[GodsInHisHeaven]

IMHO Burson V5 all the way.

 

[estranged]

  IMHO Burson V5 all the way.

Thanks. Do we need to buy something else in order to install burson v5 on the STX II? While I was researching the opamps thread I remember reading something like that. I may be mistaken though.

 

[Voxata]

I'm just going to chime in on this.. I went from the STX (Original) OPA2134's to SMSL Sanskrit 6th + FiiO E09K (which also uses OPA2134's) and saw a slight across the board improvement when it came to SQ especially on treble resolution with a pair of DT770 250Ohm and also the Ultrasone Pro 900's. This is using onboard fiber to the DAC. I've since changed my amp to the Schiit Asgard. What an amazing difference, I listen to Radiohead - Bodysnatchers for a quick test as it is such a rough song that opens up nicely at 2:00. On both the STX and FiiO this song was just straight up sloppy and harsh on my ears until 2, however, with the Asgard the entire thing is palatable, yep.... palatable. On Metallica's S&M FLAC both the FiiO and STX setups blurred the soundstage compared to just adding the Asgard amp. Bass tightened right up where it should be, with depth, color, and power added to all frequencies.
 
The STX/2 is a great card. It had its place in time, it treated me well for 4 long years. Now that my ears have heard the Schiit, there is no going back. My Bifrost 4490 arrives today, and I hope to god my ears do not ever thirst for more (ya know, because my wife will kill me if I spend any more money on audio).
 
That being said, I consider the STX's direct competition to be the Sanskrit 6th/FiiO E09K (This is now a rebranded Monoprice amp too). In this comparison, the STX is bested on every facet for music, the only saving grace being great multichannel emulation for gaming. I've learned however that this is a worth while tradeoff for the improved SQ of external setups. 
 
Also, in response to estranged, you simply need to remove the metal shroud of the STX for the Burson V5. You'll also need a large amount of room below the soundcard as the Burson V5 will stick out quite a bit. I'm curious as to what performance this will yield, as I still have an STX in one of my home theatre PCs that functions only as L/R/Preamp out to a Carver M200T. Anyways, back to it gentleman!

 

[estranged]

 
Also, in response to estranged, you simply need to remove the metal shroud of the STX for the Burson V5. You'll also need a large amount of room below the soundcard as the Burson V5 will stick out quite a bit. I'm curious as to what performance this will yield, as I still have an STX in one of my home theatre PCs that functions only as L/R/Preamp out to a Carver M200T. Anyways, back to it gentleman!

 
Thank you for the reply. 
 
I have already ordered the burson v5s and waiting for them to arrive.
 
However I think my problem with the audio quality may not be solved by the opamps.  Because I have noticed that when I first power on my computer and start listening music, for a short time, the sound quality is really good. But after a short while the sound begins to get muddy and details are lost. As I have said before, I have not changed anything except the STX II hardware or software wise. So I am not sure what is causing this.

 

[ZombieSNIPER666]

Hello! I'm looking for instructions on swapping out the caps on the Essence STX 2 and instructions on the Burson MKP cap mod. Any help would be appreciated. I dont need instructions on HOW to solder just where & what to solder for the cap upgrades. Below is a pic of the caps I received from Burson Audio. BTW I have their V5 Op Amps & they are spectacular! Thanks!
 

 

[Voxata]

Caps is a guaranteed solder job.

 

[CVLover]

So im about to Recap my card this week/weekend. im going to use the Elna Silmic II caps 220uf 100v caps and Mundorf EVO Silver Gold Oil 0,1uF 650V as "MKP" cap parallel to the silmic II on the back side of the sound card. i was wondering if this would work ok together and what improvements i should/will experience. i talking about the output stage of the card. i have the Burson Audio Supreme Sound V5 OP-Amps installed and made i big difference in sound quality!

 

[Renfield1217]

Hi Voxata,
 Just a heads up the STX II is much better than the STX I tried, as is the ST. In all fairness the STX I had might have been defective. I only kept it for a week before sending it back for the ST which was a much better sound card.
 
If you are running your old STX using just the RCA outs to preamp your amp, you might want to get a Sparko's SS3602 to plant in your buffer/analog out socket to try out.

 

[Renfield1217]

  So im about to Recap my card this week/weekend. im going to use the Elna Silmic II caps 220uf 100v caps and Mundorf EVO Silver Gold Oil 0,1uF 650V as "MKP" cap parallel to the silmic II on the back side of the sound card. i was wondering if this would work ok together and what improvements i should/will experience. i talking about the output stage of the card. i have the Burson Audio Supreme Sound V5 OP-Amps installed and made i big difference in sound quality!

 
Good luck on the recap, and let us know how it goes.
The Burson's are great opamps.

 

[ZombieSNIPER666]

I dont have time for a detailed reply. I successfully did the Silma & MKP cap replacement on my STX2 last weekend. I also have the Burson V5 Opamps. There was a noticeable improvement after changing the caps.  Solder away!!! There was a post I found RIGHT AFTER I changed the caps where the guy laid them on there side instead of standing them up. I think you would be able to put the shield back on(if you didn’t have the Bursons or were using op amp extension). If I can find the post I’ll re-post it. Good luck on your modding!

 

[CVLover]

i dont use the extensions so i will not use the shield anymore. i hope the mods goes well hehe

 

[ZombieSNIPER666]

I dont know your soldering experience but the 1st gun i used wasnt good but this one worked great 
 
http://www.lowes.com/pd_357336-273-WPS18MP___?productId=3402986&pl=1&Ntt=solder+gun

 

[Voxata]

   
Thank you for the reply. 
 
I have already ordered the burson v5s and waiting for them to arrive.
 
However I think my problem with the audio quality may not be solved by the opamps.  Because I have noticed that when I first power on my computer and start listening music, for a short time, the sound quality is really good. But after a short while the sound begins to get muddy and details are lost. As I have said before, I have not changed anything except the STX II hardware or software wise. So I am not sure what is causing this.

Where is your soundcard installed in your PC? This is strange behavior indeed. I ended up keeping my STX in my gaming PC for the multichannel/game support for more competitive play. Wife loves the E09K though. Sounds like some bad cap internals possibly? I'm no electrical expert sadly. I've had my soundcard above hot videocards, sandwiched in liquid cooled GPUs, all kinds of places.. still sounds great (listening right now!)

 

[Doomjoon]

edit: nevermind

 

[Voxata]

     So I've gone ahead and upgraded my STX using the Burson V5 Dual Opamps (x3), I've seen quite a few in this thread ask if upgrading opamps in general is really worth it so here are my impressions, YMMV of course.
 
     Before I start it should be known that I've owned my Essence STX since 2009.. yeah, I had to look up how long. I only know this because I purchased it at the same time Windows 7 was released. This card has lasted through MANY computers and headphones, I don't think it'll ever stop working. It has sat above hot running GPUs (fermi) and been in poor airflow situations. I've rolled about half a dozen opamps before settling on signatures I liked. I have two different sets of opamps I prefer. One set which sounds best for headphone use, and another that is great for my speaker setup when using the card as a DAC. In short, I'm very familiar with what the STX brings to the table. 
 
     My headphones are currently Hifiman's HE-400i and DT770 Pro 250's from Beyer. My speaker setup consists of a Carver M200t amp, and Event 20/20 speakers. I also have a Bifrost/Asgard2 stack that I use for music listening which I purchased six months ago.
 
    The following songs well known to me, I'll be sharing general impressions on my various setups. 
 
     First though, I'd like to note that the packaging for these opamps is top notch. They include risers (which I did not use, to help ease fitting in my case) and have quite the quality feel with solid non flexing gold pins. If you've rolled opamps before, you know how nice it is to have a quality rounded pin setup because those cheap ones bend like no tomorrow. 
 

 

 
 
Songs: Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick, Atmosphere - Camera Thief, Metallica S&M - The Call of Ktulu
 
STX : Coming off of listening to the Schiit stack for a while these tracks sounded flat on the STX w/my 'upgraded opamps'. A black background with strong presence, clear soundstage and natural presentation is extremely important especially during the large drum solo, and this setup didn't have it. Breaking the Moby Dick track out early quickly showed me how much of a gap is between the STX and the Schiit Stack. Piano keys are not convincing, the worst culprit being the 400i's with obvious tonality issues on the upper end. 
 
STX w/Burson V5's : Woah,,. wait a minute. I'm pretty sure I must mixed something up between my bench and computer desk. This doesn't sound like the same card I've owned for ages. Musicality has greatly improved, tones (especially bass/mid bass) are now presented clearly and with authority. I have been known to boost the lows on my STX since they've always lacked the impact and body. This is no longer the case. The thin and brittle sound is gone and in its place a very solid linear presentation. The tonality of the highs are vastly improved on the 400i, they are now enveloping and simply engaging. Where the heck were these things 9 years ago? I'm really into these, after jamming out I'm thinking I really need to test this vs my $650 dollar stack.. 
 
Schiit Bifrost 4490/Asgard2 : This is the part where I settle back into being spoiled and don't look back right? Well.. Yes, presentation, staging and authority are improved however there is some seemingly obvious diminishing returns. Especially as both setups do seem to be limited to the quality of audio you're feeding it. Before the V5 upgrade this was not the case. Honestly, both setups are quite engaging now. I couldn't vouch for engagement before the V5 upgrade and I've spent some dead serious ear time on the STX.. Honestly, if I was in my return period for the schiit setup I would be returning it simply for the fact that it is many, many times the cost of the V5 opamp upgrade. 
 
 
        Will I sell the schiit setup? No.. it's definitely on solid bedside duty, however, my plans to upgrade my gaming PC from the STX are definitely scrapped. Looks like it'll keep going for quite a few more years. How awesome for Asus to make this soundcard upgradable, and major cheers to Burson for pulling this V5 opamp off. I've learned that the STXs amp section is the weak link, and this opamp has really overcome the problem. 
 
Carver m200T + Event 20/20 -- Bifrost 4490/Essence STX Burson V5 DAC : This is where things got real interesting, when comparing the DAC sections. The STX is well known to have a great DAC, and it also utilized the V5's in the link. When comparing these two DACs on this setup I was able to discern a difference between the two DACs, however, I was unable to decide on one that I hands down preferred over the other. I felt the STX was more engaging or musical, while the Bifrost was more detailed and clean. Each had its strength, this was not the case when I originally compared the 4490 to the STX with lower quality opamps.
 

 
 
 
       When you consider the cost gap between these two setups, the V5's have enabled the ol' STX to punch well above its weight class. This is a very worthwhile upgrade, especially if you're considering anything mid-fi to replace it.   Happy hunting all!