I am using the Xonar Unified Drivers and have no problems. 

The Essence only bit-matches with ASIO, not with WASAPI. Also, it isn't MC16 that is bypassing the volume controls, it is the Essence driver that bypasses the volume control. This is a result of the bit-matched driver with Windows 7. This is noted in the driver'S notes at the Asus website:  ...

You aren't wasting your money on anything less than 4.0 when using the H6 card. I do 95% of my listening to music and use the subwoofer output of the H6 card. I obviously couldn't do this with just the ST so the H6 is well worth it. I use the high quality bass management in J. River Media...

Quote:   That is correct, you do need the ST with the H6. You also need to set the input and output in the Xonar control panel to 5.1. This will allow you to use the card's bass management to redirect the bass to the subwoofer output. If you are watching movies, you need to downmix with...

Quote: I installed the new drivers for my Essence ST last night. I also listen to music that has some additional vocals specifically when I want to listen for any improvements. When I had a less resolving system I used to only hear the main singer's voice. Now I can hear the accompanying...

If you plan to use a Blu-ray media player such as Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre or Corel WinDVD 2010 then the high definition audio will be downsampled to 16 bit 48 kHz. You might want to read The State of Blu-ray Lossless HD Audio in Home Theater Computers. There are now some PAP audio cards, but...

Quote: Originally Posted by riderforever I think it would be interesting to compare the outgoing jitter of our digital sources Did you mean to say "jitter of our analog sources"? I don't see how measuring the analog output/input has anything to do with the jitter on the digital...

I use J. River Media Center with Kernal Streaming for music and movies. Now that it supports ASIO, WASAPI, or Kernal Streaming for movies I no longer use Reclock.

Quote: Originally Posted by leeperry oh I see, they have bad customer support because they don't send you $20 opamps for free? haha, you're a bit spoiled my friend if I may ^^ 1028AC is amazing. I have two of the LT1028ACN8, but I need to use a single to dual op-amp adapter...

My first computer that I bought in 1989 was an IBM PS/2. I think I had an 80286 or 80386 processor and a 20 MB hard drive. I paid $1500 for it used. With a hard drive that big I thought I would never fill it up. I was right, I never did fill up that hard drive. I think it is funny that the...

Yesterday I had a chance to try some different opamps. I ended up with AD8620BR for the buffer and LT1469 for the I/V. This combo is very dynamic and detailed, yet not fatiguing. To me, it felt the most lifelike of any of the combos I tried. The OPA2107 was too harsh and the OPA2277, while...

Quote: Originally Posted by ROBSCIX Just new standards, such as the new Pro-Logic IIz...that is available on receivers but currently I have not seen it on any consumer soundcards. Usually what is available on a receiver will end up in the soundcards sooner or later as those are the...

Because I rip Blu-rays with lossless FLAC for the audio, i don't have to worry about PAP or downsampling with the Essence ST. Have you read this thread at AVSForum: Is a PAP relevant at all for practically any listener and/or source material??

Quote: Originally Posted by HeatFan12 Hi mojave, Great article on J. River. I see you posted on that website in reference to the Library Server. I have been messing with it but to no avail. Could you post the steps on setting it up and running it with 2 PCs. Thanks I missed...

The Computer Audiophile website just released an article called Windows 7 & J. River Media Center 14 configuration.

The ST's line level outputs are the same as a preamp. You can connect directly to an amplifier, which I do. Just to clarify, the H6 card is for the side/rear surrounds, center, and subwoofer. The ST has both stereo RCA outputs and a 1/4" headphone output. The stereo RCA outputs will go to the...

Only a card that supports Protected Audio Path (PAP) can play the lossless formats without downsampling. These are the Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe and the Auzentech X-Fi Hometheater HD. With these cards you are limited to playing the Blu-rays on just one software player in order to comply with...

germanium, Thanks for the info on the sliders. I have set them back to 76%. I checked out my X-Fi Elite card in audio creation mode and its sliders are set at 75% and shows the dB at 0. Moving the sliders to 100% adds a 12 dB gain. I think this is the same gain that the mixer in Essence in...

Quote: Originally Posted by germanium Leave those sliders at the default 76% or you will get massive limiting & the sound becomes very disconcerting to listen to. This card has a built in limitor to prevent clipping providing of coarse that the signal is not already clipped in the...

Quote: Originally Posted by hellenic vanagon Please, is it known for the volume control of the ST, if it reduces the resolution, so it must be at maximum position always? Because the green part on ASUS control, suggests that it keeps lower the distortion when we use the left part? So...

I recently purchased the Corsair HX850. According to the measurements at jonnyguru.com it has almost no ripple with the wattage I'll be using. It is also an extremely efficient power supply.

I use the Tweak City Audio Gizmo. It is a small two channel amp with a subwoofer output. Although it has volume controls, I don't use them and just have it set for maximum volume. As noted on the product page, if you don't use a subwoofer you need to use the max setting on the bass adjustment to...

I also use J. River Media Center 14. It does exactly what you want.

I called ASUS this morning to check on the US distribution of the H6. I was told that it will probably be released in the next 1-2 months in the US.

I just read the article. The author mentions that the only difference he could find between the two cards was that one was PCI and one was PCI-E. No mention was made of the H6 add on card for the ST or its auto clock tuning to reduce jitter. He installed the cards in two different computers...