[Wolfsende]

Hey, I'm trying to decide between the two although anyother suggestions are welcomed. Curently tending twords the essence because of its 100dolar lower price point (due to shipping/custom costs of the magni/modi), and its easier transition between speakers and headphones. Its for pure pc use, music/gaming/video about even. Using the hd650's 300ohm and klipsch promedia 2.1, spec wise the soundcard should have no problem as headphone amp. I'm wondering wether the higher price of the magni/modi is worth it, thank you for any help.
http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards/Xonar_Essence_STX/
http://schiit.com/products/modi
http://schiit.com/products/magni

 

[TheJosablo]

I would recommend the external Schiit, because they are outside of your case and will not take up space inside the case and will not have any interference with the internal parts and if you want to get better sound in the future you can upgrade to a Bifrost DAC or an Asgard 2, Valhalla 2 or Lyr 2, unless you really need to save yourself the cash, go ahead and get the sound card but watch this video first and it will help you more than I will: http://youtu.be/d1rXcJuEsy0
 
 
Cheers!

 

[Wolfsende]

The space inside the desktop is no problem, personal build lots of free space, after reading up further the essence st 16pin has a built in jitter box and further reviews of the card indicate it doesnt have problems with other hardware. Dont think I'll upgrade in the future.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  The space inside the desktop is no problem, personal build lots of free space, after reading up further the Essence st 16pin has a built in jitter box and further reviews of the card indicate it doesn't have problems with other hardware. Don't think I'll upgrade in the future.

 
The Asus Xonar Essence STX/ST is a good value for the price, maybe you can find a used one.
You you looking at the Essence STX (PCI-E) or Essence ST (PCI)?
You can also swap out the op-amps (operational Amplifiers) to change or maybe even improve the sound quality.

 

[Wolfsende]

either the stx or st, got 2 free pci and 1 pci e, the ST makes a better overall impression. I'm wondering wether the card runs my speakers(klipsch 2.1) threw the dac, and the headphones without having to replug, while the asus software controlls which to run the audio threw.
http://www.klipsch.com/promedia-2-1-computer-speakers/details