[TJ Max]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any experience withe this sound card. Is it comparable to the Asus Xonar Essence STX II?
http://www.tempotec.com.cn/en/2-Product/Serenade/SerenadePCIE/index.htm

I see it on Amazon for $99. The specs look decent but I'm not an expert on sound cards.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The last time the software drivers were updated was 3 and a half years ago (Sept, 2015).
And can't find anywhere to download a manual.
I would assume the control panel is very basic (guessing).
Does not list any headphone surround sound support.
Why are you thinking of buying it?

 

[TJ Max]

The drivers for the Asus are also several years old. But this Tempotec is basically a no nonsense audio card with no inputs. It has RCA outputs and a coax and optical optical outputs. That is why it appeals to me. I want something for music. I'm not a gamer or into movies so I don't need surround sound. though this can do 5.1 dolby digital through the digital outputs.
I found out through another website that it uses a Burr Brown DAC and Opamps are replacable and a 6.3mm headphone jack that can drive 600ohm headphones.
It seems like an incredible deal for $99. I'm surprised there's no discussions or comparisons about it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The drivers for the Asus are also several years old. But this Tempotec is basically a no nonsense audio card with no inputs. It has RCA outputs and a coax and optical optical outputs. That is why it appeals to me. I want something for music. I'm not a gamer or into movies so I don't need surround sound. though this can do 5.1 Dolby digital through the digital outputs.
I found out through another website that it uses a Burr Brown DAC and Op-amps are replaceable and a 6.3mm headphone jack that can drive 600ohm headphones.
It seems like an incredible deal for $99. I'm surprised there's no discussions or comparisons about it.

I did not see anything showing the Serenade comes with any Dolby software?
So you would need a separate software package, that comes with DDL (Dolby Digital live) or DTS's DTS-Connect, to send 5.1 out the cards S/PDIF (optical/coaxial) ports.
Hardware wise, it does look like a nice value, for $99.
The card comes with the C-Media CMI8888 (CMI8888DHT? or CMI8888DMS?) DSP chip, they are a native PCI-E interface chip
If you prefer
Is is possible the Serenade for audio quality, gives about as good audio quality the higher costing Essence STX II.......maybe?
For the price of the Serenade, you could get a used (the original) Essence STX card and use the software/drivers from Unified Xonar Drivers.
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
I myself could make use of the coaxial output, As with my NFB-11.28, I could run optical from my Cable TV box, while I could then be running coaxial from my Win 10 PC.
The Senerade might be something I would consider buying, just because I would like to replace my current Xonar DX (PCI card), with something that has a native PIC-E chip interface.
The Senerade comes with 4 op-amps sockets, so I'm going to assume(?), it's two socket are dual channel V/I and two are single channel each, for the buffer.
(have no idea what the stock op-amps are)
So if you into swapping op-amps, the Serenade would have that as a positive.
It sounds like you really have no need for a sound card, when an external DAC/head amp might do the job.
Spend $100 for an external headphone amplifier (technically better the the Serenade's head amp) and $30-$70 for an external DAC.

 

[PLUMbear]

The drivers for the Asus are also several years old. But this Tempotec is basically a no nonsense audio card with no inputs. It has RCA outputs and a coax and optical optical outputs. That is why it appeals to me. I want something for music. I'm not a gamer or into movies so I don't need surround sound. though this can do 5.1 dolby digital through the digital outputs.
I found out through another website that it uses a Burr Brown DAC and Opamps are replacable and a 6.3mm headphone jack that can drive 600ohm headphones.
It seems like an incredible deal for $99. I'm surprised there's no discussions or comparisons about it.

Hello
Have you finally got that Serenade?
Is it a real deal as an alternative to some mainstream boards like Asus Strix or Creative ZXR/AE-5?

 

[TJ Max]

Hello
Have you finally got that Serenade?
Is it a real deal as an alternative to some mainstream boards like Asus Strix or Creative ZXR/AE-5?

Yes I did get it, and I returned it a couple of days later.
I had too many issues with it.
1st I was getting really distorted sound for some reason, and the software often froze up my computer. I was able to remedy with a BIOs update to my computer.
2nd I was getting this ground loop hum from the analog outputs that took a long frustrating time for me to figure out. It was actually because my stereo system I was plugging them into was plugged into a different electrical outlet from the PC. I was able to fix it by having everything plugged into the same electrical outlet.

Now at this point its all problems with my PC and electricity running through my walls, and not so much the card.

But once all those issues were settled, then came problem #3. I couldn't play anything above 96khz 16bit, 88.2khz 24bit and 48khz 32bit.
The card is supposed to support upt o 192khz 32bit but I wasn't getting anywhere near that. If I tried to play any bit depth beyond the corresponding sample rate mentioned above I'd get distorted sound. I couldn't find a fix for this and the Tempotec Support responded like they didn't know what I was talking about. The last drivers were released in 2015. I decided to return the card..
I wound up getting a HT OMEGA Fenix PCI-Express https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005R5NJCY Which cost the same price as the Tempotec on Amazon. I recommend it because I plugged it in, turned on my PC and it just works. The drivers and software are all stable, and I'm able to get all the supported samples rates up to 192khz 24-bit.

Its primary usage is to allow a digital coax connection from my PC to my Schiit Modi Multibit. And everything is fine.

 

[PLUMbear]

Thank you for this quick response. I've just managed to decline an order. It looks like a pile of relays and exchangable opamps not always means an audiophilic quality.
You made my day(actually night here)). My red eyes will feel better this night.