[Shredicus]

Hm, I'm no pro when it comes to soldering, but that doesnt look too tricky. I''ll definitely keep that in mind when I get the upgrade itch again hehe. Good info, thanks

 

[nakaroxx]

whats the best opamp that can be used on asus xonar essence stx?49720HA?

 

[Bigbuddha]

burson discrete opamps hands down ... for me .. nothing approaches them for sound quality ...

 

[Gradius]

Quote:

Hm, I'm no pro when it comes to soldering, but that doesnt look too tricky. I''ll definitely keep that in mind when I get the upgrade itch again hehe. Good info, thanks

Not hard at all, just some job and time needs to put on it, but it will be worth 100x. 
 
About the quality, it opens the sound even more, I though it would be near impossible to be even better than I already had with bursons, but IT DID!  And I couldn't believe it!  Almost cryed.  lol!
 
Now I have one of very best sound card available for PC today.

 

[nakaroxx]

what op amps are these?

 

[soulj4h]

Would you guys consider a new STX for $160.00 shipped a decent deal?

 

[matbhuvi]

Quote:

burson discrete opamps hands down ... for me .. nothing approaches them for sound quality ...

They are costlier than the card for me

 
Quote:

Would you guys consider a new STX for $160.00 shipped a decent deal?

For new? yes it is a good deal..not for refurb or used.

 

[nakaroxx]

burson op amps or stock op amps + little dot mk v?which one is the best?

 

[Gradius]

Quote:

burson op amps or stock op amps + little dot mk v?which one is the best?

Burson = over $200 + shipping.
 
I guess that answer your question.

 

[nakaroxx]

so, its better to use little dot mk v instead of burson opamp?

 

[walsh]

Quote:

You will need two soldering irons to get the original (tiny) crystal out of PCB, after that do some cleaning with isopropyl alcohol.  You'll need to soldering the new one, here are the tips:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433533/upgrading-the-crystal-x0-on-essence-stx/195
 
Keep in mind Vanguard is +5V, I used AZ7805D (U20), and his GND too:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433533/upgrading-the-crystal-x0-on-essence-stx/210
 
I did something similar to catx, however I got GND from U20 as well, I used 24AWG (from Cat5E since they are good quality) for both (+5V & GND).  The only thing soldered directly (pin from clock) to PCB was Vanguard's (clock output) signal.

Which post were you referring to with the instructions? The one with the 3 steps or the 4 steps further down?
 

 

[giedrys]

 
Quote:

 
Not sure.  I know support was added for those files awhile back.  Which drivers are you using?
If there was no support they wouldn't sound like sh... they just wouldn't play at all.

 
 

Right now using latest official drivers from ASUS, but tried many "unified" ones with same result. I really don't get it- everything that plays thru wasapi (except 88.2 and 176.4 of course) plays great. Everything thru ASIO-awful. Besides a lot of artifacts, I hear "everything" else what's going on on PC- mouse clicks when switching playlists, noise when web browser is loading etc. Maybe it has something to do with widows sounds settings. But then again- settings are "no sounds". And I hear nothing "foreign" when using wasapi. Crazy stuff.
 

 

[Gradius]

Here is the complete instructions:

 
Clock (pin 7) to GND of AZ7805D (marked as no.1 on picture)
Clock (pin 8) to no.2 on picture (X1 on PCB, that is XTAL1 from pin 46 of AV100)
Clock (pin 14) to pin 3 of AZ7805D (no.3 on picture, that is +5V output)

Clock pin 1: you can cut it if you want.

Asus AV100:
46: XTAL1 (clock input)
47: XTAL2 (clock output)

 

[Gradius]

Quote:

 

Right now using latest official drivers from ASUS, but tried many "unified" ones with same result. I really don't get it- everything that plays thru wasapi (except 88.2 and 176.4 of course) plays great. Everything thru ASIO-awful. Besides a lot of artifacts, I hear "everything" else what's going on on PC- mouse clicks when switching playlists, noise when web browser is loading etc. Maybe it has something to do with widows sounds settings. But then again- settings are "no sounds". And I hear nothing "foreign" when using wasapi. Crazy stuff.
 

Looks like IRQ sharing problem.
 
Btw, I'm using LINE OUT, setup to 192kHz@24-bit (always) and the last unified drivers.
 
Using 44.1kHz@16-bit for CDs just won't make any sense to me, this is more a "purity" thing and in fact you are LOSING quality by doing that.

 

[giedrys]

OK, care to share how to fix this potential "IRQ sharing" problem?