[Falconetti]

Hello,
 
Im going to invest in either a DAC or a soundcard and pretty much set on either Essence STX II for soundcard or Essence ONE muses edition for DAC. However I read a post somewhere that it would be a waste of money buying a a DAC like the Essence ONE if your aim is mostly use it playing computer games and watching movies. 
 
So my question is, would I be better off picking the Essence STX II and pair it with some quality headphones?
 
Also, if I would settle for the STX II , what closed headphones ( 500-600 USD max) would you recommend match the STX II for the purpose I mentioned above?
 
Right now Im using an old Auzentech HDA X-plosion card paired with some ****ty creative cans, so I guess it's time for an upgrade.
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[cel4145]

I think the Muses is probably way over priced for what you get.

Get an Asus Xonar D1/DX or a Soundblaster Z sound card. Then run the optical out to a good DAC/headphone amp. That will give you all the virtual surround features of the sound card, but bypass the DAC of the sound card.

I recommend the Audio-GD NFB-11 which is a dac/headphone amp, with pre-amp (so you can eventually hook up a pair of powered speakers or speaker amp if you want).

 

[Falconetti]

Thank you very much for your advise, much appreciated. However, I would have to import the Audio-GD as it's not available in my country, and I would like to avoid that. As Im only going to use it for gaming and movies and together with headphones, wouldn't a good soundcard paired with quality cans be enough for my needs ?

 

[cel4145]

Almost everyone on Head-Fi who owns an Audio-GD product has to import it

External DAC/amps have the advantage of potentially reducing computer noise over an internal sound card, although not all computers are subject to that and not all people notice much difference even when there is some computer noise. So it depends on your setup and how discriminating you are.

 

[Falconetti]

Ok, so I got two options right now :
 
1. Audio-GD NFB-11 + SoundblasterZ
2. Asus Essence STX II
 
Any good closed earphones that works well with one or both of the options above?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thank you very much for your advise, much appreciated. However, I would have to import the Audio-GD as it's not available in my country, and I would like to avoid that. As Im only going to use it for gaming and movies and together with headphones, wouldn't a good sound card paired with quality cans be enough for my needs ?

 
Your old Auzentech HDA X-plosion and the new STX II would use the same software drivers, so no real gaming advantage swapping the X-Plosion for the STXII (at least that I know of).
Here are some third party drivers you can use with your current sound card.
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
 
The Audio-GD NFB-15 ($270 + shipping $45?) comes with dual DAC chips and a nice headphone amplifier.
The audio-GD can drive headphones from 16-Ohms to 600-Ohms.
The Audio-GD can be connected to the S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) connection on your current sound card
The NFB-15 even comes with a USB input and a separate line-output for use with speakers
A lot of people all over the world get their Audio-GD products shipped to them from Audio-GD's place in Hong Kong.
Audi-GD will claim a $100 value to the shipper, so any import tax you might pay will be low.
My NFB-15.32 (older version of the NFB-15) took 5 days to ship from Hong Kong to California.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Ok, so I got two options right now :
 
1. Audio-GD NFB-11 + SoundblasterZ
2. Asus Essence STX II
 
Any good closed earphones that works well with one or both of the options above?

 
The Audio-GD NFB-11 is $355 + shipping, so $85 more then the NFB-15
I kind of wished I had spent the extra for the NFB-11, over my NFB-15.32
So maybe get the NFB-11 and use the third party drivers with your current sound card.

 

[Falconetti]

   
Your old Auzentech HDA X-plosion and the new STX II would use the same software drivers, so no real gaming advantage swapping the X-Plosion for the STXII (at least that I know of).
Here are some third party drivers you can use with your current sound card.
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

But lets say for some reason I would go for my second option and skip external DACS and just replace my internal soundcard. Surely the STX II must be a better replacement for me in comparison to my old X-plosion, The STX II got a headphone amplifier and there must be something else that have improved since back in 2005 when I bought the X-plosion?

 

[Falconetti]

   
Your old Auzentech HDA X-plosion and the new STX II would use the same software drivers, so no real gaming advantage swapping the X-Plosion for the STXII (at least that I know of).
Here are some third party drivers you can use with your current sound card.
 
 

Those drivers only work with C-Media 8788 , mine is 8770

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Those drivers only work with C-Media 8788 , mine is 8770

 
The Unified Xonar Drivers work with more then the C-Media CMI8788 chip.
The Xonar DG uses the CMI8786 and works with Unified Xonar Drivers.
 
You can also get C-Media drivers for the CMI8770.
http://www.opendrivers.com/download/driver-167511.html
 
You also have the option anytime in the future for swapping out your current sound card.
The Asus Xonar DG is around $20-$30 and has an optical output.

 

[Falconetti]

   
The Unified Xonar Drivers work with more then the C-Media CMI8788 chip.
The Xonar DG uses the CMI8786 and works with Unified Xonar Drivers.
 
You can also get C-Media drivers for the CMI8770.
http://www.opendrivers.com/download/driver-167511.html
 
You also have the option anytime in the future for swapping out your current sound card.
The Asus Xonar DG is around $20-$30 and has an optical output.

Or maybe swap for something from Creative if one should want the EAX for gaming?

 

[Falconetti]

   
You also have the option anytime in the future for swapping out your current sound card.
The Asus Xonar DG is around $20-$30 and has an optical output.

 
Or maybe swap to something from Creative if I should want the EAX support for gaming ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
Or maybe swap to something from Creative if I should want the EAX support for gaming ?

 
A Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card would work fine
Even an older Creative Titanium card would work..
 
Hopefully you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you install any internal sound card to your computer.

 

[Falconetti]

   
A Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card would work fine
Even an older Creative Titanium card would work..
 
Hopefully you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you install any internal sound card to your computer.

 
Ofcourse I do
 
Ok so Im pretty much sold on the DAC you recommended, I hope it's not overkill for my purpose of mainly playing games and watching movies ?
 
Now, the only thing left is getting a pair of quality headphones that matches this setup, they must be closed cans. Any suggestions ?

 

[Falconetti]

Maybe I should settle for the GD 15 instead ?
 
I have read that the GD 15 is more warmer sounding than the more neutral GD 11, but Im not sure it would bother me that much as I prefer the more warmer sound. On the hand you might want it as neutral as possible and go for a warmer sounding headphone instead ?
 
Oh the agony of choice..