[TennisNoob]

Hey everyone I recently bought a5+ speakers and have a Sennheiser HD650 
 
I have an asus xonar essence STX on the PC and the Loud buzzing noise has really been irritating to where I want to get rid of it
 
Would any amp out there like the Audio Engine d1 preimum be of any use?

 

[NA Blur]

The first thing you want to invest in for PC audio, besides a decent set of headphones like the Sennheiser HD-25-1ii, is to purchase an external DAC.  The inner workings of a PC, regardless of what internal soundcard you have, will always be more noisy that an decent external DAC.  Take the Total Bithead from Headroom for example.  It is a USB DAC and headphone amp.  The thing will be just about dead quiet because the DAC is external to the power components on your PC.  The amp and any amp for that matter should just amplify the signal and provide a low impedance output.  The amp should not the the component to do the noise reduction.
 
For me replacing a soundcard with an external DAC made a HUGE difference in reducing the noise on my PC.  I highly suggest doing that and I have used the Bithead for many years and it is still going strong.  The Bithead is also a portable amp.DAC so you can use it with your portable device.
 
Can you describe a few things for us first before you lead you astray?
 
1.)  What volume levels do you have:
      a.)  Your speakers
      b.)  Your PC volume
2.)  What exactly does the buzzing sound like?  Is it more of a humor a bleep-bloop?
 
The last two things to check is that your PC is grounded using a 3-pronged plug and not just a 2-pronged one.
Do the A5 speakers have a 3-pronged or 2-pronged power plug?  Are they plugged into the same wall socket as your PC?  Are you using a power strip and does it have a 3-pronged plug or 2-pronged?
 
Answer those questions and we should be able to help with the buzzing.  It may be something else like an impedance mismatch, but it sounds like a ground loop to me.

 

[TennisNoob]

Wow thanks for such a detailed response

Basically right now I dont have my audio engines yet as they are in transit 
 
I have my sennheiser hd650 here
 
I just wanted to know if there was a better option because ASUS has yet to fix the SVN issue 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Wow thanks for such a detailed response

Basically right now I don't have my audio engines yet as they are in transit 
 
I have my Sennheiser hd650 here
 
I just wanted to know if there was a better option because ASUS has yet to fix the SVN issue 

A long shot.
Have you disabled the motherboard"s on-board audio, in the bios?
Try moving the STX to a different PCI-E slot.
Go to the Brainbit website and download the "Unified Xonar Drivers".
 
If you get the Audio Engine D1 premium, use the STX's S/PDIF optical output, the STX can process headphone surround sound thru the S/PDIF output.
but I guess you should also try the motherboard's optical out.
 
Maybe try switching power plugs to different wall or surge protector sockets.
Or buy a new surge protector?

 

[1audioz]

I've had the exact same buzzing/static sound problem. Culprit is the inductors on my Radeon HD 6990. Never happened when I had my GTX 285.
 
If you wanted, you could use the STX coaxial out to another DAC.

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

A long shot.
Have you disabled the motherboard"s on-board audio, in the bios?
Try moving the STX to a different PCI-E slot.
Go to the Brainbit website and download the "Unified Xonar Drivers".
 
If you get the Audio Engine D1 premium, use the STX's S/PDIF optical output, the STX can process headphone surround sound thru the S/PDIF output.
but I guess you should also try the motherboard's optical out.
 
Maybe try switching power plugs to different wall or surge protector sockets.
Or buy a new surge protector?

I seem to recalled that the dolby headphone function only worked thru the headphone out jacks on the Xonar STX and not the spdif. But I don't have room for a receiver in my room to test it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I seem to recalled that the Dolby Headphone function only worked thru the headphone out jacks on the Xonar STX and not the spdif. But I don't have room for a receiver in my room to test it.

I believe the S/PDIF surround sound feature was enabled with a later version of the Asus drivers.
Guess I should test that feature myself, just to make sure.

 

[Maliken]

I received my AudioEngine D1 just today, and already I can hear quite a noticeable difference to the Asus Xonar DG I used before, especially with my AudioEngine A5+ speakers where the lower end has tightened up considerably, where it could be quite muddy with the Xonar DG.