers and works really really good it seems and also provides great single player experience from the increased immersion of actually being able to pinpoint the directions like you'd be in the center of it.


Edited by RPGWiZaRD - 12/26/10 at 3:39pm
Reply
post #3 of 6
12/26/10 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 

From what I was reading around, the GX emulated EAX on the Essence is AMAZING for positional audio..... When people are far away and not just "around the corner". Which is why I was asking if driver updates had made that any better.

 

It was also mentioned gunshots, etc. sounded like they were silenced. I can't confirm this because I am using an X-Fi card right now.

 

Kind of the reason I decided to make a post :) I didn't want to spend $210 on the Essence ST if the Xonar D2X was simply better for games at $200, or if the Auzentech X-Fi Forte was simply the best choice for a headphone user that wanted games AND music for closer to $150.

Reply
post #4 of 6
12/26/10 at 5:57pm

I own the Essence ST and I can't say I've had any problems with disappearing footsteps or anything like that. I play lots of games and everything works fine, but I don't really use any of the card's features like GX (often made games crash) that are supposed to help, theoretically... As far as positioning goes, it was a lot more accurate with my previous card (X-Fi Xtreme Music) and CMSS-3D on; Dolby Headphone sounds like boomy, bloated crap in comparison and, in my experience, makes the sound placement a lot more screwy. I wouldn't hold my breath for any quick fixes or often driver updates either. ASUS' support makes Creative look good. All in all, this isn't a card I'd recommend to a (competitive?) gamer.

Reply
post #5 of 6
12/27/10 at 9:32am

If you have a X-Fi for games already, then get an ST and use both... simultaneously... no discussion required

Reply
post #6 of 6
12/28/10 at 1:41pm

Creative X - Fi titanium HD is something between Forte and Essence ST.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Computer Audio
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Essence ST confusion or Auzen