[macrog]

I have an asus xonar STX soundcard with all 3 opamps upgraded to National lme49720nas. 1 month ago I purchased a Musiland monitor 02us external dac headphone amp.

I am very suprised that the musiland which cost significantly less than the xonar stx soundly beats it in all areas i.e. Detail, soundstage and pitch. Even the digital output of the stx is inferior to the monitor 02us. The specs of the stx suggest it is an audiophile product. Comparison with even budget hifi gear confirms it isn't.

Has anyone else compared the two ? I am considering discrete opamps in the stx to improve performance but have very little hope that an internal sound card can beat a competent external dac.

 

[gattari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macrog /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have an asus xonar STX soundcard with all 3 opamps upgraded to National lme49720nas. 1 month ago I purchased a Musiland monitor 02us external dac headphone amp. I am very suprised .

There are better dac but the price goes on. Definitely worth every penny of its cost.

Certainly with some components upgrade would be obtained even more from this dac.
I prefer it as transport.
Ciao

 

[hawkhead]

No exactly the same but I found the SPDIF coax on the O1USD to be much better than the STX

 

[Shahrose]

Are you referring the to the STX's line-out or HP-amp? If you're comparing the Musiland with the latter, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Out of curiousity, what's the rest of your setup like?

 

[leeperry]

too bad this DAC only has a 24Mhz quartz...no bit-perfect 44.1KHz possible then?

I won't comment on the STX HP out, only echo Shahrose's words..

 

[macrog]

I am referring to line out of the stx

I am aware there are better dacs. I have also purchased Wadia 581, Cambridge 840C.

I do think that the asus xonar stx is over hyped for what it is.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macrog /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do think that the asus xonar stx is over hyped for what it is.

sheesh, it's a secret

I personally love the flaky drivers

 

[ROBSCIX]

The line out is the strong point of the STX considering the price and the DAC used.
The headphone output is not too bad considering the over all price of the card but it can be surpassed by quality external units.

If I am thinking of the right unit it uses a higher end DAC then the STX. -the PCM1793.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macrog /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone else compared the two ? I am considering discrete opamps in the stx to improve performance but have very little hope that an internal sound card can beat a competent external dac.

I have tested the STX and ST with discrete opamps. Are you talking about the Bursons or the audio GD units? I have tested with the Audio-GD units and they give the card a much more "analog' flavor if that makes sense to you. Some some opamps the card can get a digital edge that sounds very compressed and cold. The discretes open it up and enlarge the soundstage. There are a few guys around that are using discretes with the STX and ST.

 

[macrog]

I was thinking Bursons but if the audio-gds sound good would very much prefer them at their much lower price. Yes the analog flavour does make sense. Which audio-gd discretes would you recommend as mixing and matching from all 3 flavours would be expensive ?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Many of the guys around are using the Earths for I/V as they are neutral sounding.

The buffer would be based on your preference as the Sun is bright, Earth is natural, Moon is more "tubey" etc..

 

[chipzahoy]

Not surprising. However, if you power the Musiland 02 with the computer's ATX supply, or the STX with a good seperate PS, the difference in SQ may not be so apparent.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macrog /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am referring to line out of the stx I am aware there are better dacs. I have also purchased Wadia 581, Cambridge 840C. I do think that the asus xonar stx is over hyped for what it is.

Interesting. Which headphones/speakers do you use and which PSU do you power the STX with?

 

[macrog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting. Which headphones/speakers do you use and which PSU do you power the STX with?

Power supply used is a Zalman 650W but I have also used a corsair 750w

Speaker used are monitor audio platinum (PL) 300s

Amps are Linn Kairn Preamp (with slimline brilliant power supply) and 2x Linn lk280/Spark power amps for biamping.

The only headphones I have tried on the stx or musiland so far are my shure se420 earbuds.

Robscix thanks for the info on audio-gd discetes I will get on to ordering 3 earths initially and see what difference that makes.

Strangely I really wanted the stx to be better. The thought of a single box audio / computer solution that rivalled the sound quality of cd players of the same cost really appealed to me.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Well a great deal of the STX audio prowess is in swapping to higher grade opamps.
It sounds good out of the box but can sound much better when fitted with better opamps.