[GamerOne]

 

Dont have the answer for Op-amps, but I wonder,  how well does that card run the K701's?

I runs them quite nicely indeed, though I don't have any external amp or anything to compare with. I do however experice the sound to be a bit too bright at times and also a bit lacking in bass impact, this is also why I'm looking for some new op-amps that might be more appropriate for them. Though this might also be because the headphones are new and haven't been "broken in" yet.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

 

I runs them quite nicely indeed, though I don't have any external amp or anything to compare with. I do however experice the sound to be a bit too bright at times and also a bit lacking in bass impact, this is also why I'm looking for some new op-amps that might be more appropriate for them. Though this might also be because the headphones are new and haven't been "broken in" yet.

Sounds nice.  I'm wondering because i'd like to buy the STX for my new HD650, since D2X is not quite powerful enough to power them without an amp, they lack some bass and mids feel recessed, which is not something you'd expect from HD650's. As for  K701's, I'm guessing there are op-amps that would make the K701's sound darker , but I think the lack of bass is one of their main characterstics.  I heard it in a store connected to a pretty beefy class-A amp (musical fidelity m1hpa) and they didn't have a great bass impact, much smaller than HD600 or HD650 for example.

 

[vyyye]

How good/bad is the built in amp in the Xonar Essence ST? Or how much would I have to pay to start seeing improvement if I do get a desktop amp? Headphones I use is the AH D-2000, considered getting the Asgard but frankly not sure what the difference in sound will be at all.

 

[Head Injury]

Don't get it for the D2000. Its output impedance is too high, and you don't need a lot of power so the Asgard is unnecessary as well. Get something smaller.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

How good/bad is the built in amp in the Xonar Essence ST? Or how much would I have to pay to start seeing improvement if I do get a desktop amp? Headphones I use is the AH D-2000, considered getting the Asgard but frankly not sure what the difference in sound will be at all.

Xonar ST / STX should have much better headphone amps built in than D2X, and my D2X runs HD650's pretty nicely, plenty loud and it sound pretty good.  I also have a 300 dollar Pro-ject headbox se II headphone amp, and doesnt really make a difference in terms of sound quality. Its just louder with it.

 

[vyyye]

 
 
 


Quote:

Xonar ST / STX should have much better headphone amps built in than D2X, and my D2X runs HD650's pretty nicely, plenty loud and it sound pretty good.  I also have a 300 dollar Pro-ject headbox se II headphone amp, and doesnt really make a difference in terms of sound quality. Its just louder with it.

 
Quote:

Don't get it for the D2000. Its output impedance is too high, and you don't need a lot of power so the Asgard is unnecessary as well. Get something smaller.

Thanks for the quick replies. That's encouraging for my wallet, and my expectations to boot (both soundcard and headphones were dispatched yesterday).
 

 

[d8n0g]

I have some lme49990's ( DUAL SOIC LME49990 DIP8 ADAPTER) if anyone is interested...

 

[anddy78]

Quote:

I have some lme49990's ( DUAL SOIC LME49990 DIP8 ADAPTER) if anyone is interested...

Give away?
 
One question: Would be possible to take the balanced signal after the I/V stage of the card to a balanced amp?
I'm thinking in do that and feed a balanced cmoy whit BUF634 buffers in the outputs and cheap balanced recable my K701, just for testing.
Could that be done?
 
 

 

[d8n0g]

Quote:

Give away?
 
One question: Would be possible to take the balanced signal after the I/V stage of the card to a balanced amp?
I'm thinking in do that and feed a balanced cmoy whit BUF634 buffers in the outputs and cheap balanced recable my K701, just for testing.
Could that be done?
 
 

I honestly don't know...
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Give away?
One question: Would be possible to take the balanced signal after the I/V stage of the card to a balanced amp?
I'm thinking in do that and feed a balanced cmoy whit BUF634 buffers in the outputs and cheap balanced recable my K701, just for testing.
Could that be done?

If you hooked a separate (headphone) amplifier to the Essence STX, you would more then likely use the RCA jacks, which would provide a nice solid signal to the external amplifier,
which of course would bypass the I/V stage (and built in headphone amp.) of the STX.
 
Better to spend around $25 (or more) to upgrade the two op-amps (I/V) on the STX.
 
 
 

 

[anddy78]

Quote:

If you hooked a separate (headphone) amplifier to the Essence STX, you would more then likely use the RCA jacks, which would provide a nice solid signal to the external amplifier,
which of course would bypass the I/V stage (and built in headphone amp.) of the STX.
 
Better to spend around $25 (or more) to upgrade the two op-amps (I/V) on the STX.
 
 
 

Sorry but the RCA jacks don't bypass the I/V stage, and the idea posted before is for getting a balaced signal from the xonar.
 

 

[d8n0g]

Sorry but the RCA jacks don't bypass the I/V stage, and the idea posted before is for getting a balaced signal from the xonar.

You are correct sir, using the rca's utilizes all 3-am i correct in that assumption?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Sorry but the RCA jacks don't bypass the I/V stage, and the idea posted before is for getting a balaced signal from the xonar.

So the info on page one of this thread is incorrect?

 
 
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Quote:

Sorry but the RCA jacks don't bypass the I/V stage, and the idea posted before is for getting a balaced signal from the xonar.

You are correct sir, using the rca's utilizes all 3-am i correct in that assumption?

So the info on page one of this thread is incorrect?
 
 
 

 

[Bojamijams]

Yes it is wrong.  The RCA output uses both I/V opamps and the buffer opamp. The headphone out uses the I/V opamps and TI op-amp thats the actual headphone amplifier.
 
Quote:

So the info on page one of this thread is incorrect?