[topcat888]

Hi
 
At present I'm using an ASUS Xonar DX sound card to run a pair of RS 180's and intend to upgrade the sound card to the Asus Xonar Essence STX...
 
My question is will this give me a 'punchier' sound..? The card is without doubt a better build quality with higher quality components plus has a build in headphone amp... But basically will this give me more 'power' at source and will I notice the difference..?
 
I'm not interested in a louder volume, I have no issue here ~ Instead I would like to achieve a cleaner, punchier, fuller, richer sound quality..?
 
Any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks

 

[topcat888]

bump...
 
any thoughts..?

 

[stv014]

Isn't the RS180 a wireless headphone that includes a built-in battery powered amplifier, so your card only needs to drive the input of the transmitter ?
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

So the Senn RS 180 has a 3.5mm analog input and you run a 3.5mm male to male cable from the Xonar DX's front speaker/headphone (green) output to the RS 180 3.5mm analog input.
About the only thing the Xonar DX is doing for you is providing a better DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) then what comes built into the motherboard.
If you had the Xonar DX on "headphone" settings, your would be double amping (kind of), which can introduce noise into the signal.
(if the Xonar DX has a true headphone amplifier is still being debated)
 
Are you using any of the surround sound setting on the Xonar DG for movies or surround sound gaming?
Or is this setup just for music?
 
One way to improve the sound to the RS 180 is getting a better DAC, the Music Streamer II ($150) will be a better DAC then the Xonar DX (and maybe the Essence STX?)
You would run a USB cable from your computer's USB port to the USB port on the Music Streamer II, then run an RCA to 3.5mm cable from the Music streamer II to the RS180.
Also need to go into the audio setting of the computer and set it to "USB Audio Output"

 

[topcat888]

Thanks for the reply's...
 
Isn't the RS180 a wireless headphone that includes a built-in battery powered amplifier, so your card only needs to drive the input of the transmitter ?
 
Yes, I believe so...
 
So the Senn RS 180 has a 3.5mm analog input and you run a 3.5mm male to male cable from the Xonar DX's front speaker/headphone (green) output to the RS 180 3.5mm analog input.
 
Yes, correct...
 
Are you using any of the surround sound setting on the Xonar DG for movies or surround sound gaming?
Or is this setup just for music?
 
No I don't use surround sound, it's purely for music, I do tweak the graphic a tiny bit to help create a little more of a punchier sound but that's it... In essence that's the problem, I find the setup a bit flat, lackluster...
 
One way to improve the sound to the RS 180 is getting a better DAC, the Music Streamer II ($150) will be a better DAC then the Xonar DX (and maybe the Essence STX?)
 
I assumed that the Essence STX would have a much better DAC (and components) than the DX and therefore create a much cleaner, richer signal for the RS 180 to use..? Is that the way it works..?
 
I hadn't thought of using a USB DAC, I will do some homework on that one... Would a good USB DAC be better than the Essence STX, both about same price..?
 
Many thanks for the advice, any more would be greatly appreciated..!
 

 

[stv014]

According to the specs, only the more expensive Music Streamer II+ ($300 or more) would be a real improvement, the simple $150 Music Streamer II may not be worth it unless you also need it for a laptop, or your PC has interference or grounding problems that make the sound cards perform worse than they should (this is not that uncommon, by the way). Otherwise, the DAC on the DX is quite good already, and the most improvement would be made by getting new headphones, and, if they are wired, maybe an amplifier as well.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply's...
Isn't the RS180 a wireless headphone that includes a built-in battery powered amplifier, so your card only needs to drive the input of the transmitter ?
Yes, I believe so...
So the Senn RS 180 has a 3.5mm analog input and you run a 3.5mm male to male cable from the Xonar DX's front speaker/headphone (green) output to the RS 180 3.5mm analog input.
Yes, correct...
Are you using any of the surround sound setting on the Xonar DG for movies or surround sound gaming?
Or is this setup just for music?
No I don't use surround sound, it's purely for music, I do tweak the graphic a tiny bit to help create a little more of a punchier sound but that's it... In essence that's the problem, I find the setup a bit flat, lackluster...
One way to improve the sound to the RS 180 is getting a better DAC, the Music Streamer II ($150) will be a better DAC then the Xonar DX (and maybe the Essence STX?)
I assumed that the Essence STX would have a much better DAC (and components) than the DX and therefore create a much cleaner, richer signal for the RS 180 to use..? Is that the way it works..?
I hadn't thought of using a USB DAC, I will do some homework on that one... Would a good USB DAC be better than the Essence STX, both about same price..?
Many thanks for the advice, any more would be greatly appreciated..!

I like my Essence STX, is does a nice job and I'm sure (guessing) it's a better amplifier of headphones then your RS180.
Now the Essence STX is going to have a better DAC then the Xonar DX, so that's a plus.
So if you leave the Essence STX on "speaker", and you run an RCA cable from the Essence STX to the 3.5mm input on the RS180, your getting a better signal for the RS180, over the DX.
Your spending $175 for the Essence STX will lots of features you'll never use (like it's headphone amplifier, surround sound, etc), just for a better DAC.
With the Essence STX you can even swap op-amps (operational amplifier) to change (improve?) the audio quality, but I doubt you would ever bother with this anyway.
Fiio makes a decent external DAC for $30, may not be any better then the one in the Essence STX, or the DX.
Computers have electrical noise (inside the case) that can effect an analog audio signal and the Essence STX is inside the computer case (I does have shielding).
If you use an external USB/DAC, you are taking the audio (still digital) signal from inside the computer case (using a USB cable) to the external DAC, which changes the digital audio to analog audio away from the electrical noise that's inside the computer case.
I can not say it as a fact I know, but I'm sure the Music Streamer II is a better DAC then the one built into the Essence STX.
But feel free to ask others what external DACs they like.
 
If you did go external USB/DAC, you really would have no need for the Xonar DX, you could remove it and sell it.

 
 
 

 

[topcat888]

Great, thanks guys, lots to think about...
 
Can I put forward some last thoughts to see your reactions:
 
Stick with my plan to buy the ASUS Essence STX or perhaps buy something like this USB/DAC I've found, the AUNE 24bit/192K X1 DAC Headphone Amplifier..? Similar prices but which would be a better choice..?
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-Pre-amp-PCM1793-Supply/dp/B005ZH4VR6
 
(sorry if links aren't permitted)
 
Stick with the Sennheiser RS 180's or sell and get something like the Sennheiser HD650's..? (yes, save like crazy.!)
 
Cheers
 
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Great, thanks guys, lots to think about...
Can I put forward some last thoughts to see your reactions:
Stick with my plan to buy the ASUS Essence STX or perhaps buy something like this USB/DAC I've found, the AUNE 24bit/192K X1 DAC Headphone Amplifier..? Similar prices but which would be a better choice..?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphone-Amplifier-Pre-amp-PCM1793-Supply/dp/B005ZH4VR6
Stick with the Sennheiser RS 180's or sell and get something like the Sennheiser HD650's..? (yes, save like crazy.!)

I'm not really a fan of wireless headphones, even if they are made by Sennheiser.
The AUNE sure does look cool and you can somewhat travel with it and Sennheiser HD650 should sound really good.
Hopefully you will read as many reviews as you can on the AUNE before buying.
 
 
 

 

[topcat888]

Quote:

I'm not really a fan of wireless headphones, even if they are made by Sennheiser.
The AUNE sure does look cool and you can somewhat travel with it and Sennheiser HD650 should sound really good.
Hopefully you will read as many reviews as you can on the AUNE before buying.
 
 
 

 
Thanks, time for more review reading I think before moving on to the next step...
 
One question, I recently moved from a pair of sony closed headphones to the Senn RS180's and whilst the sound quality is undoubtedly good I find them lacking 'punch' as I have mentioned before, is this because they are open headphones or another reason..??

 

[stv014]

Quote:

whilst the sound quality is undoubtedly good I find them lacking 'punch' as I have mentioned before

I am not sure if this graph is accurate, but if it is even close, then there are not too many high quality headphone with much more bass.
 

 
Buying a new DAC for the RS180 is unlikely to be a real improvement.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks, time for more review reading I think before moving on to the next step...
One question, I recently moved from a pair of sony closed headphones to the Senn RS180's and whilst the sound quality is undoubtedly good I find them lacking 'punch' as I have mentioned before, is this because they are open headphones or another reason..??

Open verses Closed could be one reason, you can have cheap headphones with lots of punch, like the Sony XB500, but everything else suffers.
I believe they might not have put a lot of punch into the RS180 so as to make the mid and high sound clearer.
 
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am not sure if this graph is accurate, but if it is even close, then there are not too many high quality headphone with much more bass.
 

 
Buying a new DAC for the RS180 is unlikely to be a real improvement.
 

Best I could come up with.
 
 
 

 

[topcat888]

Quote:

Open verses Closed could be one reason, you can have cheap headphones with lots of punch, like the Sony XB500, but everything else suffers.
I believe they might not have put a lot of punch into the RS180 so as to make the mid and high sound clearer.
 
 

Thanks PurpleAngle for all the info..! 
 
I think I'm just getting used to open headphones, out of interest they were the Sony MDR-V500's, not an expensive pair but just seemed to have that little more 'kick' to them. I think it's a simple case of me not having experience the airy feel of open headphones before..?
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Puncher headphones?
Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80-Ohm (Closed), I use to use my Asus Xonar DX to power them, fairly good and punchy sound.
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250-Ohm (open), a great headphone (full bass & Treble) for when you want to feel like your in a movie theater, needs a decent headphone amplifier.
Denon AH-D2000 (25-Ohm) everyone who owns one really seems to like it for it's bass.