[icsi]

  hi guys do you suggest me this audio card?I'm afraid it will cause noise because of the nearness with the vga (gtx 770). What do you think?

I want to build a htpc out of my pc, and i think i will go with a solution like this :http://polotek.en.alibaba.com/product/958392630-218316614/PCIe_1x_To_Dual_Slot_PCI_Riser_Card_Optical_Drive_Bay.html
 
Or this solution:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1199098/cooler-master-cosmos-2-club/3450

 

[Renfield1217]

Solarium,
 
If you are in the US you might check out http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9551988&CatId=4489
or this  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Asus+essence+STX+II&N=-1&isNodeId=1 

 

[Solarium]

Solarium,

If you are in the US you might check out http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9551988&CatId=4489
or this  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Asus+essence+STX+II&N=-1&isNodeId=1 

Thanks, I reordered from amazin UK, they have the best price I've found for the 7.1, even with shipping

 

[Solarium]

Got the 7.1 today. I'm going to have some trouble connection my 2.0 Swans, the subwoofer (using just the sub of the Klipsch iFi 2.1), and the Schiit Magni, because they all use 2 RCA plugs. I have only 1 splitter, how should I connect all these? Should I use the splitter to connect the sub + Swans, then plug the 650 directly into the headphone jack of the STX? Or the splitter to connect the Swans and the Magni, and connect the sub somewhere else on the daughter board? Hmmmm

 

[Solarium]

Holy crap, connecting the HD 650 directly via the HP jack on the STX II resulted in a MUCH larger sound stage vs the Titanium HD's. Everything is more balanced, the bass is less boomy, and just sounds better! I wonder if I should directly connect the Magni to the HP jack and double amp it, or just leave the 650 directly plugged into the STX.

 

[donaldduck2004]

  Got the 7.1 today. I'm going to have some trouble connection my 2.0 Swans, the subwoofer (using just the sub of the Klipsch iFi 2.1), and the Schiit Magni, because they all use 2 RCA plugs. I have only 1 splitter, how should I connect all these? Should I use the splitter to connect the sub + Swans, then plug the 650 directly into the headphone jack of the STX? Or the splitter to connect the Swans and the Magni, and connect the sub somewhere else on the daughter board? Hmmmm

you must bring the signla to sub and then ro the speaker if you have all RCA connectors... NO splitters!

 

[bcschmerker4]

  Got the 7.1 today. I'm going to have some trouble connection my 2.0 Swans, the subwoofer (using just the sub of the Klipsch iFi 2.1), and the Schiit Magni, because they all use 2 RCA plugs. I have only 1 splitter, how should I connect all these? Should I use the splitter to connect the sub + Swans, then plug the 650 directly into the headphone jack of the STX? Or the splitter to connect the Swans and the Magni, and connect the sub somewhere else on the daughter board? Hmmmm

The Asus® XONAR® STX™ 7.1 package is set up for 7.1 analog, using two RCA jacks on the STX II and six on the H6:
 
[XONAR® STX™ II]
White:  Front Left
Red:  Front Right
 
[XONAR® H6]
Blue:  Side Left
Grey:  Side Right
Green:  Front Center
Lavender:  Subwoofer
Brown:  Rear Left
Black:  Rear Right
 
With a properly-configured amplifier/speaker set, no splitters are necessary.

 

[donaldduck2004]

 
The Asus® XONAR® STX™ 7.1 package is set up for 7.1 analog, using two RCA jacks on the STX II and six on the H6:
 
[XONAR® STX™ II]
White:  Front Left
Red:  Front Right
 
[XONAR® H6]
Blue:  Side Left
Grey:  Side Right
Green:  Front Center
Lavender:  Subwoofer
Brown:  Rear Left
Black:  Rear Right
 
With a properly-configured amplifier/speaker set, no splitters are necessary.

ops...I thougth he had only the stx II...
 
ur--> (you are rigth)
XD

 

[Solarium]

The Asus® XONAR® STX™ 7.1 package is set up for 7.1 analog, using two RCA jacks on the STX II and six on the H6:

[XONAR® STX™ II]
White:  Front Left
Red:  Front Right

[XONAR® H6]
Blue:  Side Left
Grey:  Side Right
Green:  Front Center
Lavender:  Subwoofer
Brown:  Rear Left
Black:  Rear Right

With a properly-configured amplifier/speaker set, no splitters are necessary.

But still, how would I be able to configure so that I use the front L/R for my 2.0 system and the subwoofer/center plugs for my subwoofer from another 2.1 system (without the speakers)? I would have to use 5.1/7.1 configuration setting but only using technically a 2.1 set.

 

[Solarium]

How does the STX II's HP amp and its own DAC compare to the Schiit Magni/Modi stack?

 

[Solarium]

I'm getting a HT subwoofer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008NCD2PC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) from the recent sale. How do I configure the STX II 7.1 so that it uses output from the front L/R RCA's as well as the subwoofer RCA from the daughter board, combined for a 2.1 setup? I'm using Swan MKIII's as my mains.

 

[BigTerminator]

My previous setup used the H6 board with a HT sub and studio monitors. You connect your mains to the L/R channels on the STX II. You connect your subwoofer to the center channel on the H6. Center channel is the real channel for subwoofer. You can use the sub channel but you will have to swap center/sub channel in software so might as well plug the sub in the center channel. 
 
There is a way to make 2.1 run perfectly even though the Xonar and windows thinks you are in 5.1 mode. For me, I uninstalled Asus' drivers and got the Xonar unified drivers. During the installation something will come up with stereo upmix or something like that, make sure it is turned off. After that all your video games, movies, music should run 2.1 flawlessly. 
 
With stock Asus drivers, many video games would think I am in 5.1 mode so I could not hear any dialogue and the sound overall was screwed up because I only had 2.1. With those drivers, all my games worked in 2.1 just fine. 
 
You also need to use the built in crossover through the software, otherwise you will get no bass from the sub. 

 

[Solarium]

My previous setup used the H6 board with a HT sub and studio monitors. You connect your mains to the L/R channels on the STX II. You connect your subwoofer to the center channel on the H6. Center channel is the real channel for subwoofer. You can use the sub channel but you will have to swap center/sub channel in software so might as well plug the sub in the center channel. 

There is a way to make 2.1 run perfectly even though the Xonar and windows thinks you are in 5.1 mode. For me, I uninstalled Asus' drivers and got the Xonar unified drivers. During the installation something will come up with stereo upmix or something like that, make sure it is turned off. After that all your video games, movies, music should run 2.1 flawlessly. 

With stock Asus drivers, many video games would think I am in 5.1 mode so I could not hear any dialogue and the sound overall was screwed up because I only had 2.1. With those drivers, all my games worked in 2.1 just fine. 

You also need to use the built in crossover through the software, otherwise you will get no bass from the sub. 

So do I need the unified drivers with the STX II 7.1's to get the same effect too? And also, is it possible to get 7.1 output with a 2.1 setup like I'm currently having just with the 2.0 / subwoofer connected using splitter cables from the front L/R RCA's?

 

[BigTerminator]

You can do 2.1. The whole point of the H6 addon card for 2.1 setups is to act as a crossover between main speakers and subwoofer so the frequencies do not get intertwined. Using a splitter is fine if your sub has a low pass filter and you are okay running your main speakers full range. I do that with my current setup, minus the splitters. 
 
You should be running the card in 5.1 mode, not point of running it as 7.1. Install the unified xonar drivers and you will be fine. You do not want programs thinking you are in 5.1 so that is why you want that driver with upmix disabled. 

 

[Solarium]

  You can do 2.1. The whole point of the H6 addon card for 2.1 setups is to act as a crossover between main speakers and subwoofer so the frequencies do not get intertwined. Using a splitter is fine if your sub has a low pass filter and you are okay running your main speakers full range. I do that with my current setup, minus the splitters. 
 
You should be running the card in 5.1 mode, not point of running it as 7.1. Install the unified xonar drivers and you will be fine. You do not want programs thinking you are in 5.1 so that is why you want that driver with upmix disabled. 

Do you put "2 Channels" in audio channel setting, and "5.1 speakers" in the Analog Out setting on the Asus control panel? I'm not sure if I'm going to miss the center channels or rears if I use 5.1 analog out, but if I don't use 5.1 the subwoofer won't have any output. On the other hand, if I use 2 channels I'm not sure if my 2.1 setup will play 5.1 mtv/divx movies, or play all sounds from games.