Schiit Asgard VS STX

Do you get interference already?

 

I'd recommend against the Asgard on principle because even the limited manufacturer specs we're supplied with are unimpressive. If its output impedance is low then that would be a good thing with your headphones, but the Essence STX will outperform it in every other way as an amp.

As someone who has both the Asgard and the STX, I have to say they work best together. I get a much better listening experience running the RCA outs to the Asgard, thnt headphone out from the STX.
Edited by rroseperry - 12/15/11 at 8:40pm

A few problems with your post:

 

Where'd you get the output impedance spec for the Asgard? Last time I looked it wasn't published.

 

You're looking at the wrong voltage for the STX. That's the voltage for the line out. The voltage for the headphone out is 20 Vp-p just like the Asgard, which equates to 7 Vrms.

 

Asgard's rated THD at 1 Vrms is a rather poor 0.1%. Not serious, maybe not even audible, but a whole order of magnitude or more worse than many alternatives including the STX. I'd need to see THD plots into various loads before I really judge it, but manufacturers usually publish best-case numbers and 0.1% is a worrying best-case.

 

If you hear interference, then you should get something external. I'd still recommend against the Asgard.

 

You need to crank the STX to 2 o'clock with the K701? What gain setting are you using?

 

Very High gain at 2 o'clock with -3 dB in Foobar, or what?

 

Stereophile measured the Essence STX at 7.03 Vrms. To find Vp-p from that you divide it by 0.707, then double it. That's about 20 Vp-p. You'll get slightly less at low impedances because of the output impedance, about 6 Vrms for the K701. 6 Vrms is enough to drive the K701 to 120 dB by the manufacturer specs (Tyll measured the K701 at considerably less efficient, but would still reach over 115 dB).

 

The Essence STX is shielded against interference, though it may not be perfect. It shouldn't be distorting that much at high volume, nor should you need that much volume. Are you sure:

• It's actually an Essence STX
• You have it plugged into your power supply
• You don't have a faulty unit?

 

For reference, my LCD-2 is about as efficient as the K701 give or take a couple dB, and I use it at 40% volume on Low gain.

 

How do you have the card set up with your speakers, anyway?

Edited by Head Injury - 12/15/11 at 9:26pm

Are you sure the sounds your hearing are interference and not something else? Like ASIO causing problems? It can do that if it's not set up properly. Try a different plugin.

 

The interference, if it's what I thought you meant, should manifest itself when you scroll a browser or otherwise tax a processor.

 

Are you sure the distortion is a result of the card and not the preamp, or any number of other things? How is the preamp hooked up? I don't think a preamp should be hooked up to the headphone jack of the card, if that's how you have it.

 

Without ReplayGain (which I use) 40% volume is 85 dB using a 0 dBFS 1 kHz tone. With ReplayGain and normal music, it's around 70 dB average and 80 dB at loud peaks. That's why I'm worried you're not setting this thing up properly. Doing so might alleviate your need to upgrade.

Edited by Head Injury - 12/15/11 at 9:45pm

The K701 and Essence STX is actually a fairly well known combination. I know when I first joined it was a combo everyone loved. Yes, they can drive them, and to ludicrous volumes. You've got something set up wrong, or faulty equipment, or something.

Gain setting only matters for the headphone jack. What volumes are you using when you plug the headphones directly into the STX's jack? If you still have them set that high, you may have a faulty amp section in your STX.

 

You should have Foobar's volume maxed at all times. If you can't do that without distortion, then your STX's DAC might be clipping and it's faulty.

 

What is your sample rate setting? What is your OS? Are you using HF mode? Where is the card located in relation to the processor and any GPUs? It might even be nice to know your motherboard and PSU.

Hey, audiophilic is right. I have had both the distortion on speedier songs(with PRO2900s) and the interferance when using the Essence as a DAC only(though it was going into a Burson with a dead left channel). It just isn't suited for certain headphones, and I'll chime in tomorrow when I get my replacement Burson on if it has interference issues with the Essence as well. The STX is interference free when used as a DAC and amp. DAC only, I could hear my hard drive spinning through the headphones along with a few fans.
Gain setting doesn't affect the distortion at all, and I have my STX 2 slots above my GPU (Radeon 6970) on an ECS P67-h2-a2 motherboard. I built this system myself. The CPU fan is stock atm, and is a few inches from the Essence, pretty sure I was hearing that and the HDD which isn't close to it at all.
Edited by MohawkUS - 12/15/11 at 10:04pm