Quote: Yeah I have read great things about the shielding capabilities of the Xonar STX so I am not going to worry about that aspect of it. I will look into the line out to external amp when the time comes (after I buy the DT990s with 600 ohms) haha   Hey, also I noticed that newegg...

Quote: I have noticed while only just beginning to get into hi-fi that the possibility of upgrading makes me anxious to have the hardware already, so I tend to make rather rash decisions haha  My mobo's expansion slots are as follows:  1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16...

Quote: Ok sounds good, that should be no issue then, all of you have been a great help, once again convincing me to drop $180  

Quote: Okay thanks a lot, you've helped a lot and I think I am going to be buying the Xonar STX. Can anybody help with what cables will I need to hook up my speakers? Would a male XLR to male RCA work to hook it up to the STX? The only other input on my speakers is a TRS 1/4 inch.

Quote: Yeah I definitely agree with what you had to say about putting that marginal cable money into something like my actual headphones or a better amp, etc. Thanks for the help regarding the cables Parak, greatly appreciated.  

Quote: I am not to worried about the portability aspect as I am working on a CMOY currently. Quite a few people have recommended the STX now so I am leaning towards it over the Fiio E7/E9. However, some people in other threads I am following have simply said that external is better than a...

Quote: I downloaded the WASAPI plugin and I set it in my preferences as my default output. So is that all I needed to do it is working properly now?   I know that all of these options have way more than enough power to drive my current headphones considering they don't even need an...

I use Winamp, do I automatically have that plug-in or do I need to download it? I was confused because a previous poster said that he chose the STX due to WASAPI/ASIO and the sound to noise ratio. So any DAC can use it so it doesn't make a difference between the Fiio E7/E9 and the STX in that...

Alright so if I use the Xonar STX I will bypass the windows mixer which would be ideal. However, if I use the Fiio E7/E9 then it will not bypass the windows mixer? Thanks for clarifying all of this.

Quote: The E10 looks pretty nice for the price and you are right, I already do have a way to plug my speakers into a 3.5 mm jack, so it would work. I am aware I don't need an amp for my headphones but I definitely need a DAC. The reason I want an amp is for when I upgrade later and do...

Quote: Alright that makes sense if I go the E7/E9 combo route (which is still a strong possibility) I already have to return some cables anyway that I am using for my current setup. Would the Fiio combo be able to push something like a DT990 600 ohm headphone? I want to future proof my...

Can you explain what WASAPI does exactly, I have a vague idea but an explanation would be greatly appreciated. I'm sort of a newbie haha Anyway, I definitely agree with you on the upgraditis aspect of the Fiios. Also, if I upgrade to a high ohm headphone such as the dt990s with 600 ohms would...

Thanks a lot man, I was having trouble picturing how the E7/9 would connect to my speakers. But you cleared that up for me. I noticed that XLR male to RCA male cable is $54, I found one for $5 on amazon, is it worth it spend the extra cash on the Mogami for better quality or were you just giving...

Ok, so here is my situation, I have both computer speakers and some headphones. My speakers are the M-Audio Bx5a deluxe studio speakers. They each have their own amp each but are hooked into my onboard audio, I also used my AD700s. The onboard is not cutting it however, I hear hissing and...

thanks a lot purpleangel, i appreciate it