[zogo13]

Hello, I have an Asus Xonar Phoebus, but although the audio quality is decent, the drivers really suck and Xear surround which comes with the Phoebus software sounds terrible, I'm wondering if the Xonar Essence STX has better software and if it supports virtual 7.1? Also, can I use the H6 with the STX?

 

[appsmarsterx]

STX supports dolby 5.1 (Dolby Headphone.Dolby Virtual Speaker) while phoebus has the newer Dolby HTv4 which has integrated both dolby headphone and speaker and supports up to 7.1.. have you tried using Dolby Home Theater instead of that terrible Xear surround ? are you using headphones or speakers ?
 
Asus has some excellent hardware but their drivers sucks big time.

 

[zogo13]

I have in fact used Dolby Home Theatre, and the sound quality was only marginally better than Xear's thats why I'm after something that uses Dolby Headphone, also I just read some specs for the STX and and have scene the control panel for it, their is an option to enable 8 channel audio, isn't this 7.1? Also, websites advertise it as having virtual 7.1, where are you getting that it only supports 5.1? (Also the Phoebus control panel lacks many options that the STX's has like the before mentioned channel selection, as well as more detailed settings)

 

[appsmarsterx]

STX supports up to 5.1 ..and 8 channel means 7.1
 
if you see the STX specs

Dolby® Technologies:
Dolby® Digital Live
Dolby Digital Live encodes any audio signal on PC in real-time to Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sounds to your home theater environment through one single S/PDIF connection

Dolby® Headphone
Dolby Headphone technology allows users to listen to music, watch movies, or play games with the dramatic 5.1-channel surround or realistic 3D spacious effects through any set of stereo headphones.

Dolby® Virtual Speaker
Dolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a highly realistic 5.1-speaker surround sound listening environment from as few as two speakers.

 
 
I found Xear surround is too hollow sounding , but Dolby HTv4 has lesser reverb effect comparing with other surround algorithms,
 
 
I d like to know, what kind headphones/speakers are you currently using with phoebus ?

 

[zogo13]

I use Sennheiser HD 598's for general use, and Astro A40's with the Mixamp for gaming, and when I use surround sound, it doesn't sound like 7.1, more like stereo with slightly more depth

 

[appsmarsterx]

surround dsp algorithms are tough to recommend. it all depends on your personal preference. you can try CMSS 3d (creative) or dolby headphone (asus) too, best option is to audition before you buy .

 

[zogo13]

Thing is right now, it doesn't sound like i'm getting surround sound at all, of the two which do you recommend? (Phoebus or STX) Also, I've taken a look at the STX's control panel and it clearly has an option for 8 channels which is 7.1, how is that possible?

 

[appsmarsterx]

I think its just the virtual speaker shifter . if you look up the audio channel settings it's 6 channels. if you don't like Dolby HTv4 then look in to SBX surround. you can try Sound Blaster Omni, SB Z. 
 

 

[zogo13]

 
Pulled this off a youtube video, whats the 8 channels option?
 
And the sound that HTv4 is producing, maybe its something else, just doesn't sound like 7.1, I used to have a pair of Logitech G430's they were a lot cheaper and their 7.1 was miles better.

 

[appsmarsterx]

may be it is supporting up to 7.1 virtual surround ? (according to newegg specs it says virtual 7.1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010
 
I think G430 uses the same 7.1 dolby headphone algorithm in STX so I think you might prefer Dolby headphone over HTv4. but I dont think it's worth getting a STX in this situation. best option is to get something like SB Omni, so later you can use its optical out with a better amp/dac.

 

[zogo13]

I will buy a new sound card, I can get a refund on the Phoebus since I bought it on Amazon and I have 30 days for a refund 
 
Also, most specs for the STX say that it supports Dolby Pro Logic ii, 
But the picture above, form the Guru3D review clearly show Dolby Pro Logic iix, so maybe 7.1 support and Pro Logic iix were added in an update of some sort?
 
Also can you elaborate more on that SB Omni thing, I've never heard of it. (Im somewhat new to audio)

 

[appsmarsterx]

some of these specs are really confusing.. but STX should support Dolby Pro Logic iix since now we know it supports up to 7.1 virtual surround. (btw I'm not sure if it was a recent update or not)
 
since you can return the Phoebus, now you can get either SB Z (SBX Surround) or STX (Dolby headphone). some say SBX Surround has better positional clues than Dolby headphone,
may be you can ask more about that topic on this thread since I'm not that familiar with SBX Surround. but far as I know STX is an excellent option for music.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound
 
 
both SBZ, STX has an optical out so later if you want to bypass your sound card's amp/dac (with a better amp/dac), and output the surround signal (etc..dolby ), you can use the sound card's optical out.

 

[zogo13]

Just as a possible explanation for the conflicting specs, the STX was released back in 2010, so the Asus website and manual specs were probably written back then, the YouTube video showing 8 channels is from 2012, I think the most plausible explanation is that it was updated. (Thanks for the help BTW)