[thepope]

Hello everyone, i have searched for an answer to this but haven't found a good one so i'll give it a try here.

I have bought the K702 65th Anniversary Edition from AKG and i am planning on buying the Asus Xonar Essence STX. I am going to be gaming, mixing music, and listen to music with them so i want something that is good for not just one thing and it seems like the STX will fit me good.

The question i have though is if the amp in STX will be good enough to give the headphones justice. I've heard the dac is great but the amp is less good, so with all my needs, do i need an external amp? If that is the case or if you think some other solution would fit my needs, what amp/solution do you think i should go with? I can go as high as to $300, maybe a little bit more if it's worth it.

I appreciate your help very much.

 

[techboy]

You will get enough volume but crap quality sound. Get an Asgard 2 or Sunrise II and get a Asus DG sound card for dac and dolby.

 

[TeknicalXtacy]

I just went through something similar.
 
I have a ASUS Essence STX with AKG Q702's.  I found the ASUS did a good job and sounded quite good in driving my AKG's, which I bought for both music and gaming.
 
The AKG's are very clean and did cause some fatigue when listening.  This can be compensated by a very slight tweak to the ASUS EQ by adding just a touch of base.
 
But to add just a little overall warmth I purchases a Rolls Bellari ha540 TUBE amp which added a good bit of drive to and warmed them up just enough to remove the fatigue.
 
For $290 the Rolls Bellari is very nice and you can connect the headphones directly from the sound card to the Rolls.  And you get the added benefit of having the ASUS EQ.
 
One thing that I concluded when using this equipment is that all recordings are different so having one setting that works for everything just is counter intuitive and really just doesn't make any sense.  Each CD I play sounds a little different then the other and having the versatility the EQ of the ASUS in combination with the Rolls is very nice.  But I would recommend adding an amp not so much for sound quality but to help drive the headphones, although the sound quality was improved.
 
And rereading your post I would suggest if you don't have the STX already i would go with an external amp and skip the STX.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I have bought the K702 65th Anniversary Edition from AKG and I am planning on buying the Asus Xonar Essence STX. I am going to be gaming, mixing music, and listen to music with them so i want something that is good for not just one thing and it seems like the STX will fit me good.
The question I have though is if the amp in STX will be good enough to give the headphones justice. I've heard the DAC is great but the amp is less good, so with all my needs, do i need an external amp? If that is the case or if you think some other solution would fit my needs, what amp/solution do you think i should go with? I can go as high as to $300, maybe a little bit more if it's worth it.

I use the STX and I think it does a good job of driving all my headphones.
(everything in one package for $180)
 
One option you could try, is a buy an Asus Xonar DX or D1, used on eBay for around $50.
The DX/D1 CS4398 DAC chip should be good enough.
The STX, DX, D1 use the same CMI8788 audio processor
So you will have all the control panel features of the STX.
Then spend the rest of your cash towards an external headphone amplifier.
(I would guess the Schiit Magni headphone amplifier, $99, is at least equal to the STX's amp)
 
Try asking here about external headphone amplifier for the AKG K702 Annies.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626971/akg-k702-65th-anniversary-edition

 

[thepope]

Thanks for all the responses, this is a hard choice now..

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for all the responses, this is a hard choice now..

The Schiit Magni amp is a little more versatile then the STX's amp.
The Magni has a lower output impedance (<1-Ohm), then the STX (10-Ohm).
So the Schiit is a little better suited for lower impedance headphones.
I would guess the Magni can drive 600-Ohm headphones (the STX can)
As the Schiit is separate external it can be used with other audio, beside the computer.
and as the Schiit Magni is not inside the computer case, the amplifier (itself) will not be affected by any electrical noise inside the computer case.

 

[thepope]

That does sound pretty good! Does this combo work good for gaming too? I see that Asus has DG and DGX, is it worth getting the DGX?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

That does sound pretty good! Does this combo work good for gaming too? I see that Asus has DG and DGX, is it worth getting the DGX?

Get the Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card for use with an external headphone amplifier.
Better DAC chip.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

You will get enough volume but crap quality sound. Get an Asgard 2 or Sunrise II and get a Asus DG sound card for dac and dolby.

 
 
Don't talk if you clearly haven't heard the combo please. Crap sound quality....interesting.  I'll tell you that Musical Fidelity M1DAC + M1HPA which cost 1800 dollars together sound barely better than STX.

 

[yellowcun]

I agree with techboy on "Asgard 2"