Soundcard for S/PDIF out

[kazaakas]

Hi Head-Fi'ers
 
I'm very determined to get myself a AKG Q701, a martix m-stage and a ~$100 DAC I still have to choose in about a month.
I thought, since S/PDIF is digital it doesn't matter which output device is used, but after some research I have concluded that using an S/PDIF out from a motherboard equals injustice for a high end external DAC+AMP headphone setup.
 
Should I get myself some cheap thingy to do this like the Creative Xtreme Audio PCI-e or the Asus Xonar DG?
 
It'd be nice if they had a HRTF based 3D emulation DSP for games, but I don't think it's possible to use such DPS's though S/PDIF isn't it?
 
 
 
I do have an old Xtrememusic lying around here from back in 2007, but that one shamefully doesn't have an S/PDIF out

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi Head-Fi'ers
I'm very determined to get myself a AKG Q701, a martix m-stage and a ~$100 DAC I still have to choose in about a month.
I thought, since S/PDIF is digital it doesn't matter which output device is used, but after some research I have concluded that using an S/PDIF out from a motherboard equals injustice for a high end external DAC+AMP headphone setup.
Should I get myself some cheap thingy to do this like the Creative Xtreme Audio PCI-e or the Asus Xonar DG?
It'd be nice if they had a HRTF based 3D emulation DSP for games, but I don't think it's possible to use such DPS's though S/PDIF isn't it?
I do have an old Xtrememusic lying around here from back in 2007, but that one shamefully doesn't have an S/PDIF out

I'm assuming your a gamer?
Just get an Creative Titanium HD and plug your Q701 into it's headphone jack.
 
 
 

 

[kazaakas]

I just get this answer to forget about anything external and use a soundcard all the time when I mention anything like games...
But I really want to use the setup for music mostly, gaming is second, but I do like the option to use something like surround headphone emulation

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I just get this answer to forget about anything external and use a soundcard all the time when I mention anything like games...
But I really want to use the setup for music mostly, gaming is second, but I do like the option to use something like surround headphone emulation

And what is so wrong to use the Titanium HD for music?
The DAC on the Titanium HD is slightly better then the one that comes in the Essence STX.
You can also plug any external headphone amplifier with a mini-jack or RCA inputs to the RCA output jacks on the Titanium HD.
 
 
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

And what is so wrong to use the Titanium HD for music?
The DAC on the Titanium HD is slightly better then the one that comes in the Essence STX.
You can also plug any external headphone amplifier with a mini-jack or RCA inputs to the RCA output jacks on the Titanium HD.
 

 
Indeed. The Titanium HD DAC has a very good DAC, outclassing a lot of external DACs, along with having a rather complete multimedia feature set, something that virtually all external DACs lack.
 
Considering the OP wants surround virtualization techs, there isn't any external device that will provide it along with high quality sound.

 

[kazaakas]

Yeah all those algorithms at least muffle it up by a slight amount. Then again I am looking for very-high-end sound quality for music.
 
But I didn't know the Titanium HD DAC was that good... I thought DAC's on expansion cards were a little inferior due to electrical noise from within the system.
 
As gaming and music generally don't go well together, this might be the best way to go then.
 
But would the Titanium HD beat something like the ZERO DAC for example? That was one of the DACs that seemed interesting to me

 

[Roller]

From what I've read, the Zero DAC needs to be modded to have the same sound quality as the Titanium HD's DAC, and considering the Zero DAC is slightly more expensive and without any multimedia or gaming features, I would skip it, especially considering your requirements. Also, the Titanium HD is shielded against EMI.

 

[kazaakas]

So does the X-Fi Titanium HD have a headphone amp?
I really can't find a very clear answer anywhere.
I hope it doesn't since I want to use an external amp.

 

[Roller]

It doesn't have an integrated amp, but it's headphone output is quite powerful to make up for that. Regardless, you can send audio through the RCAs and bypass the headphone out anyway.

 

[kazaakas]

Ah yeah, of course.
 
Thanks for all your quick replies by the way!
 
So people comparing the titanium HD to the Xonar Essence STX usually go with the STX because they think the STX has better sound quality. Though I'm wondering, would that higher quality sound be because of the STX having an amp and the Titanium HD hasn't? I mean, if I'm getting one of those cards I'm getting it purely for the DAC anyway.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Ah yeah, of course.
Thanks for all your quick replies by the way!
So people comparing the titanium HD to the Xonar Essence STX usually go with the STX because they think the STX has better sound quality. Though I'm wondering, would that higher quality sound be because of the STX having an amp and the Titanium HD hasn't? I mean, if I'm getting one of those cards I'm getting it purely for the DAC anyway.

The STX comes with 3 headphone gain (Ohm) settings, <64, 64~300, 300~600, the Titanium HD does not.
The Q701 is only 62-Ohm.
 
 
 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurpleAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
The Q701 is only 62-Ohm.

It is rather inefficient, though, so it requires similar amount of voltage as the 250 Ohm DT770, and much more current.
 

 

[kazaakas]

It is rather inefficient, though, so it requires similar amount of voltage as the 250 Ohm DT770, and much more current.

Yap, I know that it needs rougly the same amount of amping as an average 300 Ohms headphone.

The STX comes with 3 headphone gain (Ohm) settings, <64, 64~300, 300~600, the Titanium HD does not.

The Q701 is only 62-Ohm.

Yeah but I don't want to use the built-in amp anyway, I'm getting my soundcard purely for the DAC.
I was just wondering if the general preference of the STX over the Titanium HD might be because of the amp on the STX, in which case I wouldn't have to worry since I'm going to get an external amp

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Quote:

It is rather inefficient, though, so it requires similar amount of voltage as the 250 Ohm DT770, and much more current.

Yap, I know that it needs rougly the same amount of amping as an average 300 Ohms headphone.

Quote:

The STX comes with 3 headphone gain (Ohm) settings, <64, 64~300, 300~600, the Titanium HD does not.

The Q701 is only 62-Ohm.

Yeah but I don't want to use the built-in amp anyway, I'm getting my sound card purely for the DAC.
I was just wondering if the general preference of the STX over the Titanium HD might be because of the amp on the STX, in which case I wouldn't have to worry since I'm going to get an external amp

The you can not use the headphone surround sound feature thru the RCA outputs on the STX, but you can on the Titanium HD's RCA outputs.
 
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Ah yeah, of course.
 
Thanks for all your quick replies by the way!
 
So people comparing the titanium HD to the Xonar Essence STX usually go with the STX because they think the STX has better sound quality. Though I'm wondering, would that higher quality sound be because of the STX having an amp and the Titanium HD hasn't? I mean, if I'm getting one of those cards I'm getting it purely for the DAC anyway.

Having an integrated headphone amp doesn't translate into higher sound quality, especially when considering the Essence STX headphone amp has a quite harsh signature.
 
I personally find that having separate gear allows for far better flexibility on my setups, mixing and matching exactly the gear I want rather than having components that I either don't use or that will alter the signature in a way that goes against my listening preferences.