[rroseperry]

Thanks
Good to hear from someone who owns both. Do you hear interference? No music, volume turned all the way up? Also, which headphones are you driving with the Asgard? 

I'll answer this then go back through the thread.

I mainly use it for my full sized cans, DT880/250, Shure 440, and modded SR80s. It was the Beyer that really showed the advantage of having both in the line. Without the Asgard, the bass was less present and the highs tended to sound shrill.

Oh and my STX is dead quiet, no interference at all, but I think it's because I got an adequate power supply when I got it installed.

 

[Head Injury]

I've never used it as a DAC only, but this seems like a problem that would have more publicity if it were normal. The interference is no fault of the headphone if it's being used as a DAC. And is everyone sure this distortion is not in the song itself?
 
"Present" bass and "smooth" highs says to me that the Asgard is colored euphonically. Neither of those have anything to do with power, maybe added distortion.

 

[rroseperry]

I do think it's a matter of power. I didn't notice similar change in color with the other phones, both of which have lower impedance.

 

[Head Injury]

Impossible, since they both have the same voltage output into high impedances.
 
The differences would only manifest at low impedances, because of the differences in output impedance. The differences not associated with increased distortion or coloration, anyway. It's possible the Asgard performs better in other ways like phase. I would love Voldemort to measure these.

 

[rroseperry]

All I'm saying is that I didn't notice a change in the sound in the other two headphones through the Asgard and STX. It seems that if the Asgard provided a colored sound, they should have been affected as well.

 

[audiophilic]

 
Quote:

Gain setting only matters for the headphone jack. What volumes are you using when you plug the headphones directly into the STX's jack? If you still have them set that high, you may have a faulty amp section in your STX.
 
You should have Foobar's volume maxed at all times. If you can't do that without distortion, then your STX's DAC might be clipping and it's faulty.
 
What is your sample rate setting? What is your OS? Are you using HF mode? Where is the card located in relation to the processor and any GPUs? It might even be nice to know your motherboard and PSU.

Directly connected to the STX, foobar internal volume is maxed out. But at that volume it distorts, so I lower it to around -6db. 
Sample rate is 192Khz
OS: win7 x64
I don't use any modes. ASIO disables the entire xonar audio centre except for the Main tab. Anyways, I checked my settings and they are all off.
The card is in the last PCI-E slot (x16) I have a water-cooled SLI setup so I had to switch it form the PCI-E x1 to the x16 at the bottom.
Motherboard is an Asus rampage 3 extreme 
PSU is corsair AX1200
 
Just did a test:
I maxed out the foobar internal volume, set highest gain setting, connected the AKG to the STX headphone out and played Hotel california by Eagles (the live version). It's fine till 0:54 when the guitars start playing. I can hear the distortion then on. It is definitely present.

 

[Head Injury]

Try WASAPI. It's what I use without problems.
 
Set the sampling rate lower. What sampling rate are your files?
 
It's plugged into the power supply, right? Probably a stupid question, I don't know if it would even work without that.
 
I'm going to bed.

 

[audiophilic]

Quote:

I'll answer this then go back through the thread.
I mainly use it for my full sized cans, DT880/250, Shure 440, and modded SR80s. It was the Beyer that really showed the advantage of having both in the line. Without the Asgard, the bass was less present and the highs tended to sound shrill.
Oh and my STX is dead quiet, no interference at all, but I think it's because I got an adequate power supply when I got it installed.

Hmm. Thats weird. I only have interference from the RCA outs. the headphone out is perfect.
 


Quote:

I've never used it as a DAC only, but this seems like a problem that would have more publicity if it were normal. The interference is no fault of the headphone if it's being used as a DAC. And is everyone sure this distortion is not in the song itself?
 
"Present" bass and "smooth" highs says to me that the Asgard is colored euphonically. Neither of those have anything to do with power, maybe added distortion.

 
I have tried with many well recorded songs. Patricia barber, Rebecca pidegeon, Chuck Mangione. It's just a lot easier to pick up with fast music.
Are the AKG's even capable of playing bass heavy music without distortion? I can't see them being driven to high volume with some hip-hop or top 40 music lol. The drivers seem so light!

 

 

[audiophilic]

Quote:

Hey, audiophilic is right. I have had both the distortion on speedier songs(with PRO2900s) and the interferance when using the Essence as a DAC only(though it was going into a Burson with a dead left channel). It just isn't suited for certain headphones, and I'll chime in tomorrow when I get my replacement Burson on if it has interference issues with the Essence as well. The STX is interference free when used as a DAC and amp. DAC only, I could hear my hard drive spinning through the headphones along with a few fans.
Gain setting doesn't affect the distortion at all, and I have my STX 2 slots above my GPU (Radeon 6970) on an ECS P67-h2-a2 motherboard. I built this system myself.

The CPU fan is stock atm, and is a few inches from the Essence, pretty sure I was hearing that and the HDD which isn't close to it at all.

Ooo, which burson did you buy? HA-160? I'm thinking of getting that. I've read marvellous things about it's lower end authority and how well it handles dynamic attack oriented music. I just wish I could demo them before spending all that money.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hey Audiophilic,
Any chance one of the three op-amps is not seated correctly?
 
I'm sure this will not help at all with your current STX problems, but have you thought of upgrading the 3 current op-amps (operational amplifiers),
it's about $15 for three LME49860NAs op-amps.
LME49860NAs are renamed LM4562NA (stock/factory buffer chip on the STX) that have a better voltage range.

 

[audiophilic]

Quote:

Hey Audiophilic,
Any chance one of the three op-amps is not seated correctly?
 
I'm sure this will not help at all with your current STX problems, but have you thought of upgrading the 3 current op-amps (operational amplifiers),
it's about $15 for three LME49860NAs op-amps.
LME49860NAs are renamed LM4562NA (stock/factory buffer chip on the STX) that have a better voltage range.

I've already swapped the stock op-amps with LME49720. I doubt it's a faulty board or setup issue. I know it's lack of power or something since, for me to hear the distortion while using the headphone out on the NAD, I have to go noticeably louder than the STX.
 
2 o'clock on the NAD is louder than foobar max volume + extra high gain setting. 
 

 

[Racing Slippers]

Hi there, just wading in as I seem to have the same problem and similar kit.
 
I have an Asus Essence STX, Denon HD5000s and an Asgard and am also having trouble with interference although zero interference plugging the Denons into the soundcard's jack interestingly.
 
 
One solution is to simply turn up the STX to 100% along with your PC source program and dial back the Asgard :/
My interference now blends in imperceptibly alongside my iRacing and violin playing induced tinitus..
 
:-D

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racing Slippers /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I have an Asus Essence STX, Denon HD5000s and an Asgard and am also having trouble with interference although zero interference plugging the Denons into the soundcard's jack interestingly.

 
This type of problem is usually caused by a ground loop. It is frequently reported with Schiit amplifiers, which have grounded (3 prong) AC connectors. Possible solutions include, in no particular order of preference:
- get an external DAC with galvanic isolation from the PC (optical S/PDIF, or USB with a USB isolator)
- replace the Asgard with a non-grounded amplifier (I recommend the O2, which would drive the Denons fine, and even costs less than the Schiit Asgard)
- use the headphone output of the sound card (it is not perfect for low impedance headphones, but it is not very bad either)
- use ground loop isolation (transformer) between the STX and the Asgard; this could degrade the sound quality