[kefalo81]

asus xonar dx and grado sr80i headphones
i have offer to buy new asus xonar dx sound card for 62 euro.
i allready have grado sr80i headphones.
on my motherboard i have only pci-e slots

can i get quality sound with this combination
does dolby effects ruin sound quality on headphones, becouse i have heard that dolby is for games and movies.

 

[mbartelt]

Hi,
 
the DX is a low profile sound card. For 62 euro the card is better than the on board sound. But this card does not have any shielding, digital input and asio support. for about 50 euros more you got the D2X which is much better. This card has a normal profile.
 
In my opinion Dolby headphone make sense for encoded movies or music. For playback of stereo i don't like it. Think about, if the songwriter or band want this effect, they produced the CD/DVD with Dolby. Try it out, but for really good stereo playback this is nonsense.
 
Manfred
 

 

[wje]

I have the Xonar DX sound card.  I wanted a better sound card than the AC97 on-board sound and feel that the Xonar provides it.  I don't use it too often for headphone listening, but when I have done so, I preferred using the Asus Xonar software interface for controlling the sound as opposed to Foobar and the WasAPI driver plug-in.  It just seemed that playing my music files via Windows Media player and controlling the frequencies with the Asus software did a much better job and the output sounded better.

 

[whirlwind]

I just bought a refurbed essence stx off e-bay for $135 shipped, on a best offer bid.
 
I have been jamming the last 2-3 hours with my grado 325is......damn...this is an in your face , quick attack, no nonsence combo....I cant tell you how happy I am ......have listened to Eagles...Clapton unplugged, Melissa Ethridge.....Inxs........
 
I am thinking you would be very happy with SR80is and that Xonar card.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Asus Xonar DX and Grado sr80i headphones
I have offer to buy new Asus Xonar DX sound card for 62 euro.
I all ready have Grado sr80i headphones.
On my motherboard i have only PCI-E slots

Can I get quality sound with this combination
Does Dolby effects ruin sound quality on headphones, because I have heard that Dolby is for games and movies.

The Asus Xonar DX is a good value, fairly good DAC, Dolby surround sound for speakers and headphones.
But it headphone jack is not great for driving headphones, I believe it has a high impedance.
Something like the Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier. would do a better job of driving headphones.
and you can plug the E11 straight into the DX's headphone jack.

 

[wje]

Quote:

The Asus Xonar DX is a good value, fairly good DAC, Dolby surround sound for speakers and headphones.
But it headphone jack is not great for driving headphones, I believe it has a high impedance.
Something like the Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier. would do a better job of driving headphones.
and you can plug the E11 straight into the DX's headphone jack.

 
If doing so, does it result in "double-amping"?  In effect, you're sending an amplified signal from the Xonar sound card output, then inputting it into the E11, where it gets amplified further.  On the Xonar DX, is there a way to bypass the amplifier, and just send the signal from the DAC to the E11 amplifier?
 
Thanks,

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
If doing so, does it result in "double-amping"?  In effect, you're sending an amplified signal from the Xonar sound card output, then inputting it into the E11, where it gets amplified further.  On the Xonar DX, is there a way to bypass the amplifier, and just send the signal from the DAC to the E11 amplifier?

First off the Xonar DX does not have a headphone amplifier, it's more like a line-out jack that you can plug your headphones into.
So you can leave the Xonar DX with all the headphone surround sound settings enabled and just plug the E11 into it.
On eBay there are some low cost AC powered headphone amplifiers, prices start at around $50
like the SMSL TPA6120A2 or SMSL SAP-100.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

If doing so, does it result in "double-amping"?

 
No, the front channel output of the Xonar D1/DX is basically like the RCA outputs of the ST/STX. It is a standard 2 Vrms line level source with 100 Ohm impedance, and is driven by an NJM5532 op amp (not a dedicated headphone amplifier).