[stv014]

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Motherboard (digital out) sounds absolutely horrid in my experience.  The ST or STX are vastly superior.  Whether or not they are superior to a cheap Xonar or whatever 24/192 card, I'm not sure, but onboard even for a digital source is atrocious...ymmv I guess)

 
In the sound science forum, there is a thread where only about half the attempts to tell apart the recorded analog sound of an onboard DAC from the original were successful, and so far no one has been able to hear the quality degradation caused by a D/A-A/D loop of a cheap Xonar D1. With a digital output, assuming that it is bit perfect and there is no data corruption or other problem, there is not likely to be a real audible difference with a good external DAC. But for a simple stereo sound with no DSP, you can also use USB instead of S/PDIF, making any sound card (onboard or not) unnecessary.

 

[Zulkr9]

 
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The LME49990 and AD797BR might be close to what your looking for.
Both need to be pre-soldered in pairs on adapters to work on the STX's DIP-8 sockets
So around $45-$55 total per set of three adapters.
 

 
lol english please I have no idea what what you are talking about .

P.s I think it was your posts about the xonar in head-fi that helped me confirm my purchase, I wasnt sure they would have enough power, do they gain more power after swapping op-amps or sth ?
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

 
Quote:

Quote:

The LME49990 and AD797BR might be close to what your looking for.
Both need to be pre-soldered in pairs on adapters to work on the STX's DIP-8 sockets
So around $45-$55 total per set of three adapters.

lol english please I have no idea what what you are talking about .
P.s I think it was your posts about the Xonar in Head-fi that helped me confirm my purchase,
I wasn't sure they would have enough power, do they gain more power after swapping op-amps or sth ?
 

Changing op-amps (operational amplifiers) more like "changes" the sound, if you want more bass or more treble or better vocals & sound stage.
The stock op-amps in the Essence STX are considered neutral.
Read the beginning of this thread, lots of into there on the STX and op-amps.
 
 

 

[Bam Bam Mickey]

Essence ST with 2xLME49720NA and the jrc in the other opamp slot, coupled with the HD 650's.
I love the sound they produce in this combo, and certainly punchier over standard opamps, with no loss of sharpness or detail.

 

[Audioexcels]

Quote:

 
In the sound science forum, there is a thread where only about half the attempts to tell apart the recorded analog sound of an onboard DAC from the original were successful, and so far no one has been able to hear the quality degradation caused by a D/A-A/D loop of a cheap Xonar D1. With a digital output, assuming that it is bit perfect and there is no data corruption or other problem, there is not likely to be a real audible difference with a good external DAC. But for a simple stereo sound with no DSP, you can also use USB instead of S/PDIF, making any sound card (onboard or not) unnecessary.

I only listen to two channel, but I do like to use some eq.  Do you have a link to the sound science forum thread.  I'd like to see how the testing was conducted.  In true abx tests, one can easily have a listener go on for hours and hours where unless the listener is on energy drinks, they'll fail the test.  But my idea of a true a/b is a simple switch box/system where we can hear one, then flip over to the other, etc.  Heck, when I've listened to 4 total transports recently, including two USB types, I honestly heard "very subtle" differences.  My pick/choice would come down to application and not due to one being more "synergetic" or whatever with my system.  For example, one had a sound that was so similar to another, it would be too difficult to choose which one.  These same compared to the Xonar ST were very close, but the ST had some kind of "extra" midbass-midrange, though it was still so close, I doubt or would even care less if I correctly picked out the ST or the others in the test.  Even my wife who wasn't listening as carefully as she usually does (too bad because she's got a great ear) still could hear the sound enough to say if she heard any differences and she said no.
 
Link me to the science forum test as I'm always interested in this kinda stuff.
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[audionewbieyao]

Man, finally, after using the stock OPAMP on my STX for almost 2 years, I've decided to give MUSE a try.
My MUSE will be coming tomorrow, can't wait to put it on and see what's the difference.
 
Fingers crossed for DHL, don't you delay my MUSE dude...

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audioexcels /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Link me to the science forum test as I'm always interested in this kinda stuff.

 
It is here.

 

[Audioexcels]

Quote:

 
It is here.

On my system, it is "heavily" clipping the signal regardless of the track.  There's a load of compression.  The two versions (Xonar or Motherboard are close enough it doesn't matter IMHO), but they are both "very" different than the original.  The original sounds more like an authentic version where the Xonar/Motherboard are trying to push more information through...I suppose a matter of taste, but I prefer the recording the most out of any of these.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

On my system, it is "heavily" clipping the signal regardless of the track.  There's a load of compression.  The two versions (Xonar or Motherboard are close enough it doesn't matter IMHO), but they are both "very" different than the original.  The original sounds more like an authentic version where the Xonar/Motherboard are trying to push more information through...I suppose a matter of taste, but I prefer the recording the most out of any of these.

 
Did you actually use the foobar ABX comparator, or just listened to the files sighted ?

 

[Audioexcels]

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Did you actually use the foobar ABX comparator, or just listened to the files sighted ?

Only the files from the link.  Is it better to use the ABX comparator?  

 

[stv014]

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Only the files from the link.  Is it better to use the ABX comparator?  

 
Yes, because when you know what you are listening to, it is easy to imagine slight differences that are actually not there. Using the ABX comparator plugin prevents that effect.

 

[bcschmerker4]

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Did you actually use the foobar ABX comparator, or just listened to the files sighted ?

A comparator switch would be an excellent way to test an external S/P-DIF power DAC (running PCM input) against the XONAR's® internal DAC, which can pump out through the headphone amplifier (1/4" (6.3mm) plug) or line-level buffer amplifier (dual RCA jacks); a clean source PCM (Microsoft® WAV or AVI, Apple® AAC, or similar) common to both devices is needed for this test, as heavy compression can thwart judging.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

I've been playing around with my STX for a couple of days now and it sounds great but to be honest with my HD598 its a bit too neutral for my tastes. I'm thinking of swapping out the op-amps. Is there anything that I should look into for a little more bass? I'm considering some LME49860s.

 

[pooley]

^^ Also would like to know this as i'm using some dt880's with my STX.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

I've been playing around with my STX for a couple of days now and it sounds great but to be honest with my HD598 its a bit too neutral for my tastes. I'm thinking of swapping out the op-amps. Is there anything that I should look into for a little more bass? I'm considering some LME49860s.

 
 
I don't know about op-amps, but after getting my Musical Fidelity M1DAC I realized how harsh and bright STX sounds. It became clear to me why Q701's suck when plugged into it.