Pairing together the Xonar STX and Sennheiser HD280s.

[Altaris]

Forgive me if this has been asked millions of times already, I did a quick search in this forum and found nothing about this question I want to ask.

If I'm using the STX as my soundcard, would a pair of HD280s possibly "hold back" it's full potential?

If so, what would I need to upgrade to really get the full use out of the STX?

 

[moonboy403]

No offense, but this is kind of a silly question since you got it backwards. A headphone benefits from having better upstream equipment, so the better your upstream equipment, the better your headphone will sound.

So in some sense, your STX is really the one holding back the HD280's full potential.

 

[leeperry]

@moonboy : you heard the STX, right? w/ some LME49720 at that?

 

[apatN]

^ True, but we all know what the OP is asking. He is asking whether or not the STX is relatively better than the HD280s.

 

[CDBacklash]

@leeperry: You seem to be forgetting that the point of a source is to provide good sounding music for your headphones, not to get you "e-cred" from all your buddies here on head-fi.
A headphone will present music as best it can all the time and the amp and dac (or in this case the STX) will limit how well it can achieve within its own limitations.
Limiting only occurs one way, and that is in the upstream direction (the same way the 'music' flows). All three components (DAC, amp, headphones) limit the music, but the dac and amp limit the headphones, not the other way around.
Theres a point at which having an amazing DAC or amp on a particular headphone becomes overkill/terrible VFM but this isnt the issue moonboy was getting at. He is perfectly correct, and you are just trying to defend what you own. Knock it off, the title of the thread isnt "Leeperry defends his gear again".

Now, @ the OP.
Getting a "better" set of cans will indeed improve results from the STX (or any dac provided it is amped correctly), but try and understand where moonboy is coming from.
By the same token, getting rid of the STX will get rid of those awful mids I've heard on all Xonar products I have owned (DX and STX, the latter of which with several opamp combos. Only one of them had decent midrange but ended up having muddy bass and zero sparkle in the treble). In my opinion getting a newer set of cans will be a better investment than improving your source (as is generally the case at this end of the money spectrum) but both can be improved on immensely.

@post below you cant read posts of someone on your ignore list.
@post below, its a sansa clip. It sounds a lot more musical (albeit more low-fi soudning) than the STX which is why I currently use it. Have a nice day.
@post below, some saying about black pots etc.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif @leeperry: You seem to be forgetting that the point of a source is to provide good sounding music for your headphones, not to get you "e-cred" from all your buddies here on head-fi.

e-cred? head-fi buddies? now I remember why you're on my ignore list

it's great to bash equipment you haven't even heard...why don't you advise him to buy a Sensa or whatever that $30 portable mp3 of yours is called? at least you're a pro and you said that it sounded better than the STX!

I advise the OP a $700 external amp, a $1000 DAC...and then his HD280 won't be held back

 

[laobrasuca]

IMHO, the only thing on the STX which could eventually hold back a headphone is the amp section, and still I'm not so convinced about it. For its DAC section, I would say that it would really be hard to find anything in the market better than it, regardless the price. I mean, it uses the best caps in the industry, it is mounted on one of the best (if no the best) PCB the industry can make which isolates vital components as they were mounted in separate PCB, it uses the leading 127dB of SNR chip TI PCM1792A, it is as well isolated from the PC as any outboard solution (just check the distortion numbers) both by the quality of construction and by the shields, and spending additional 20$ you can get shipped in your hands one of the best OP-AMPs the industry can make for audio equipments. Is there any DAC for less than 1000$ which would be better than the DAC of the STX? I don't think so. As for the AMP, if I was you, instead of spending 300$ in an dedicate amp I would by a better headphone for listening purposes, overall, it would improve your listening experience more than buying an amp for your headphone.

lao

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif e-cred? head-fi buddies? now I remember why you're on my ignore list it's great to bash equipment you haven't even heard...

Well I have the STX with LM4620's installed everywhere. And sorry, the sound quality is to my ears far from being perfect compared to for example the Keces-DA-131 dac.

 

[Altaris]

Wow. Sorry if I've somehow sparked some sort of flame war here.

I asked this question because I just recently started using the hd280s I have instead of my old 2.1 speaker setup and I found that the hd280s were leagues better than my speakers. Since I don't have much in terms of spending money, I figured I might as well keep costs low and upgrade one part at a time. I looked around and asked a couple of questions, and eventually came to the Xonar STX card. However I was worried about whether or not the hd280s would be up to par with it, but judging from the posts, it shouldn't be a problem.

I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by the upstream equipment and how I got the question backwards though.

Thanks for all the info so far.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif e-cred? head-fi buddies? now I remember why you're on my ignore list it's great to bash equipment you haven't even heard...why don't you advise him to buy a Sensa or whatever that $30 portable mp3 of yours is called? at least you're a pro and you said that it sounded better than the STX! I advise the OP a $700 external amp, a $1000 DAC...and then his HD280 won't be held back

I agree with leeperry here. CDbacklash, I think you may have had a bad card, inadequate supporting computer components, or you just plain didn't fancy its sound (in which case you're in the very rare minority). Claiming that a Sansa (which I have auditioned many times) is better than the STX is ludicrous IMO, but I respect your opinion as I wouldn't know what the STX does or doesn't sound like to your ears.

To the OP: The STX represents a great value for SQ at $200 and I would recommend it for lower/mid-end phones like the HD280s. You'd be reaching the point of diminishing returns here with those headphones. Also, I wouldn't go as far as saying the STX beats out other <$1000 DACs without possessing extensive experience with other high end DAC offerings.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maarek99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I have the STX with LM4620's installed everywhere. And sorry, the sound quality is to my ears far from being perfect compared to for example the Keces-DA-131 dac.

ok, interesting! but it costs twice more than the STX, and it doesn't have a headphones amp?
which headphones amp did you use on that DAC and the STX? did you try the STX headphones out to your DAC? I know it sounds odd but many ppl said that it sounds better than the lineout.

and you mean LME49720, right? the Keces-DA-131 seems to be using the LME49710HA, you should try the LME49720HA in the STX through the HP out before calling it a day IMHO

the HD280 is not exactly high-end, so I "think" a proper upgrade would be a good bang-for-bucks compromise for the source and the phones....how good is a $1500 amp on a HD280 or a STX on a HD800?

something like HD650 or DT880 on the STX doesn't sound like a bad idea...and we're talking about <$500 total...anyway, it's just a suggestion...unlike some members here, I'm not on A$u$ payroll

 

[laobrasuca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with leeperry here. CDbacklash, I think you may have had a bad card, inadequate supporting computer components, or you just plain didn't fancy its sound (in which case you're in the very rare minority). Claiming that a Sansa (which I have auditioned many times) is better than the STX is ludicrous IMO, but I respect your opinion as I wouldn't know what the STX does or doesn't sound like to your ears. To the OP: The STX represents a great value for SQ at $200 and I would recommend it for lower/mid-end phones like the HD280s. You'd be reaching the point of diminishing returns here with those headphones. Also, I wouldn't go as far as saying the STX beats out other <$1000 DACs without possessing extensive experience with other high end DAC offerings.

With so many experimented head-fiers in this forum, none of you have the curiosity to check and compare the STX with other < = > $1000 DACs? (of coarse, using same op-amp in the DAC, the same amp, same cables and headphones) It would be nice and would spare us of a lot of nonsense discussion!

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laobrasuca /img/forum/go_quote.gif none of you have the curiosity to check and compare the STX with other < = > $1000 DACs?

they don't target the same ppl...on one end you got rich audiophiles, on the other you got ppl who want an affordable all-in-one solution.

if you can spend +$1.5K on your headphones DAC+Amp, don't bother w/ the STX! this is an inexpensive better-than-average solution, not the be all/end all of headphones sources IMO....but for the price, paired w/ some proper op-amps it's

 

[laobrasuca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you can spend +$1.5K on your headphones DAC+Amp, don't bother w/ the STX! this is an inexpensive better-than-average solution, not the be all/end all of headphones sources IMO...

so you are kind saying that the DAC of STX won't be as good as a 1000$ DAC in terms of absolute performance? If so, what does make a 1000$ DAC be better than a mod (better op-amps) STX? Is it a caps problem, is it the DAC chip, is it the PCB? I would really like to understand it. EDIT: or it's just a question of personal taste, or something like "the more money you spend, a better equipment you will get" to justify the extra money?

lao

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laobrasuca /img/forum/go_quote.gif so you are kind saying that the DAC of STX won't be as good as a 1000$ DAC in terms of absolute performance? If so, what does make a 1000$ DAC be better than a mod (better op-amps) STX? Is it a caps problem, is it the DAC chip, is it the PCB? I would really like to understand it. EDIT: or it's just a question of personal taste, or something like "the more money you spend, a better equipment you will get" to justify the extra money? lao

well there's a reason why some companies sell $1500/2000 headphones and +$3000 DAC/HP amps, and ppl actually buying them...that's because they sound damn fine!

you can use burson op-amps(they cost like $50 a pop, and can be installed on the STX but let's just say that it's not too convenient

), 1ppm clock(like the forthcoming Asus ST), silver IC/power cables(I know some ppl that are not mentally challenged who told me that they give a much higher SQ), etc etc

also when you're using a S/PDIF DAC, you get bit-perfect audio all the way w/ a $10 mobo audio chip....most consumer soundcards have a fixed samplerate in their drivers, that you need to constantly switch depending on your source files

and yes, caps also carry high end products, that are pretty expensive....I just meant that both customer targets are not interested in the other product line.

moonboy likes to bash the STX anyway(w/o hearing it?): http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5716008-post75.html