[MoonSung]

Hi, I currently own a pair of dt880s 600ohms with an asus stx.  I noticed that even on the highest gain settings the sound from the dt880s still doesn't have much depth?  It doesn't sound full.  I was wondering if I could possibly purchase an external amp and plug it into the asus stx to use as a DAC.  I wouldn't mind switching the dt880s back into the asus stx for gaming to keep the dolby headphones setting.  Are there any recommended amps in the price range of 200-400 that would work well in that setup?  I live in Canada so it'd be better if the amp was available in Canada.  I also own a pair of audio technica ath-m50 if that matters.  Sorry if this question was asked before
 
Music I listen to include unk rock, emo rock,  pop, hip hop, r&b, classical, instrumentals

 

[PurpleAngel]

Just about any external headphone amplifier can be hooked up to the Essence STX's RCA outputs.
 
You might consider selling off the STX and getting an Xonar DX or D1 (used $60).
You can also plug any headphone amplifier into the DX/D1 front-line-out/headphone jack.
The DX/D1 uses the same CMI8788 audio processor as the Essence STX/ & ST.
This way you still have all the headphone features (like headphone surround sound) that you had with the STX, while using the external headphone amplifier of your choice.
 
Maybe get the Schiit Asgard II, $250
http://schiit.com/products/asgard-2
or Vahalla, $350
http://schiit.com/products/valhalla
 
Audio_GD NFB 11.32, $299
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1132/NFB11.32EN.htm
Audio_GD NFB 15.32, $235
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm

 

[MoonSung]

If i were to switch the audio channels to 8 channels and plug the external amp into the line out without turning on dolby surround headphones, will this work? or will the amp switch it back to 2 channels?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  If i were to switch the audio channels to 8 channels and plug the external amp into the line out without turning on Dolby Surround headphones, will this work? or will the amp switch it back to 2 channels?

The Essence STX Dolby Headphone Surround Sound only outputs thru the back panel headphone jack
or the front panel output (when set to "FP Headphone"), not the back panel RCA jacks.
When the STX is set to any "Headphone" output, it can not output any audio thru the RCAs.
To output audio thru the RCA's the STX has to be set to "speaker".
You can set the Audio Channel to 8-channel and the Audio Output to "Speaker" and audio will come out the RCAs
The audio will be "Virtual speaker" ,not "Headphone" surround sound
 
To improve audio you might consider rolling (swapping) the op-amps on the STX, you could get two LME49720 op-amps for under $10
There is also the LME49990, around $17 each (ships from Canada).
Or the AD797BRs $18 each (ships from China).
The STX has three (DIP-8) op-amps, two are used for headphone output, all three for line-output.
I replaced all three of my op-amps with AD797BRs.
 
Which op-amps would make the improvements your looking for, not sure.