[kumaiti]

I suspect volume increase, though I wouldn't bet on that.
 
 
At least in my system, when using ASIO I can only control the volume on Foobar making it much much harder to adjust the volume to the "just right" position, which ends up a little louder than if I was using the knob on Xonar Control Panel
 
 

 

[dex85]

^you're not getting bitperfect output if you change the volume in foobar. it's same thing as with asus control panel, digital volume attenuation, thus cannot be bitperfect if not left at 100%.
 
@walsh: i agree that improvements are easily noticeable, everything is clearer, better defined and easier to follow. in other words, clarity is seriously better. there must have some issues with previous drivers.
 
you will get automatic bitperfect output only with ASIO. for games etc. you have to manually select it in the control panel.

 

[dex85]

i guess ASIO bit-depth settings become irrelevant since it's automatic. same as with asus control panel 

 
Quote:

Thx,dex

 
control panel looks identical in xp.
 
BTW: if you use asio caps the bitperfect driver is identified but the caps and control panel buttons no longer work for me.
 

 

[kumaiti]

And how exactly the user is supposed to control the volume if the only slider that works when ASIO is enabled as the output in foobar is the volume slider on foobar itself?
 
If I leave it at 100% I can hear the music almost 2 rooms away from the the headphones.
 
Also, if I remember correctly, ROB mentioned that the main volume "knob" on Xonar Control Panel doesn't do digital volume attenuation, it actually controls the output power of the amplifier chip.
 
Quote:

^you're not getting bitperfect output if you change the volume in foobar. it's same thing as with asus control panel, digital volume attenuation, thus cannot be bitperfect if not left at 100%.
 
@walsh: i agree that improvements are easily noticeable, everything is clearer, better defined and easier to follow. in other words, clarity is seriously better. there must have some issues with previous drivers.
 
you will get automatic bitperfect output only with ASIO. for games etc. you have to manually select it in the control panel.

 

[dex85]

^you can use dedicated headphone amp for headphones and integrated amplifier or pre-amp+power amp for speakers with analog volume pot. but bit-perfect is overrated anyway. if you care mostly for automatic sample rate and bit depth then there is nothing wrong about using foobar's volume control.
 
about the STX's volume control. it's certainly digitally controlled but i'm no expert on this so maybe someone else can clear this out. bottom line is you won't get bit-perfect output by tampering with foobar's volume slider. 

 

[8-bit thief]

I bought an OPA2604, put it in the buffer slot of my STX and it made the lower treble really harsh, I thought this couldn't be right so I tried putting it into my Little Dot I+ and BAM warm, liquid sound with no harshness, I later read that this opamp can be harsh if it's not fully powered, I really like the sound of it in my Little Dot, and I'd like to try them out in my STX's I/V slots but I'm afraid to purchase more because of the probability that they'll be unstable like they were in the buffer zone, does anyone know if the I/V slots provide more power than the buffer?

 

[Steve-o27]

A quick question guys... I'm currently downloading the new drivers for the Xonar ST. Before installing them do I need to remove the old drivers? I'm using Windows 7 x64 btw.
 
Never mind, I uninstalled the drivers in the end and installed the new ones. Installing the new ones on the old ones produced a strange hiss after the restart.

 

[RicHSAD]

I didn't notice a single difference between the old and the new drivers SQ wise. I am going to go with placebo on this one.

 

[Bojamijams]

Quote:

I didn't notice a single difference between the old and the new drivers SQ wise. I am going to go with placebo on this one.

Same, no difference in sound quality. However, I've always used WASAPI before so when I switched to ASIO to try this out, everything was a LOT louder. I think this is why people think its 'better, clearer, etc". Once I volume matched it, everything was fine.
 
Odd thing is though, now when I want to play through ASIO I get "Hardware Not Present" error when it worked the first time I tried. Very odd. Oh well, back to WASAPI.

 

[Telix]

Balls, my first post I spent all that time on is completely screwed.

 

[dex85]

interesting that many people don't hear a difference. i guess something went wrong when i was installing the old drivers, because what i'm hearing now is beyond placebo (i matched the volume levels by estimate, as with ASIO it's 100% at all times). it's much easier to understand what singers are saying now. with double voices, with one being more in the background, it's easier to pick it up and follow. with older drivers sound was kinda blurry, now it's pure focus. also it's easier for me to tell bad recording from good one. + all those things that i mentioned earlier.  what operating system are you people using?

 

[Steve-o27]

Well I installed the new drivers and I didn't feel the difference... I'm using Win 7 x64 + foobar2k with ASIO4ALL. I tried the „bit perfect drivers” but I didn't hear any difference except the fact that everything was played at a much lower volume. Isn't Asio4All doing the same thing as the these new drivers? I mean I tried everything, mp3s, 16bit FLACs, even 24bit/96KHz FLACs comparing ASIO4ALL and this new driver and I can't hear a damn difference. When I was using wasapi I was able to differentiate wasapi from ASIO4ALL because 24bit/96KHz files sounded muffled when using wasapi.

 

[mojave]

Quote:

interesting that many people don't hear a difference. i guess something went wrong when i was installing the old drivers, because what i'm hearing now is beyond placebo (i matched the volume levels by estimate, as with ASIO it's 100% at all times). it's much easier to understand what singers are saying now. with double voices, with one being more in the background, it's easier to pick it up and follow. with older drivers sound was kinda blurry, now it's pure focus. also it's easier for me to tell bad recording from good one. + all those things that i mentioned earlier.  what operating system are you people using?

I installed the new drivers for my Essence ST last night. I also listen to music that has some additional vocals specifically when I want to listen for any improvements. When I had a less resolving system I used to only hear the main singer's voice. Now I can hear the accompanying vocals. Last night I listened to a few songs like that and the new drivers do have an improvement in separation and detail.
 

 

[dex85]

i'm also using W7 x64. i never tried the ASIO4ALL but i guess it's a good thing you can't tell a difference among WASAPI and ASIO foobar's plugins and ASIO4ALL. that means the new drivers are doing better job than the old ones.
 
Quote:

Well I installed the new drivers and I didn't feel the difference... I'm using Win 7 x64 + foobar2k with ASIO4ALL. I tried the „bit perfect drivers” but I didn't hear any difference except the fact that everything was played at a much lower volume. Isn't Asio4All doing the same thing as the these new drivers? I mean I tried everything, mp3s, 16bit FLACs, even 24bit/96KHz FLACs comparing ASIO4ALL and this new driver and I can't hear a damn difference. When I was using wasapi I was able to differentiate wasapi from ASIO4ALL because 24bit/96KHz files sounded muffled when using wasapi.

 

[dex85]

i hear the same thing with supporting vocals. they are more present, articulate and easier to notice/follow. with old drivers main and supporting voices were more blended. i hope we are not both crazy 

but i'm confident we hear the real thing. it's too big to a placebo.
Quote:

I installed the new drivers for my Essence ST last night. I also listen to music that has some additional vocals specifically when I want to listen for any improvements. When I had a less resolving system I used to only hear the main singer's voice. Now I can hear the accompanying vocals. Last night I listened to a few songs like that and the new drivers do have an improvement in separation and detail.