[Thommohawk]

So basically the DAC element of the soundcard is top notch especially for the price - I've got that already, but what about the amp ? I gather so far that the amp that comes with the Essence is fairly basic ? That being said, to purchase an equivalent performing standalone DAC (spec wise) would cost twice as much as the whole soundcard - but what about the amp ? To what standalone equivalent would the Xonar Essence's integrated amp match and how much would that cost ?
 
More simplified, I'm thinking of purchasing a separate standalone amp (Firestone Audio's Fubar CuteCurve or Fubar CuteBeyond) and using the Xonar Essence as a high quality DAC mainly and feeding it to the Fubar - would this be a waste of money in terms of quality ? Or is the Essence amp better ? Because judging from the prices I very much doubt it. 
 
Cheers.

 

[SoSpecial]

The Essence's main focus is it's amp, in fact that's the whole point of that sound card. If I remember correctly it's one of the best on board amps you can get, but I think I remember it having the sound quality of something like a Xonar DX or something. I say just get an professional sound card like an M-Audio and a seperate amp.

 

[Thommohawk]

Thank you for the response I appreciate it, but that wasn't the question that I asked.

 
As far as I'm aware the Essence other than the amp is one of the better cards you can get for the money...and it seems to be a wonderful DAC at a bargain price, but my question that I asked was simple - would I be better off with a standalone amp (not tube) vs the integrated amp on the Essence ? I'm pretty sure I would be, because logistically it stands to reason, but it's always good to get other opinions before committing. 

 

[SoSpecial]

Well it has the ability to drive just about anything, and depending on your headphone it propably will do it justice.
 
Is it a good enough amp for a $1000+ headphones? No that would be help back by it and the headphones would show that fact.
 
Is it a good enough for $300 headphones, I'd say so even big 600Ohms.
 
My real question is doe you have this soundcard? Cause if you don't then you can get better DAC's then that( in a standalone or soundcard form). Not to mention soundcards always get a slight noise. That's the reason why people enjoy separate DAC's, even cheaper ones like uDAC and GRUBdac.

 

[dmac03]

My ps1000's are driven better by my wa22 (output from the essence stx) than directly out of the headphone jack from the stx. I have not done any critical listening because I clearly prefer the wa22. The essence can drive them with volume and clarity, but the sound is just thin compared to the wa22.
 
I will say, however, that the stx was a great match for my grado sr80's.
 
I plan to get a dac in the near future and I would like to test the digital output of the essence to something along the lines of a hiface.

 

[K-MONEY]

Get the card and decide for yourself. If you like the sound it produces, keep it. Most likely every soul on this site will tell you to get a separate amp. If that's not what you're really looking for, just go with the card and have a listen for yourself.
 
I really like the STX. I have driven 600 ohm headphones with flying colors. It produces beautiful clear sound, tight bass, and marvelous detail. Now it's up to you to decide. You can empty your wallet on a similar quality separate amp, then go ahead. All I can say is that you'll be more than satisfied with the STX.
 
Quote:

So basically the DAC element of the soundcard is top notch especially for the price - I've got that already, but what about the amp ? I gather so far that the amp that comes with the Essence is fairly basic ? That being said, to purchase an equivalent performing standalone DAC (spec wise) would cost twice as much as the whole soundcard - but what about the amp ? To what standalone equivalent would the Xonar Essence's integrated amp match and how much would that cost ?
 
More simplified, I'm thinking of purchasing a separate standalone amp (Firestone Audio's Fubar CuteCurve or Fubar CuteBeyond) and using the Xonar Essence as a high quality DAC mainly and feeding it to the Fubar - would this be a waste of money in terms of quality ? Or is the Essence amp better ? Because judging from the prices I very much doubt it. 
 
Cheers.

 

[Thommohawk]

No I haven't purchased the card as of yet....and I appreciate there is better equipment out there but not within the budget I've set for myself I don't wish to spend silly money personally, but as far as sound cards go or standalone DAC's of the ones I've seen equal or better than the Essence standalone DAC's are twice as expensive. I guess you pay for the portability. And I imagine there's better sound cards out there as well. But the Essence seems to hit the price/performance sweet spot for me (at least as far as that extends for pre purchases!) and considering the headphone expense still to come and possibly a standalone amp (if the one supplied isn't that great)....it's looking like a savvy purchase for my needs. But that's why I asked about the amp on the Essence to see if it was equivalent to a standalone amp of similar value to the Essence card. Which I doubt.

 

[K-MONEY]

Unless you are getting the Sennheiser HD-800 and want the absolute best out of it, I'd say you're better off with the STX for the $. I have had this card for a while and have driven many headphones from beyerdynamic, grado, akg, sennheiser, denon, etc... and it has amazed me and done one heck of a job that I can't seem to realize how a separate amp would be able to top it off...A separate amp would probably top it off in some little aspects, if you really listen carefully...but I doubt it would sound much better. Unless a separate amp takes a studio recording and makes it sound like a LIVE performance, lolz.
 
Quote:

No I haven't purchased the card as of yet....and I appreciate there is better equipment out there but not within the budget I've set for myself I don't wish to spend silly money personally, but as far as sound cards go or standalone DAC's of the ones I've seen equal or better than the Essence standalone DAC's are twice as expensive. I imagine better sound cards are as well. The Essence seems to hit the price/performance sweet spot for me (at least as far as that extends for pre purchases!) and considering the headphone expense still to come and possibly a standalone amp (if the one supplied isn't that great)....it's looking like a savvy purchase. But that's why I asked about the amp on the Essence to see if it was equivalent to a standalone amp of similar value to the Essence card.

 

[Thommohawk]

Quote:

Unless you are getting the Sennheiser HD-800 and want the absolute best out of it, I'd say you're better off with the STX for the $. I have had this card for a while and have driven many headphones from beyerdynamic, grado, akg, sennheiser, denon, etc... and it has amazed me and done one heck of a job that I can't seem to realize how a separate amp would be able to top it off...A separate amp would probably top it off in some little aspects, if you really listen carefully...but I doubt it would sound much better. Unless a separate amp takes a studio recording and makes it sound like a LIVE performance, lolz.
 

 

 
That's what I'm hoping. I mean at the end of the day if I wanted the best of the best each component in my rig would cost around 1k or probably more right ? Not that many people can afford that and many more people flat out don't wish to spend that much money. Of course there are those that can and do and that's cool for them. It's all about being happy with what you can afford and what you're willing to spend. Personally I have my budget set at around £300-£400 and that's to cover everything - DAC, Amp and headphones. I don't need portability as I already have a set of headphones on me for that purpose not that I ever take them with me lol. So yeah I'm thinking Essence and quality headphones should be a very smart purchase IF the amp will hold up and if not I'd have to budget for a standalone amp of higher quality. Economics severely at play both for and against however. So I'm probably best as you say to purchase the Essence and be happy, I can always demo a standalone amp later down the line for any worthwhile or immediate differences.

 

[SoSpecial]

If you want a separate amp then go for a cheaper card, if you just want an easy solution then go for that card. the Amp on it is amazing for the price, the sound quality is where the card is lacking( basically the equivalent of a Xonar DX). If you get this card and you get separate amp then you will be spending more then you should cause you will be upgrading the one thing you don't in this case.
 
If I had to buy any sound card right now( especially considering I have a stand alone amp) I would this because it is a sound card made solely for the purpose of being a studio recording/Mixing card. It's professional grade, not computer builder grade, or gamer grade. It's sole focus is on the sound. IF you in the market for an amp then don't spend $100 more on a sound card which main focus is on the amp which would see marginal benefits to the use of an amp. This is what we call in the computer building community as the law of diminishing returns. Either you stop before you spend to much or you spend so much and have to trick yourself into thinking it was a good idea even if you barely see any benefit in reality.

 

[Thommohawk]

Quote:

If I had to buy any sound card right now( especially considering I have a stand alone amp) I would this because it is a sound card made solely for the purpose of being a studio recording/Mixing card. It's professional grade, not computer builder grade, or gamer grade. It's sole focus is on the sound.

I assume that was supposed to be hyperlinked or something (I can't click it lol) what sound card was it ?

Also thanks for the advice I'll definitely take it under consideration.