[Mathieas]

[size=10pt]Hey all,[/size]
[size=10pt]I just purchased a asus xonar essence st. I have been looking through a whole slew of reviews and options for a good set of headphones to pair with this card and get the full potential out of it. I have read about various Sennhausers, Sonys, Ultrasone ect... There are so many choices i dont even know where to start. At time i found myself just looking at the price tag to determine if a review was even worth reading. I should also mention that without direct access to many types of headphones it is hard for me to understand what a full or shallow sound stage might sound like... i simply have no reference.[/size]
[size=10pt]           At present i listen to music but also play games. Are there any sets out there people would recommend for use with the above mentioned card? My price range is ok (up to 300-500$) but if i am going to hit the 500$ range i would need a place to test before purchase. At present i dont even know if i like open or closed sets and I really dont know where to go to test each. I am a complete novice when it comes to audio but would really like to get into some higher quality more fulfilling listening.[/size]
 
 
[size=10pt]Thank you for your time and expertise,[/size]
[size=10pt]Mathieas[/size]

 

[JayB18]

Open generally sound more natural than closed dollar per dollar so unless you need isolation then its probably best to start there. The Xonar Essence ST is a nice DAC but the amp in it will not be able to drive phones such as the HD600, HD650, HD800, DT770, DT880, DT990, K701 and any other phones that need an amp to their potential so you would be better off getting a pair of easy to drive phones. Something like the AD900 or DT440 would be a good place to start. They are under your budget but unless you get a good desktop amp these are likely to sound superior than some of the phones listed. If you decide to get closed phones go with the DT250 (80 ohm version).  All of the headphones I listed make good all rounders meaning they will sound good with just about any type of music and work well with games and movies.  If your music preferences are more genre specific there might be some other options to consider as well.

 

[Aizura]

You need to be more specific. Do you want closed or open? What music do you listen to? Are you willing to invest in a better headphone amp later on?

 

[tdockweiler]

Are you sure about this? The ST has a built in headphone amplifier (supports up to 600 ohm according to Asus) and is supposed to work well with many of the more expensive headphones. I'm aware of even a few people who run 600 ohm headphones from it. I know you said "to it's potential" but I think it would be MORE then enough for most headphones. Should work perfectly fine for all of those headphones you've listed, except for maybe the K701 (not sure about HD800).
 
Seriously, isn't that the whole point of buying the ST? That it could be used for the HD-600 and similar headphones?

 
Quote:

Open generally sound more natural than closed dollar per dollar so unless you need isolation then its probably best to start there. The Xonar Essence ST is a nice DAC but the amp in it will not be able to drive phones such as the HD600, HD650, HD800, DT770, DT880, DT990, K701 and any other phones that need an amp to their potential so you would be better off getting a pair of easy to drive phones.

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

Are you sure about this? The ST has a built in headphone amplifier (supports up to 600 ohm according to Asus) and is supposed to work well with many of the more expensive headphones. I'm aware of even a few people who run 600 ohm headphones from it. I know you said "to it's potential" but I think it would be MORE then enough for most headphones. Should work perfectly fine for all of those headphones you've listed, except for maybe the K701 (not sure about HD800).
 
Seriously, isn't that the whole point of buying the ST? That it could be used for the HD-600 and similar headphones?

 

 

He's right. That sound card couldn't drive my DT770 600ohms for crap. To put it in perspective, I had to put my volume at 90% on the DT770s to get the same volume that I get from my AD900s at only 25%.

 

[tdockweiler]

Yeah, but nobody is really talking about needing to power 600 ohm headphones here. I wouldn't expect it to either, but I have heard it's possible. But to say it can't even power the HD-600 or 250 ohm Beyer Dynamic headphones well is kind of hard to believe. The HD-600 isn't that hard to drive really. Even easier then my old k701.
 
I would never suggest a sound card like the STX over a full desktop amp, but I'm sure the STX should power most headphones 300 ohms and under just fine. Maybe not the k702...
 
Seriously, why would Asus even bother with including a headphone amp built in if it couldn't even power an HD-600? It wouldn't make any sense.
 
Quote:

He's right. That sound card couldn't drive my DT770 600ohms for crap. To put it in perspective, I had to put my volume at 90% on the DT770s to get the same volume that I get from my AD900s at only 25%.

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

Yeah, but nobody is really talking about needing to power 600 ohm headphones here. I wouldn't expect it to either, but I have heard it's possible. But to say it can't even power the HD-600 or 250 ohm Beyer Dynamic headphones well is kind of hard to believe. The HD-600 isn't that hard to drive really. Even easier then my old k701.
 
I would never suggest a sound card like the STX over a full desktop amp, but I'm sure the STX should power most headphones 300 ohms and under just fine. Maybe not the k702...
 
Seriously, why would Asus even bother with including a headphone amp built in if it couldn't even power an HD-600? It wouldn't make any sense.
 

 

Judging by how crap the DT770 600 sounded with it (and how horrendously low the volume was), I highly doubt even the 250ohm versions will be driven good standards. It might, but I'm just making a hypothesis based on my experience.

 

[Aizura]

The Essence STX can drive the HD600's fairly well. It sounds pretty decent, not complete crap like some people seem to believe. Ofcourse, a better headphone amp will improve them a lot. That's why I asked the OP if he is planning to buy a better amp later on. Because then it would make sense to go for something like an HD600 and use them temporarily with the Xonar Essence for now, and when he upgrades his amp he doesn't need to upgrade his headphones.

 

[Griffinhart]

I find it strange that people are complaining about how the Essence ST can't power 600-ohm cans. Are you guys setting your gain tuning correctly in the driver software for the card? Because you kinda need to, y'know. "Extra High Gain(+18dB for 300~600 ohms)" option in the drop-down box that pops up when you click the HP Advance Setting button next to the Analog Out drop-down box.
 
Anyhow, my Essence ST is powering my BeyerDynamic DT990/600 ohm headphones perfectly fine right now (yes, right now; I'm listening to music as I type this). Previously I was using Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s (before the right speaker died) with gain tuning set to Normal (as the AD700s had 32 ohms of impedance) and volume-wise I didn't have any different settings (system/master volume is at 8%, foobar's volume setting at -10.22dB) or any different of a setup.
 
I'll see if this card can power a pair of DT770/600 ohms come Thursday (or the weekend that follows).
 
(For the OP's reference, the DT990 and AD700 headphones are open, the DT770 headphones are closed.)
 
-- Griffinhart
 
ETA: Just for clarification: I have an Essence ST, not an STX. I'm assuming that the OP's omission of an X is not a typo.

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

I find it strange that people are complaining about how the Essence ST can't power 600-ohm cans. Are you guys setting your gain tuning correctly in the driver software for the card? Because you kinda need to, y'know. "Extra High Gain(+18dB for 300~600 ohms)" option in the drop-down box that pops up when you click the HP Advance Setting button next to the Analog Out drop-down box.
 
Anyhow, my Essence ST is powering my BeyerDynamic DT990/600 ohm headphones perfectly fine right now (yes, right now; I'm listening to music as I type this). Previously I was using Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s (before the right speaker died) with gain tuning set to Normal (as the AD700s had 32 ohms of impedance) and volume-wise I didn't have any different settings (system/master volume is at 8%, foobar's volume setting at -10.22dB) or any different of a setup.
 
I'll see if this card can power a pair of DT770/600 ohms come Thursday (or the weekend that follows).
 
(For the OP's reference, the DT990 and AD700 headphones are open, the DT770 headphones are closed.)
 
-- Griffinhart
 
ETA: Just for clarification: I have an Essence ST, not an STX. I'm assuming that the OP's omission of an X is not a typo.

They're not being driven "perfectly" from the ST. The ST cannot drive the Beyer 600 ohm cans to their full potential, no matter what you say.

 

[Griffinhart]

Okay, so I obviously can't detect the difference between perfect/non-perfect drive with my ears. Is there an objective way to tell? (I ask this in seriousness and without sarcasm, as I'd like to know for future reference if something is right or wrong.)
 
-- Griffinhart

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

Okay, so I obviously can't detect the difference between perfect/non-perfect drive with my ears. Is there an objective way to tell? (I ask this in seriousness and without sarcasm, as I'd like to know for future reference if something is right or wrong.)
 
-- Griffinhart

You won't be able to tell until you have heard them from something that is driving them to their full potential. Maybe my impressions of the 600ohms with the ST was so bad as I had heard them properly driven before. When you hear them from a powerful amp you will be able to tell the difference that's for sure.

 

[trandafirrrosu]

asus xonar essence st with beyerdynamic dt 770 pro 250 ohm sounds very good with half master volume and half media monkey volume . the music is flac. if you compare essence st with a source by 1000 dolars or 10000 i believe you that sonar sounds not very good     bye!
 

 

[DeadEars]

I have this combination too (Essence STX & Sennheiser HD600).  It works fine, and is fairly satisfying.  That is, until you can get a better amp, when going back to the Essence sounds flat and two-dimensional.  But plenty of volume, and decent SQ.  That would be my recommendation, or maybe you can find some cheap used HD-580's which sound even better with the Essence STX since they are a little rolled off and the brightness of the Essence is less objectionable IMHO.
 
The HD580 or HD600 still give you a lot of upside potential, and even with an amp, you can still use the Essence STX as a digital source, so you haven't wasted your money.  Not a bad way to bootstrap yourself up to really good sound, and enjoy every step along the way without feeling like you are wasting money or going backwards, or having to settle for crap.
 
HTH,
 
Frank