Been scouring this forum - checked out the DAC v Soundcard threads - nothing conclusive. Always people pipe up and say that an external DAC and amp are demonstrably better than even the best of soundcards IE the Asus Xonar Essence STX or the Creative ZxR / Titanium HD. I accept that a DAC/AMP...

Hello all, I'm new here, this is my first post   I have bought a XONAR STX for my home system, and after numerous tweaks and mods, I finally reached the sound signature that I like   If someone is interested I can post later the list of my mods   The last one was replacing the...

LME49720 NA  are the ones correct and they need to be 8 pin dip connectors? anyone got any reccomendations for ebay links or where to buy these looking to buy 3, all 3 is what people use with these right on the stx?

I was looking into the Koss Pro4AAAT or the Grado SR125i along with an Asus Xonar Essence STX. Any help would me much appreciated, as this is my first purchase of a non-integrated sound device. Thank you!

What are the best op amps for this combination and what setting do u reccomend the high gain which is to 250 ohm max or the 250 ohm plus one?

Let me get this out of the way. I'm stupid. There it's done. If I sound like I don't have any knowledge on something or if I sound like an idiot, then you'll know why...cause I told you so. I'm legitimately not trying to troll or sound stupid on purpose. When it comes to audio, after all I've...

Hello, I have two computer, with one I use the xonar stx, and the other I use the realtek onboad soundcard (each on a separate town). It's a bit frustrating , after being used to the sound of xonar stx to go back to onboard  realtek (I'm shocked each time by the difference). But the xonar...

Hi,   I've never owned high-end headphones before and I am looking at getting the Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro.   1) Will this be a good choice for listening to mostly classical music (80% classical, 20% vocals)? I listened to them at a shop, and was blown away by - specially - the...

There are many users who bought the STX whit a crystal that has 50-100 ps. Its a 2 pin smd ceramic crystal marked IT 475 and 24,576 Mhz. I am a person who wants the maximum out of the STX, so I will try to upgrade the crystal true the JZ-1 clock from kingwa. This crystal has 5ps and will...

I am in the market for a E11 or something similar. When listining from my computer i will use my portable, will it benifit me to run this through an inexpensive sound card. Do i game yes and will use harman/kardon sticks.

So i have scraped enough money to buy a HD 650 after selling my DT-880s. I read online alot of people saying that the STX just does not do the 650 proper justice, and needs a tube amp to really shine. I tried the headphones at my local store and they were very comfortable and sounded great...

  I'm building a new setup and my EMU 1616m has had too many driver problems in the past. I want to purchase a new ASIO card that will let me run a lot of samples without cracking or poping at low latency (real-time playback).   Can someone recommend me a good ASIO sound card that is sub...

Win Vista/7/8 have excellent audio protocol stacks, so I have been using the WASAPI exclusive plugin for foobar. However, I am downgrading to Windows 2000 after realizing there are unofficial updates for it post-support that date to 2012. After trying it out fully updated and tweaked, I...

Hey guys, I built my own desktop a couple months ago but I haven't bought speakers or a sound card for it yet. I've been doing research on some of the products out there but I haven't made any concrete decisions. I was hoping that if I explained what I want in a sound system and gave my price...

hello everybody   i'm going to upgrade the sound system here and i dont know what to buy should i get an asus xonar STX, or a desktop DAC with AMP? what is the main diference between theese two? does the essence audio processor makes it better than a desktop dac?   my budget is $170 ...

Hi guys,   i'll be getting a new set of headphones as part of my new PC and just wanted to get some opinions between my selections.   Ive narrowed it down between the Sennheiser HD 598's and the Astro A40 2011. Now a majority of people recommend the 598s as they give the best sound...

Hi, I am looking for new headphones. Looking at fa-003 and fa-011 currently. But i am wondering if the essence STX can drive them to their fullest potential? And what kind of settings should i have for my essence stx?   Thanks. :)

Right so I got my HD650 for christmas and bought a new soundcard (Asus Xonar Essence STX). The headphones really sound amazing but a problem occurred 2 days ago: I wanted to listen to some minimal and I set my equalizer on my soundcard to Bass. But if I turn up the volume a bit so it's not...

Will be used with ultrasone pro 900's.  The sound card is about 200,  I am willing to spend up to 400.  How best to spend my money?   Thanks in advance! -Maximilian

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I am planning on getting the Asus Xonar STX as I do most of my listening from my computer. The sound card says it can power headphones up to 600 ohms, But I have a hard time believing that a $175 sound card with an amp can power headphones on the same level as other more expensive amps.  ...

Not looking to spend an arm and a leg and I would prefer not using an amp since that would cost more money.   Looking for 250USD or so.   Right now my setup is Sennheiser HD595 with ASUS Xonar Essence STX audio card.  Bought all of these about a year ago and was thinking that it might be...

    Well, I'm new into the hifi audio world and wow..have I been awakened..and, well I want my mind to be blown with the right pair of headphones. I'm using an Asus Xonar STX soundcard, which has been amazing compared to what I had before it..a $25 dollar pair of USB headphones - Microsoft's...

Hi Guys!    My first post here so be nice! ^^ I know I'm not going to be 100% obedient to the rules of this forum but I'm going to ask TWO questions in this thread,  but I don't know how else to put it.    --- --- --- --- --- ---   I am looking for a pair of good headphones to pair...

Relatively new here. I currently own a pair of Grado sr60's due to head-fi's recommendation a few years ago. Really great cans, and I love them for what I paid for, but their comfort and sound leakage are encouraging me to look into upgrading. From browsing the forums, the Aurvana Live! and...