TerraEpon
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2006
- Posts
- 9
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- 0
So I got a new computer. I use Sennheiser 595s, and my old computer had an Audigy 2 which of course doesn't fit in my PCI-Express only slots...
The Realtek onboard audio on the new one, as many probably know, sucks. At first I thought it was just quiet, but after trying a sound booster I find the quality is not as good as it seemed at first with bad stereo seperation....but anyway.
I figure I might as go all out, but I'm a little weary. Is the ASUS Xonar Essence STX really worth it? I'm especially interested in the fact there's mention of headphone amp on it -- I've never been satisfied with the power/volume of my old card, and the Realtek is just horrid that even a 'loudness war' trashed track can't be juiced up.
So I guess I'm asking, what's the best deal? is it worth the extra $85 or so?
Asus Xonar cards in general seem to get good reactions here, but there's also the Creative X-Fi to consider.
I'd love to listen to music in great quality, but I'm a bit worried that the extra money won't make any actual audible difference.
So...thoughts?
The Realtek onboard audio on the new one, as many probably know, sucks. At first I thought it was just quiet, but after trying a sound booster I find the quality is not as good as it seemed at first with bad stereo seperation....but anyway.
I figure I might as go all out, but I'm a little weary. Is the ASUS Xonar Essence STX really worth it? I'm especially interested in the fact there's mention of headphone amp on it -- I've never been satisfied with the power/volume of my old card, and the Realtek is just horrid that even a 'loudness war' trashed track can't be juiced up.
So I guess I'm asking, what's the best deal? is it worth the extra $85 or so?
Asus Xonar cards in general seem to get good reactions here, but there's also the Creative X-Fi to consider.
I'd love to listen to music in great quality, but I'm a bit worried that the extra money won't make any actual audible difference.
So...thoughts?