[Synthe]

Hello,
I recently bought a pair of Sennheiser HD558 and wasn't really impressed about the 3d sound on my onboard Realtek 889a; now I'm looking for an upgrade for it.
I've read positive reviews on the Asus Xonar DG, and really thought about buying it (it's quite cheap anyways), but would like some advice before doing so.
I'm looking for a budget-oriented companion for the 558's, would the Xonar suffice? Or should I invest on a better card (or a DAC?).
Would be the second souncard I'd buy after my reaaally old Soundblaster Live! 5.1, I care more about positional sound than music performance as I usually listen to music on the Hi-fi on my living room.
Thanks!

 

[trog]

Hmm positional sound for music with your hifi? How do you hook up to that system i.e optical/coax/etc? Depending on what u have another option is to use the DAC on your hifi (if available) and perhaps get a seperate headphone amp?

 

[MaddmattH]

Just bought a Xonar DG myself for my Sennhiser HD518s. Installed the unified drivers (modded unofficial drivers with some tweaks).
Quite like it. 
Dolby Headphone seems pretty good. Doesn't kill off the bass like CMSS3D on my X-Fi did. 
Watched a video with it last night, was only encoded in stereo but DH still gave it a good soundstage.
 
Only had it for one day so far so can't give much of a review.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello,
I recently bought a pair of Sennheiser HD558 and wasn't really impressed about the 3d sound on my on-board Realtek 889a; now I'm looking for an upgrade for it.
I've read positive reviews on the Asus Xonar DG, and really thought about buying it (it's quite cheap anyways), but would like some advice before doing so.
I'm looking for a budget-oriented companion for the 558's, would the Xonar suffice? Or should I invest on a better card (or a DAC?).
Would be the second sound card I'd buy after my really old Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, I care more about positional sound than music performance as I usually listen to music on the Hi-fi on my living room.

The next step up to something better then the Xonar DG ($15) is the Fiio E10 ($75).
The E10 does not have any surround sound features for movies and games.
 
 

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

Dolby Headphone seems pretty good. Doesn't kill off the bass like CMSS3D on my X-Fi did.

Dolby Headphone has the exact opposite tonal coloration from CMSS-3D Headphone; emphasized bass, reduced treble. I think it's one of the major reasons why there are so many divided opinions between the two.
 
However, have you tried EQing the tonal differences out and then comparing the positional audio cues alone? I'll have to do that myself sooner or later for an even better comparison, but it'll take quite a bit of work to find out exactly what EQ settings make each tech sound "neutral" to my ears.

 

[Migi06]

 

The next step up to something better then the Xonar DG ($15) is the Fiio E10 ($75).
The E10 does have any surround sound for movies and games.
 
 

How about X-FI HD USB? Wanna upgrade to STX (waiting asus phoebus card first), but found that.. Could be okay: http://marlene-d.blogspot.com/2012/01/creative-labs-soundblaster-x-fi-hd-usb.html
 
 

 

[Marlene]

Quote:

 

The next step up to something better then the Xonar DG ($15) is the Fiio E10 ($75).
The E10 does have any surround sound for movies and games.
 
 

How about X-FI HD USB? Wanna upgrade to STX (waiting asus phoebus card first), but found that.. Could be okay: http://marlene-d.blogspot.com/2012/01/creative-labs-soundblaster-x-fi-hd-usb.html
 
 

The X-FI HD USB is indeed okay, very decent sounding card. But it cannot do 44.1 and its derivates natively. It also cannot go higher than 96 kHz if you´re into that. But technical quality is good, as is the headphone output (does work with a HD-600 - the Xonar Essence ST is still better though) and the vinyl input is extremely useful and of decent quality. But I would ignore almost every software Creative offers, the card does function well without it.
 

 

[MaddmattH]

 
Quote:

 

Dolby Headphone has the exact opposite tonal coloration from CMSS-3D Headphone; emphasized bass, reduced treble. I think it's one of the major reasons why there are so many divided opinions between the two.
 
However, have you tried EQing the tonal differences out and then comparing the positional audio cues alone? I'll have to do that myself sooner or later for an even better comparison, but it'll take quite a bit of work to find out exactly what EQ settings make each tech sound "neutral" to my ears.

Don't quite have the skill to EQ out the difference. I'm using the unified drivers that have some tweaks though.
http://brainbit.wordpress.com/category/uni-xonar/
I'm using the C-Media version that mentions "better sounding" DH presets.
These were the first drivers I installed so I don't know what the original is like.
 
With the X-Fi the changes to the music were very obvious (especially bass), but with DH (studio room preset) and the unified drivers I can't usually detect any real change besides the positioning (obviously). Will vary from song to song though. Did notice one of the instruments being more drowned out in a song I just tested.
Of course with preset 3 (hall) there is the added reverb. I generally stick to preset 1 (studio).
 
I'm not much of an audiophile so I'd be interested to see other comments regarding this.

 

[Migi06]

 
 
Quote:

The X-FI HD USB is indeed okay, very decent sounding card. But it cannot do 44.1 and its derivates natively. It also cannot go higher than 96 kHz if you´re into that. But technical quality is good, as is the headphone output (does work with a HD-600 - the Xonar Essence ST is still better though) and the vinyl input is extremely useful and of decent quality. But I would ignore almost every software Creative offers, the card does function well without it.
 

I´m after X-fi surround . I own xonar DG now (broken headphone amp/static noise), while Dolby headphone sounds great but I´m missing X-fi extreme gamer pin point accuracy (CMSS-3D).. So I´m testing X-fi hd usb version , before I order STX or phoebus. X-Fi HD has THX version which should be almoust same or better. I should upgrade my sony xb500 to DT 770 pro also.. maybe next month EDIT: Just bought it 

early birthday gift.. Edit.2 Found used X-fi HD and it's sound nice 

Now waiting DT770 pro 80ohms
 
And thanks for the review

 

[Marlene]

 
Quote:

 


I´m after X-fi surround . I own xonar DG now (broken headphone amp/static noise), while Dolby headphone sounds great but I´m missing X-fi extreme gamer pin point accuracy (CMSS-3D).. So I´m testing X-fi hd usb version , before I order STX or phoebus. X-Fi HD has THX version which should be almoust same or better. I should upgrade my sony xb500 to DT 770 pro also.. maybe next month EDIT: Just bought it 

early birthday gift.. Edit.2 Found used X-fi HD and it's sound nice 

Now waiting DT770 pro 80ohms
 
And thanks for the review

You´re welcome. Though I´m afraid I didn´t test CMSS-3D or its successor, I de-installed it the moment installation was done. I always was very happy with the Dolby Headphone feature of my xonar essence.
 
But now you´ve said something: I´m going to test it with some movies and update my review accordingly. What a nice suggestion, thanks!

 

[Synthe]

Sorry for the late reply - I've been kinda busy.
I've checked on some sites and can get a Xonar DG for about 30€, a Auzentech X-Raider for about 35€ (From ebay but not used), a Xonar D1 used for about 55€ or a used Creative XtremeMusic for bout 30€.
Which would be the best? I guess the D1 is better but doesn't come with a Headphone Amp, I'm unsure wether my Hd558(50 ohms) really need an amp, could anyone give a little insight?
Thanks!

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

Don't quite have the skill to EQ out the difference. I'm using the unified drivers that have some tweaks though.
http://brainbit.wordpress.com/category/uni-xonar/
I'm using the C-Media version that mentions "better sounding" DH presets.
These were the first drivers I installed so I don't know what the original is like.
 
With the X-Fi the changes to the music were very obvious (especially bass), but with DH (studio room preset) and the unified drivers I can't usually detect any real change besides the positioning (obviously). Will vary from song to song though. Did notice one of the instruments being more drowned out in a song I just tested.
Of course with preset 3 (hall) there is the added reverb. I generally stick to preset 1 (studio).
 
I'm not much of an audiophile so I'd be interested to see other comments regarding this.

I have to admit that I do leave CMSS-3D Headphone off for music listening because the sound quality hit is too great, but when I'm gaming, I'm less concerned about the fidelity of footstep and gunshot sounds and more concerned about where they're coming from, and unfortunately, Dolby Headphone is still limited to virtual 7.1 when CMSS-3D makes good use of the 3D positional information in DirectSound3D and OpenAL-based games. DH could very well have the edge if it did leverage that 3D positional information, but it doesn't, and I'm stuck with a 2D sound image as a result...
 
Which leads me to my next point for the OP:
 
 
Quote:

Sorry for the late reply - I've been kinda busy.
I've checked on some sites and can get a Xonar DG for about 30€, a Auzentech X-Raider for about 35€ (From ebay but not used), a Xonar D1 used for about 55€ or a used Creative XtremeMusic for bout 30€.
Which would be the best? I guess the D1 is better but doesn't come with a Headphone Amp, I'm unsure wether my Hd558(50 ohms) really need an amp, could anyone give a little insight?
Thanks!

If you're gaming, get the X-Fi XtremeMusic. One of the cheapest X-Fi cards that isn't a DSP-less fake (those being XtremeAudio), which means it has all the gaming features an X-Fi card should.
 
If you aren't gaming, the Xonar DG seems like a safer bet, along with the other two cards...but as far as sound cards go, I'm generally of the opinion that you either go cheap (Xonar DG, X-Fi XtremeMusic/XtremeGamer), or you go all-out (X-Fi Titanium HD, Xonar Essence STX, Claro Halo+). That means the other cards may not be worth the added expense, unless the X-Raider's closer-to-standard C-Media chipset drivers work out better than even the Xonar DG's modified driver packages.

 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Sorry for the late reply - I've been kinda busy.
I've checked on some sites and can get a Xonar DG for about 30€, a Auzentech X-Raider for about 35€ (From eBay but not used), a Xonar D1 used for about 55€ or a used Creative XtremeMusic for bout 30€.
Which would be the best? I guess the D1 is better but doesn't come with a Headphone Amp, I'm unsure wether my Hd558 (50 ohms) really need an amp, could anyone give a little insight?
Thanks!

Your going to have better luck powering headphone with the Xonar DG then the other 3 choices.
But all sound cards listed will at least decently power the Senn HD558s, just the Xonar DG will do a better job.
The Xtrememusic is the preferred if you like playing older FPS games (EAX 5.0).
The Xonar DG does come with Dolby Digital, surround sound for movies and some games.
I used my HD558 with a Xonar DG last month, no complaints.
 
 

 

[Migi06]

Quote:

 

You´re welcome. Though I´m afraid I didn´t test CMSS-3D or its successor, I de-installed it the moment installation was done. I always was very happy with the Dolby Headphone feature of my xonar essence.
 
But now you´ve said something: I´m going to test it with some movies and update my review accordingly. What a nice suggestion, thanks!

 
Now they have included software EQ (all reviews said there isn't): http://aijaa.com/0013510033316 .. Maybe new software update did it, dunno about the new firmware
Software XUHD_PCDRV_1_02_0021.exe 27 Feb 12
Firmware XUHD_PCFW_US_1_0_110519.exe 27 Oct 11
 
This review said there wasn't enough power for PC350 headset, maybe firmware/sofware problem or USB 2 isn't enough
 
There is modded drivers which I haven't tried yet.. http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-drivers/214674-pax-mod-driver-x-fi-surround-hd-usb.html

 

[Marlene]

 
Quote:

 
Now they have included software EQ (all reviews said there isn't): http://aijaa.com/0013510033316 .. Maybe new software update did it, dunno about the new firmware
Software XUHD_PCDRV_1_02_0021.exe 27 Feb 12
Firmware XUHD_PCFW_US_1_0_110519.exe 27 Oct 11
 
This review said there wasn't enough power for PC350 headset, maybe firmware/sofware problem or USB 2 isn't enough
 
There is modded drivers which I haven't tried yet.. http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-drivers/214674-pax-mod-driver-x-fi-surround-hd-usb.html

 
I wouldn´t use these modded drivers... from my experience with the X-Fi ExtremeMusic the Pax drivers apply some EQ setting by default which you cannot get rid off. "Helps the sound" they say... yeah. The PC350 headset is rated at 150 Ohm - this should be well within the X-Fi HD USB specs. But as I wrote in my review: on my old laptop equipped with Windows XP the maximum amplitude was lower somehow while on my Desktop PC the card was even able (barely) to drive the HD-600 (though it seemed to distort on transients). From what I´ve read about its headphone amplifier is that it gets louder with more current thrown at it without changing output impedance or other things.
 
I have no problem driving my Superlux or my small Sennheiser with it, both reach ear shattering volumes to me. But then I´m not listening with very loud levels usually...