[Hobsten]

I recently ordered the two because I've also gotten the HD650'S and the STX is said to be one of the best soundcards for music(with built-in amp which should be quite good).
But many people say they're not good for gaming. I'm looking for good positional audio as I play a lot of CS;GO competitively. Should i get another soundcard dedicated to gaming?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I recently ordered the two because I've also gotten the HD650'S and the STX is said to be one of the best sound cards for music(with built-in amp which should be quite good).
But many people say they're not good for gaming. I'm looking for good positional audio as I play a lot of CS;GO competitively. Should i get another sound card dedicated to gaming?

There are lots of people in the world happily gaming with Asus Xonar cards.
 
But one option is to get the Sound Blaster Titanium HD sound card with the Schiit Magni external headphone amplifier.
I guess you could get away with plugging the PC350SE straight into the Titanium HD and not get the Schiit Magni (for now).

 

[Hobsten]

Thanks for the reply! I will consider it after i've tested the STX. Motherboards can fit two soundcards? I have the z87-pro.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply! I will consider it after I've tested the STX. Motherboards can fit two soundcards? I have the z87-pro.

Personally to me, having two sound cards does not makes sense, the Titanium HD and STX are really almost equal for op-amps and DAC chips.
Technically the Titanium HD has a slightly better buffer op-amp and DAC chip, so I can't see the it being any less quality wise for music, compared to the STX.
And both can easily drive 150-Ohm headphones, like the PC350 SE.

 

[Hobsten]

The main reason I bought the STX was so that I had enough power to drive my new HD650 on my PC. I was basically just hoping the STX would be good for positional audio with my PC350s aswell.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

The main reason I bought the STX was so that I had enough power to drive my new HD650 on my PC. I was basically just hoping the STX would be good for positional audio with my PC350s as well.

The Essence STX's headphone amplifier chip (TI 6120) is about as good as any headphone amplifier, built into a internal sound card.
So it would seem to be the best choice (internal sound card) for driving 300-Ohm headphones (HD650).
I'm not into FPS gaming, but i would think you would do ok with the STX for FPS gaming.