[walsh]

Quote:

 I am considering trying the Burr Brown OPA 627 in the I /V slots with these handy guys ( http://www.audiophileproducts.com/opamps   see OPA 627 Superchip), essentially 2 SOICS premounted on a DIP-8 adaptor. I've figured these seem like the right opamp from me because their darker, rich sound would balance out my bright Grado 325is, which with the stock opamps i find too bright and fatiguing. I've countlessly read up on many of the other opamps, but their characteristics don't seem to line up with what i'm looking for which is a visceral, natural and warm sound as opposed to distant, bright, larger soundstage etc.
 
My question is, has anyone tried the 627s in the Xonar essence STX? If so, observations? I understand the 637 would be a bad choice because of the higher gain it requires, but from what I can tell the 627 should work just fine.
Second, is there any significant benefit to using the line-out for my grados and playing around with the buffer op-amp? I realize that I could endlessly toy around with different combinations in the buffer and the I/V but I honestly don't have the time. My big goal here is simply to move away from the bright fatiguing sound to something warm and punchy, without losing too much detail of course and it seems to me that the 627 is the best choice given its reputation and description.
 
 
 
 
 

If that's your goal you won't regret moving to discretes. No IC op-amps are as warm in my opinion.
 

 

[Kurashima]

I just ordered an STX from a local company. My Darkvoice amp kind of died, and my Emu 0404 USB is getting on and emits an annoying high-pitched sound, so I figured it's time for something new. I do have one question though (forgive me if it's a stupid one):
 
Because the amped head-phone out is at the back, it's kind of inconvenient if you're planning on using multiple headphones, and so I was thinking about buying a 1/4" TRS male to female cable to use as an extension for it. My question is, is this fine to use for an amped signal, or would there be any degradation / loss of power along the way? Basically, would it sound just as good as plugging the headphones straight into the output at the back? Planning on going with a Blue Jeans MSA-1 cable if it is indeed acceptable. 

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

I just ordered an STX from a local company. My Darkvoice amp kind of died, and my Emu 0404 USB is getting on and emits an annoying high-pitched sound, so I figured it's time for something new. I do have one question though (forgive me if it's a stupid one):
 
Because the amped head-phone out is at the back, it's kind of inconvenient if you're planning on using multiple headphones, and so I was thinking about buying a 1/4" TRS male to female cable to use as an extension for it. My question is, is this fine to use for an amped signal, or would there be any degradation / loss of power along the way? Basically, would it sound just as good as plugging the headphones straight into the output at the back? Planning on going with a Blue Jeans MSA-1 cable if it is indeed acceptable. 

Yes, the extension should be fine.  You would get into trouble with really long runs or really poor quality cables.
 

 

[Angelbelow]

Hey guys, so a few posts back I was recommended kernnel streaming for winamp and I went ahead and installed the plugin but its buggy to an annoying extent. I wasnt sure it was making a difference since I only had Flac 16/44khz files. However, recently I was able to get some 24bit/96khz FLAC files but I am unsure what the best set up is, I went ahead and configured the kernel streaming for my winamp but there is a small amount of static and it seems to change the sound of my FLAC 16/44khz files to a more muddy but live sounding output. I was wondering what the best set up for playing 24/96FLAC files are.
 
Also, I downloaded the newest driver for our sound card, but I dont really see the ASIO plugin available for winamp or where to locate the plugin file.
 
I have Asus stx essence, winamp pro 5.601, onkyo HTS5300 receiver.

 

[Kurashima]

Quote:

Yes, the extension should be fine.  You would get into trouble with really long runs or really poor quality cables.
 

Thanks, I'll go ahead and order a cable then!
 

 

[Kurashima]

Got my card in and installed after many grueling, nightmarish hours (see my installation problem and solution here). First impressions, though I'm somewhat tired after my ordeal, are wow! This thing sure has a lot of power amp-wise. Paired with my HD650s, everything sounds very full, powerful, and rich. Without going into too much detail, sound is very good, clear and detailed (though nothing will still compare with the balanced set-up I tried for a while clarity-wise). All the same, I knew the sound would be good, and thought it would have enough power to properly amp the 650s, but I am really amazed at how well it does, based on my first impressions anyway. The sound of the Emu 0404 USB's that I used before, while I knew didn't have a good enough amp, is absolutely crushed, chewed up, and spit out by what this outputs. Though I had some really stressful hours after Windows wouldn't recognize my card at all, pretty happy now! Nice to know too that if I want to play around with the sound in the future, it's possible to do so.

 

[Meh]

Hey all, I recently bought this card and it's great so far, but I do have a few questions.  First off, what's so special about the UNi drivers I keep hearing about?  The stock drivers from ASUS seem pretty good to me.  Also, does anyone else hear weird noises in the background under normal OS use?  I'm on Windows 7 x64.  It kind of sounds like a weird humming noise or something.  Every time I do ANYTHING within my OS.  Even when I move my mouse around the screen I hear a sound within Windows.  It's fairly annoying.  There's also the fact that when I start up any movie there's a weird sound that plays before the movie's audio starts up.  It kind of sounds like a film reel.  Am I the only one having these issues?  Lastly, does anyone have a list of op-amps that I could browse through that would give me a description of what each do?  I'm using Sennheiser HD555's and Shure SRH-840's, though I'll probably getting a different more powerful set in the future and one thing I would like is a little more bass, but I'd also like to see what else is out there to help improve my sound.  Thanks a bunch!

 

[audionewbieyao]

If it ain't break, don't fix it. The official drivers are fine, don't bother try other stuff unless you feel necessary.
 
Is your system grounded properly? the humming noise sounds like your system has bad power grounding issue, but you should change a better power and try again.
 
As to the bass, have you tried the EQ settings in the Xonar audio center? it's really the easiest way...
 
Good luck... 

 

[drez]

Opamp rolling can address the lack of bass, as well as other aspects of audio presentation to suite your preference.  Only thing to be wary of is opamps on adapters - I think thats how I just killed my STX.  Ordering an ST to replace it.
 
Btw if anyone could post pics of their discrete opamp installation, no matter how crude, I would appreciate it greatly
 
Good luck sorting out your noise issue.
 
On a smooth topic shift I'm working on my silent pc build.  Should have a definite influence on the noise floor  Will post about it elsewhere.

 

[bunit]

How do the cheaper discreet amp solutions (<$100) compare to the ST/STX's built in headphone amp?  Are they worth the premium?

 

[gg5004]

I own the Xonar Essence ST and recently picked up the Little Dot MK III to give my phones a bit more power. What is the best way to connect the xonar ST (for the DAC) to the Little Dot?

 

[genclaymore]

Connect the Xonar ST to the little Dot Mk 3 thru RCA, if you do it thru the hp amp out. you will be double amping.

Drez. ouch, The Notch on the op-amp and adapter should face the same direction as the notches on the op-amp socket.

 

[drez]

yeah it cam pretty close to killing my headphones also actually as it was putting DC through the left headphone channel - it killed my old sony ex90's I used to test it...

 

[genclaymore]

If that was to happen to me, I be outta luck audio wise for a very long time.

 

[walsh]

Quote:

Opamp rolling can address the lack of bass, as well as other aspects of audio presentation to suite your preference.  Only thing to be wary of is opamps on adapters - I think thats how I just killed my STX.  Ordering an ST to replace it.
 
Btw if anyone could post pics of their discrete opamp installation, no matter how crude, I would appreciate it greatly
 
Good luck sorting out your noise issue.
 
On a smooth topic shift I'm working on my silent pc build.  Should have a definite influence on the noise floor  Will post about it elsewhere.

How did you kill it by using adapters? I'm a bit worried about my soldering job, my STX has started sounding a bit strange.