How is the performance of the ASUS Xonar DG?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralSmirnoff 
A lot of people are saying that the Xonar DS is a large step forward compared to the DG but all I see is just 192khz/24bit improvement over the 96khz/24bit lossless sound processing. Does anybody know if there is really much of an audible difference?

Also, how well does the DG stand up to entry level DAC's?

The Xonar DS can not do Dolby, just DTS.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralSmirnoff 

Also, how well does the DG stand up to entry level DAC's?

I do not know much about the DG (unfortunately there is basically no usable detailed technical information or measurements available about it), but the still cheap D1 does already have a fairly good PCM1796 based DAC that can outperform the lower end (e.g. FiiO) external devices. Based on the (unverified) manufacturer specs only, the DAC on the DG, while technically clearly inferior to the D1/DX and higher, should be at least comparable to the FiiO E7.

Unfortunately, all Xonar cards from the DS to the D2X have line outputs only (max. 2 Vrms, 100Ω output impedance) that are of limited use with headphones without an external amplifier - you need a high impedance headphone to get any reasonable damping factor, and the power output will be in the 5-10 mW range with any impedance.

The Essence ST/STX have an even better (PCM1792) DAC, and a built-in TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier that is comparable to the FiiO E9 (which actually uses the same chip); the output impedance is still relatively high (10Ω), but it is well suited for medium to high impedance headphones, and can output ~80 mW even to 600Ω.

The DG does have some kind of headphone amplifier, but its specs are unknown (other than the useless "rated for up to 150Ω"), and no one has measured it, but it allegedly has high-ish output impedance, and not much power either, so it is not particularly great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralSmirnoff 

I know that the DAC on the Xonar DG is a Cirrus Logic CS4245, know anything about that?

The DAC chip by itself does not necessarily guarantee good quality, it also depends on the implementation. These are the available specs of the card:

For the price, it does not look bad, assuming that the shown values are actually achieved in practice. Unfortunately, there seem to be no measurements of this card available anywhere. For me, the D1 performs almost exactly as advertised, but this may depend on the PC the card is used in; some people get high noise due to interference, ground loops, bad power supply, or other reasons. I am not sure if the 1 Vrms level also applies to the headphone output, and the output impedance is not specified.

I had the E10 before I got my Xonar DG and I couldn't tell much of a difference. The Xonar DG comes with a decent amp that powers up to 150ohms as well which was more than enough for my needs. Needless to say, the E10 had issues and i returned it. I got my DG for 20 bucks thanks to the rebate and I'm a happy customer. Especially at 1/4 the cost of the E10.

BTW, I also used to have the Audio-gd nfb-12 which was great. I've sold it because I couldn't justify having such an expensive piece of hardware(to me anyways). I can definitely tell the difference, but after a while you just get used to what you have. I can say I'm happier with what I have compared to what I've had before because I feel I'm getting more value(bang for buck).

audio-gd nfb-12 *$250* -> Fiio E10(they have quality control issues) *$80* -> Xonar DG *$20*

Denon D2k *$250* -> Audio Technica M50 *$125* (so cramped) -> Creative Aurvana Live(same as denon d1001 which has a similar driver as d2k but smaller and sounds pretty close) *$59*