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Asus Xonar Essence STX vs Sony NWZ A845

post #1 of 3
Thread Starter 

I have the Sony walkman NWZ A845 and i'm planning to upgrade the onboard soundcard on my PC. After all the good reviews i've narrowed down to the Xonar Essence STX. I'm new to soundcards and i just wanted to know the difference between both in terms of sound quality and the amplification. The dedicated soundcard seems to be better on paper. Just wanted to know if there will be a huge difference in the SQ or not.

post #2 of 3

Hi while writing this I listen to music from my Sony Walkman NWZ-A845. I bought this device because of its digital amp and it did not disappoint me at all. I also own the Asus Sonar Essence STX . I drive both my Ultrasone PRO 550 and Ultrasone HFI2400 with both, the walkman and the soundcard. The sound of both is in the same league I find, but the Sony has less hiss even though the Asus should not have any hiss that we are able to hear technically, based on the technical data. Maybe it is the enviroment of a PC case that connot be shielded enough, but I find the sound of the Sony a little more enjoyable. i listen to 320 k MP3 on both devices. Any way I tested some different PC sound cards so far and I must say the Xonar is by far the best I had the chance to listen to. I use the flat Hifi setting for Music and the Dolby headphone setting for PC games. The surround effect is very good for me, but I know it can be different for you or anyone else.Btw I use the standard Oamps with the Xonar, maybe the sound changes in regards of hiss by using different ones, but that needs to be found out later.

post #3 of 3
Thread Starter 

thanks for the reply mate :)

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