[DarkScythe]

Hello everyone,

I'll first get this out of the way: I'm currently using the onboard Realtek ALC889A from my motherboard for sound. I also have an SB Audigy 1 (MP3+ version) that I don't really use.

Anyway, I'm thinking about upgrading my soundcard for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to rid myself of what Creative calls "Drivers." When I got my new PC, I tested both onboard and the Audigy (OK, well, my friend did and I watched him) and came to the conclusion that both were pretty much equal, with the onboard getting a nod for no intermod distortion at 24bit or something. Since then, I've been using the onboard for music and the Audigy for gaming (mostly for the limited EAX whenever it's applicable.) Creative's "Drivers" have a tendency to BSOD for no reason, however, so I started looking into alternatives. I don't want another creative product, so it seems I'm left with Asus Xonar or the Auzen stuff.

I came across the Asus Xonar Essence STX a month ago and it looked pretty good, everyone was/is raving about how good it is, and I thought "Hey, I want to try it out."

Here's the problem- Is it even worth it?
I currently use Acoustic Energy Aego M's to listen to music. I bought a pair of Audioengine 5's a few days ago and am in the process of testing them. The reason is my friend had loaned me his Echo Audiofire 2 to see if I could tell a major difference in sound quality vs my onboard. I'm in no way a huge audiophile, as my most "hifi" stuff was probably my OK2's. Anyway, it was a struggle, but I could just barely make out some differences between the Audiofire and my onboard. Bass was less boomy on the Audiofire, and it also brought out details a little more clearly.

I thought The Aego's might have been limiting it, so I bought the Audioengine 5's (about the limit of my spending) to see if there would be a difference. While there was a massive difference between the A5's and the Aego's, when it came down to putting the onboard vs the Audiofire, I came down to the same results, again just barely. From seeing comments from various people about hearing "night and day" differences all the time, am I simply missing something, or are my ears defective? Are these relatively minor (so far) details about as "major" as it gets?

After noticing some details with the Audiofire, I go back to the onboard and I can suddenly hear it there too. If anything, it was just a little clearer and possibly louder on the Audiofire which led me to "find" it in the first place, but afterwards, it's recognizable with the onboard as well.

So, summary of this long post, is it worth it for me to try and set my eyes on the Essence, or should I just stick with my onboard? How does it rank vs the Audiofire 2, if anyone can comment on this?

Thanks.

 

[Shahrose]

this is an experience everyone needs to have before getting into audiophilia, so one can quantify just how much of a difference in sound there is as you move up the ladder.
your ears aren't defective (although not highly trained as some of the more seasoned audiophiles on here probably), and now you know what to expect. the difference you heard may not have been big for you, but for some others it'd be considered huge. it's up to you to decide if future upgrades are worth this improvement. i know they were for me (up to a certain point).

 

[DarkScythe]

Congrats on your 1000th post, Shahrose

Anyway, I suppose this is exactly why my friend (the resident audiophile out of everyone I know) loaned me the Audiofire and told me to try it out first.
I'm not sure if it is worth it, but then I also don't know how much "better" or different the Essence is from the Audiofire. It's possible the Audiofire wasn't a big enough step for me to easily notice anything, but I'm not sure if that's really true. My friend has been insisting that I upgrade my output (speakers and headphones) before worrying about the soundcard, but it seemed kind of lopsided to have $350 A5's being fed from onboard sound.

To an untrained ear, would you say the differences between various source equipment is roughly like this? It seems I really would get more out of upgrading my speakers than my source right now. At least, the A5's sound drastically different from the Aego's.

 

[DarkScythe]

Anyone else have any comments about this?

I've been trying to find the DAC the audiofire uses to compare that way, but I haven't been able to locate it for some reason. :/

 

[sonci]

How the hell can Audioengine be better than Acoustic Energy,

Sorry for hijacking, but I can't accept that. Maybe their Aego series is not to be proud, but I dont see a much of upgrade..