[perryleros]

  I replaced my HDAV 1.3 deluxe by STX II 7.1. It has better sound for music and movie. Now, I am curious about stock & spare opamps. There are some cases as below:
 

buffer + I/V	Result
muses 8820 + 2x muses 8920
muses 8820 + 2x LME 49720
LME 49720 + 2x muses 8820
LME 49720 + 2x muses 8920
muses 8920 + 2X muses 8820
muses 8920 + 2X LME 49720

 
Anyone has tried and got result of those cases could share experience? As  I'm a newbie. Your share will be highly appreciate.

 
I tried some of those combinations, here is my opinion:
Current setup: Xonar Essence STX II, speakers: Swans m50

muses 8820 + 2x muses 8920: Sounds balanced, bass is there and tight. mids are really good. Highs seem a bit underpowered. Overall sounds "musical" and balanced. Nothing is more or less than it should, except maybe highs if you re used to super clear and bright highs. I like this setup. 
 
muses 8820 + 2x LME 49720: switching to 49720 for I/V slots sound became a lot clearer and brighter, bass is definately stronger and feels like it goes lower. Good bass. Highs are really annoyingly bright and loud. Some might like that, but I find it too exhausting to listen to music like that for too long. Overall I would say sound is super clear and bright. You can tell though that the mid range is underwhelmed by super bright highs and good strong bass.
 
LME 49720 + 2x muses 8920: Tried changing the buffer to the LME but leaving the muses as I/V out of curiosity. Sounded the same as 8820+2x8920 but with less bass for some reason. Didnt like it.
 
My current preference is the first setup (8820+2x8920)
 
Only bad thing I noticed is when I tried a movie(inception) where it has a lot of explosions and glass breaking in a scene but I was dissapointed. Bass was good but highs were lacking... With the LME49720 the glass breaking was really loud and real. 

I have other opamps coming my way and will try more combinations in a couple of days. 
2x Muses01
1x Muses02 for buffer
2x LME49720HA (metal can)

 

[perryleros]

   
I tried some of those combinations, here is my opinion:
Current setup: Xonar Essence STX II, speakers: Swans m50

muses 8820 + 2x muses 8920: Sounds balanced, bass is there and tight. mids are really good. Highs seem a bit underpowered. Overall sounds "musical" and balanced. Nothing is more or less than it should, except maybe highs if you re used to super clear and bright highs. I like this setup. 
 
muses 8820 + 2x LME 49720: switching to 49720 for I/V slots sound became a lot clearer and brighter, bass is definately stronger and feels like it goes lower. Good bass. Highs are really annoyingly bright and loud. Some might like that, but I find it too exhausting to listen to music like that for too long. Overall I would say sound is super clear and bright. You can tell though that the mid range is underwhelmed by super bright highs and good strong bass.
 
LME 49720 + 2x muses 8920: Tried changing the buffer to the LME but leaving the muses as I/V out of curiosity. Sounded the same as 8820+2x8920 but with less bass for some reason. Didnt like it.
 
My current preference is the first setup (8820+2x8920)
 
Only bad thing I noticed is when I tried a movie(inception) where it has a lot of explosions and glass breaking in a scene but I was dissapointed. Bass was good but highs were lacking... With the LME49720 the glass breaking was really loud and real. 

I have other opamps coming my way and will try more combinations in a couple of days. 
2x Muses01
1x Muses02 for buffer
2x LME49720HA (metal can)

 
THe rest of the opamps are finally here and I did some tests.
 
2x LME49720HA + 1x muses8820 for buffer: sounds too bright for my taste.
2xMuses01 + 1xMuse8820: Sounds like the muses8920 but muddier, highs are brighter and bass is reduced significantly.
2xMuses01 + 1xMuses02 for buffer: Everything is more clear and there is bass again. Sounds good
 
I would say that 2xMuses01 for I/V and Muses02 for bufffer sounds really good and with time it will sound better
But the best combination for my setup is definately 2xMuses8920 and muses02 for buffer. That sound the most balanced and musical. Not lacking anything. The muses01 were not worth the price over 8920 in my case. Maybe better speakers with larger woofer drivers would benefit from the bright highs of the muses01, but in my case its not comfortable to listen to at high volumes, its kinda like the 49720 when it comes to highs.

 

[Unclewall]

I tried all the stock op amps and a lot more and was not happy. Im using just I/V for headphone and found opa1662 to sound the best to date but they are soic and need to be soldered to a dip8 adaptor

 

[Voxata]

Crux, you'll love the V5's. They are the only reason I still own an STX.

 

[Cruxiaer]

Just received my SSV5OPAD this afternoon. So far they sound awesome. I believe some burning in is required, so I will amend the post when I know more.
 
I only have the stock opamps with me, I will try my best to describe the transition from stock to SSV5. I also assume you are familiar with the stock opamps. English is not my first language so my description may suck so bear with it
 
Setup:
Asus Xonar STX II
Audio Technica R70x - neutral sounding, relatively narrow sound stage.
 
Audio track:
Mountains (Interstellar OST)
Ghost Town (Adam Lambert)
A Stutter (Ólafur Arnalds)
好久不見 (楊永聰)
Lighthouse (Patrick Watson)
Heroes (Peter Gabriel)
01;41 (Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm)
 
Original setup #1:
LPF Muses 8820
I/V 2x Muses 8920
 
Great low and mid. However I still find the mid and high a little lacking for tracks like Mountains and Ghost Town. The clarity is not there. There's no punch. So I decided to switch the I/V stage to 2x TI LME49720 to see how it goes.
 
Setup #2:
LPF Muses 8820
I/V 2x TI LME49720
 
Extremely loud volume. Tight and heavy bass. Lacking when it comes to details. After prolonged use I realised the mid and high from this combination is very harsh and tiring. Definitely not suitable for usage for more than an hour. Actually I wouldn't recommend this setup for anyone, it's probably bad for the ears 

 
Setup #3:
LPF Muses 8920
I/V 2x Muses 8820
 
Everything sounds great and sound as it is. Smooth mid and high, great bass. No real complaints here. This is very similar to the #1 setup but less amped high.
 
Setup #4:
LPF SS V5 OPA-D
I/V 2x SS V5 OPA-D
 
The first thing I noticed about the change is cleanliness of the audio output and volume. Much cleaner and balanced volume. I tried a few more tracks, noticed a slightly wider sound stage on my R70x (almost non-existent before) and very detailed bass which I have never noticed before. Definitely noticed instruments I have never noticed before far in the background. Bass is less pronounce as compared to all setups above, less punchy but more detailed. Mid and high are well controlled as well, sounds a little warmer/mellower than before. Separation is a not a night and day difference than before but noticeably better. This setup is something you can listen to the whole day without feeling fatigued.
 
Conclusion:
It costs $250AUD(180USD), so is it worth the money? Yes and no. My have a sorta mixed feelings with the upgrade(definitely an upgrade, no question about that). My R70x is about 350USD on Amazon and STXII is 250USD. As of now my dac/amp setup costs more than headphones and I believe that's where the problem lies. If you are a user whose aim to get a soundcard or amp is to make your high impedance cans to work as it should, there is no need to upgrade to the SSV5s. It makes a difference. yes but not worth the 180USD difference. However if you were to use some higher end headphones regardless of impedance, the SSV5s should make a huge difference to you without getting a new setup.

 

[Voxata]

I had big results with just DT770's using the V5's. Worth every penny.

 

[perryleros]

FInally got to a combination I really like and don't feel can get any better.
 
Muses 2x8920 in the I/V and Muses02 in the buffer. So simple upgrade.. just needed a muses02 in the buffer, that's all!! really impressive. Highs are there again, bass is tighter and cleaner too.

 

[Gradius]

If you are using V5 and STX, do a favor and CHANGE that crappy clock too!

 

[Cruxiaer]

If you are using V5 and STX, do a favor and CHANGE that crappy clock too!

Hi I just did some Google and result said the Stx have a crappy clock on it but how about the STXII?

 

[perryleros]

   
THe rest of the opamps are finally here and I did some tests.
 
2x LME49720HA + 1x muses8820 for buffer: sounds too bright for my taste.
2xMuses01 + 1xMuse8820: Sounds like the muses8920 but muddier, highs are brighter and bass is reduced significantly.
2xMuses01 + 1xMuses02 for buffer: Everything is more clear and there is bass again. Sounds good
 
I would say that 2xMuses01 for I/V and Muses02 for bufffer sounds really good and with time it will sound better
But the best combination for my setup is definately 2xMuses8920 and muses02 for buffer. That sound the most balanced and musical. Not lacking anything. The muses01 were not worth the price over 8920 in my case. Maybe better speakers with larger woofer drivers would benefit from the bright highs of the muses01, but in my case its not comfortable to listen to at high volumes, its kinda like the 49720 when it comes to highs.

After a while testing the Sparkos Labs SS3602 these are my thoughts:
 
I/V: 2 x SS3602 , Buffer: 1 x Muses02: Better than anything else I tried. Good job Sparkos. Sounds really musical with lots of detail cross the whole range. Bass really punchy without being loose, highs never get harsh no matter how loud you play, Brought a lot of detail in the mid range too! it really brought the card to life! This combo is hard to beat.
 
I/V: 2 x SS3602 , Buffer: 1 x SS3602:  Even though I was really satisfied with the previous combo, I couldn't rest without trying one in the buffer too. I can say changing the buffer does make a noticeable difference. Positive? Depends on your liking. Bass level is significantly lower but it's there and controlled. Even more detail came in the lows and highs, I swear I m noticing things sounds I couldn't notice before, hmm... Overall sounds more musical, like you are in front of the artist playing. You just don't get the punch muses02 offers in the buffer but instead you get a higher level of detail and clarity throughout the whole range. So it's down to personal preference and music style.
 
For now I will stick with 3 x SS3602 , I feel its the most balanced and musical combination I have tried to date. For the first time I really feel satisfied with the sound output of my system. Will test again with different speakers in a few days.

 

[stinkytofus]

where can i purchase the asus stx ii 7.1 w/ daughterboard?
 
which should i get? asus stx ii 7.1 w/ daughterboard vs creative zxr, strictly for fps gaming

 

[stinkytofus]

Where can i buy the asus essence stx ii 7.1 with daughterboard for under $300 usd ?

Or should i just get an stx, dgx or dsx?

 

[Cruxiaer]

Where can i buy the asus essence stx ii 7.1 with daughterboard for under $300 usd ?

Or should i just get an stx, dgx or dsx?

Are you gaming with headphones? You probably only need the normal stereo card.

 

[stinkytofus]

  Are you gaming with headphones? You probably only need the normal stereo card.

yea with headphones
 
contemplating on getting
 
a. objective 2 amp + dac + soundcard for the dsp features
 
b. just the soundcard 
 
c. just the amp + dac + razer surround
 
any recommendations?

 

[Renfield1217]

Burson V5i Hybrid Opamps
 
This is a short review of listening tests for the V5i opamps in an Asus STXII card. The card is stock with no mods other than the 3-V5is. My setup is old school and not expensive (Craigslist Specials), consisting of the following...
Foobar using WASAPI event and ASIO
NAD 3020 (used as a preamp)
Adcom 545 poweramp
Bose 901 VI speakers that have recently had the drivers replaced by Bose, with their new 901 drivers
Grado SR125 headphones
 
I also do some streaming (using MS Expression Encoder 4) so, for fun so I will include some of their thoughts (yes they can hear the difference in opamps on their gear on my stream).
 
The Bursons arrived and their presentation was very nice they are enclosed in plastic containers and well protected from damage in shipment. I like the metal covers on them providing isolation from PC electronics (Burson should do the same with their flagship V5s).
I will state this right up front, these op amps need a long burn in period. Burson recommends 100 hours but I think it's longer. So, if you listen to them for a few days you will not really hear what they are all about, lol and they do sound terrible out of the case. Especially if you are replacing a full descrete opamp setup.
Patience patience patience...
 
I/we listened to a wide variety of music including some very good internet radio streams and some not so good  :{)
My thoughts are that the Vi's are a very good opamp, they are like a bridge between the monolithic IC opamps and the fully discrete more costly opamps.
The sound was very nice on the Grados. Absolutely no noise in the background and the Burson V5is seem to tame the Grados. They did fine with 901 setup with a little gain applied. Acoustic Jazz was very good, details on the brushwork and cymbals were very clean. Vocals were very nice.
 
Some comments from my stream testers went from the first day of burn in 'Well, they are not awful.' and 'Put back in the old opamps.' to some saying that they could not tell the diff between the old and the Bursons after burn in. The testers were located in CA and Georgia.
 
So if you are on a limited budget try these out, with these caveats...
The V5i's to me have that "removed from the music" type of sound stage ( which some people prefer). They sound a bit metallic and digital. Their soundstage is not as wide or as tall as some opamps.
The only sound file I tested with the Bursons that they had an issue with was Made In Japan by Deep Purple which could have been a file issue, but it sounds fine on other opamps.
 
All in all, I think Burson has a hit with these opamps, good work Burson and thanks to Charles with SSAudio for providing the opamps for testing and for his patience.
Any questions, let me know....
 
Ren