[magnavox]

I just got my akg 702 headphones paired with my essence stx sound card. I want to make sure im getting the full potential from the headphones though... Should I buy a headphone amp? I dont care how much ( at least $1000 or less) I just want to get the max experience!

Also would I pair my sound card with the external amp? Or would the amp do everything?

Thanks!

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

I just got my akg 702 headphones paired with my essence stx sound card. I want to make sure im getting the full potential from the headphones though... Should I buy a headphone amp? I dont care how much ( at least $1000 or less) I just want to get the max experience!

Also would I pair my sound card with the external amp? Or would the amp do everything?

 
Is there something about the quality of the sound you're getting from the STX you don't like? Does the volume go high enough? If so, you don't need an amplifier. People often say you "need" an amplifier for various, vague reasons. Don't listen to them.
 
Personally, I didn't and need any of the three amps I own. I just wanted to have one ... and then another ... and then another. Of those, I like the ODAC+O2 combo. It's quite small and it has zero audible distortion. The combo runs ~US$300. There are other, equally good choices. A few cost less and the vast majority cost more. Price is not a good indicator of quality.
 
If you buy an amp (without a DAC), connect the line-out on the STX to the line-in on the amp. It's that easy.

 

[MohawkUS]

A better amplifier would give you a better sound. I went from the Essence STX to a Burson amplifier when I owned the Ultrasone PRO2900s. Even though the Burson wasn't a good match for the Ultrasones(output impedance was too high) it sounded better than the Essence.

If I were in your shoes I'd sell the STX and get both an amp and DAC. There are a number of good choices in the $400-600 range for each and I think that would bring more improvement to your system compared to just spending 1K on an amp and using the STX as your DAC. Before you buy anything though you're want to do a bit of research and figure out what sound signature you're after. The Essence is a bright//dynamic sounding card so if you're looking for the same sound but with higher quality look for gear described that way. Otherwise there is a massive selection of gear both SS and tube that will offer other sound sigs.

I don't know enough of the amps in the price range to give you a solid recommendation but for DACs I'd recommend keeping an eye on the FS forums here and on Audiogon. With some luck you can do what I did; that being snagging a $1500 Ultra-Fi DAC for <$500. There are a lot of not so well known manufacturers out there making high quality DACs. Due to the obscurity of the brands you can usually find them for really good prices in the trade forums. As much praise as some of the mid-range DACs such as the Bifrost get around here I'm not sure they are any better than the DAC in the STX soundcard.

 

[Rem0o]

Keep your STX and buy a full-on amplifier if you feel like you don't have enough juice. Common underpower symptoms are: 

1) Serious lack of volume
2) Clipping
3) Fat and "Bloated" bass (not tight)
4) All the sounds seam clumped up together (if that makes sense)
5) Obvious lack of impact/punch

These aren't suddle symptoms, they are straight on obvious. Of course, if you always listened to poorly powered headphones before, it's hard to really understand those terms because you have no comparison points. But don't go on like: "Oh, I feel the bass is a tiny bit bloated now that someone told me it might be". I have not heard the K702 on the STX but it shouldn't be that bad so if you like what you hear right now, keep it that way. 

Though, if you could actually try an amplifier and do a direct comparison with your setup, it would probably serves you better than all the posts in this forum to answer your question.

Rem

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

Keep your STX and buy a full-on amplifier if you feel like you don't have enough juice. Common underpower symptoms are: 
 

 
I agree with this. 
The STX is a nice Dac, and can be connected to an external headamp. Take a look at the Soloist SL.