[piopakk]

Hi all

I have the Audio Engine 2 speakers for my stationary gaming PC. They are paired with the ASUS Xonar Essence ST sound card.

Since Windows 10 does not support ASUS sound card drivers for those cards, I run the 'UNI Xonar 1.81 sound drivers.

But I don't feel that I get the best sound out of the speakers.

Also sometimes I get some very high pitched squell noise from the speakers, which I can only kill by turning of the PC.

Some people talk about having a external DAC, instead of a internal soundcard. Is that better?

Any recommendations for differnet hardware or software is much appreciated

Thx guys

 

[PurpleAngel]

I'm fairly sure the A2 are the main reason for not getting the best sound quality, as the Essence ST comes with really nice DAC chips

Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the Essence ST (PCI) sound card?
Slight chance active on-board is effecting the Essence ST sound (very slight chance).
But i guess there is a chance that the Essence ST itself is be coming defective, causing the squell.

Hifimediy DAC, $42-$70.
https://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Assume you would remove the Essence ST card and just use the external DAC.

Replacing the Audioengine A2 speakers with their 3" woofer, with speakers (studio monitors) that have a 5" or 6" woofer might improve over all audio quality (and still replacing the Essence ST).

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Also sometimes I get some very high pitched squell noise from the speakers, which I can only kill by turning of the PC.

Some people talk about having a external DAC, instead of a internal soundcard. Is that better?

Not necessarily. Noise can go through USB or SPDIF depending on the source, so basically it could be down to getting a new motherboard, although there's no sure way to find out so you could try a new soundcard or a DAC first.

Just note that DACs also would not have virtual surround in case you were using that for headphones. Even then though as long as you have spare expansion slots I'd still much rather get the Sound Blaster AE-5 or Strix Soar.

Or why not just connect the A2 directly to the motherboard's FL-FR line output first? That's free, and if it doesn't have the noise, then you're good.

But I don't feel that I get the best sound out of the speakers.

Apart from the noise, what don't you like about the speakers? Because it may not be the upstream components but the speakers themselves. Bass isn't exactly plentiful much less accurate on those given the 2in drivers. They're really more for saving desktop space than anything close to reference grade sound.

 

[piopakk]

Yes the BIOS onboard sound is disabled.

Hmm hope not that the Essence sound card is becoming defective..

I bought these speakers, also due to limited space on the desk. Bigger speakers is not really an option unfortunately.
As for headphones, I am using the Steelseries Arctis 7, which connects through USB, so that would not be affected by an external DAC I guess.

I dont connect the speakers to the motherboards onboard sound, as I believe a dedicated sound card as the Essence ST gives much better sound quality.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

As for headphones, I am using the Steelseries Arctis 7, which connects through USB, so that would not be affected by an external DAC I guess.

It has it own USB soundcard, yes. But if you're using that via USB along with the Essence then chances are you might be encountering some kind of driver conflict between them.

Hmm hope not that the Essence sound card is becoming defective..
---
I dont connect the speakers to the motherboards onboard sound, as I believe a dedicated sound card as the Essence ST gives much better sound quality.

Yeah but you haven't tried the motherboard, and in this case, your soundcard is obviously screwing up. If there's something wrong with it then an otherwise OK motherboard will sound better than a malfunctioning soundcard or DAC, not to mention some motherboards actually have decent audio circuits now.

I bought these speakers, also due to limited space on the desk. Bigger speakers is not really an option unfortunately.

Apart from the high frequency noise, you're really just going to have to make do with the compromises to sound quality from using tiny drivers. If you're fine with the sound apart from the noise then you really just have to focus on getting rid of that, starting with testing if the noise will still be there if you used the motherboard's audio output.