[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
I will have to first see if I can get the Titanium HD (or regular Titanium) from my parents or something as a Christmas gift since they live in the States but I currently live in London. Then they can bring it over for Christmas. Otherwise, the Titanium HD goes for £110 here in London which is $170. 
 
Anyway, I always wondered...the Essence ST has 3 amp settings (normal, high and extra high) but if you are using the normal setting which is for headphones with less than 64 ohms, is the amp even turned on or is it just like using a non-amped line out? Meaning, if I did get an external amp and plug it into the headphone jack and use the normal gain setting would I still be double amping?
 
What is the potential negative impact of double amping?
 
The Titanium with an Objective2 is the most likely option if I keep the X1's but if I could potentially save money on not purchasing a new sound card then it would be worth it to know about the potential negatives of connecting the amp to the Essence ST headphone jack.

You can have your parents order the refurb Titanium (non-HD) from Newegg for $44.99 or the Titanium HD for $109 (free shipping to them?) and bring it with them on the plane.
Lots of people have used "double amping" and have been fine, but can not say for sure with your setup (just roll the dice).
An external amp can connect to the Essence ST's RCA output for great two channel (stereo) audio.
As the Essence ST uses a true headphone amplifier, the < 64-Ohm setting just means the headphone jack gets less voltage boost and I would guess the best setting for "double amping".
 
If you sold off the Essence ST and DT990, that would leave you plenty of cash for a headphone amplifier (O2, new $155) and whatever sound card you buy (Titanium HD?).

 

[chewy4]

Quote:

You can have your parents order the refurb Titanium (non-HD) from Newegg for $44.99 or the Titanium HD for $109 (free shipping to them?) and bring it with them on the plane.
Lots of people have used "double amping" and have been fine, but can not say for sure with your setup (just roll the dice).
An external amp can connect to the Essence ST's RCA output for great two channel (stereo) audio.
As the Essence ST uses a true headphone amplifier, the < 64-Ohm setting just means the headphone jack gets less voltage boost and I would guess the best setting for "double amping".
 
If you sold off the Essence ST and DT990, that would leave you plenty of cash for a headphone amplifier (O2, new $155) and whatever sound card you buy (Titanium HD?).

From my understanding this voltage boost is only the result of the volume increasing. stv014 posted some code a while back that showed how this setting was interpreted by Alsa drivers, and it only bumped up/knocked down the volume. 
 
 
But yeah J&R is currently offering free shipping on the HD. They're the guys selling it on Amazon right now.

 

[fatmaggot]

Does anyone have any idea of how the ST/STX would compare against a schiit magni/modi combo. At about the same price, I am not sure. I am more inclined to look into the magni/modi combo, as buying a soundcard for my computer would make a big difference in price for someone of my income. any help would be great.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Does anyone have any idea of how the ST/STX would compare against a schiit magni/modi combo. At about the same price, I am not sure. I am more inclined to look into the magni/modi combo, as buying a soundcard for my computer would make a big difference in price for someone of my income. any help would be great.

I'm going to guess there will be reviews coming out in the next 2 to 3 days on the Magni/Modi.

 

[Sylverant]

Quote:

Does anyone have any idea of how the ST/STX would compare against a schiit magni/modi combo. At about the same price, I am not sure. I am more inclined to look into the magni/modi combo, as buying a soundcard for my computer would make a big difference in price for someone of my income. any help would be great.

 
Well, if the Magni's output impedance is really less than 0.1 ohm's like Schiit says, then it should be a lot more versatile than the amp in the ST/STX, which has a 10ohm output impedance.

 

[stv014]

If you would prefer to have the features of a sound card, you may also consider the combination of the Magni and the non-HD X-Fi Titanium (for gaming in particular; you may even be able to find a used HD within your budget), or the Xonar D1 or DX.

 

[Snoozz]

FINALLY soldered 6 LME49990, THS4032, and AD797BRZ after a good looooong wait.  I definitely like AD797 better than LME49990...everything just blends in better in AD797 compared to LME49990.  And there's...4032, I put them in STX and saw white smoke...didn't want to risk it so I powered down comp, touched the chip and it was hot..too hot.   I have the THS4032[ID], so I'm guessing that just doesn't work at all for the STX.   Any help would be much appreciated. ^^

Oh, also bought OPA2107AP, but I'll let my ears enjoy 797 couple of weeks before I'll swap.

AD797 need 2 pcs on each dip? or only 1 like here http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Pieces-AD797AR-SOIC-to-DIP-Op-amp-replace-NE5534-/120757516362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1db5784a?

I know that LME49990 needed 2pcs on each channel. 6 all.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

AD797 need 2 pcs on each dip? or only 1 like here http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Pieces-AD797AR-SOIC-to-DIP-Op-amp-replace-NE5534-/120757516362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1db5784a?
I know that LME49990 needed 2pcs on each channel. 6 all.

The ones in the eBay listing are one single channel op-amp soldered on to a SOIC to DIP-8 adapter, will not work on the STX/ST.
 
The three op-amps sockets (DIP-8) on the STX/ST are dual channel each, the stock (factory installed) op-amps are dual channel (DIP-8) op-amps.
The LME49990 and AD797XX are single channel (SOIC) op-amps.
So you need two single channel (SOIC) op-amps soldered on to a dual SOIC to DIP-8 adapter, that can then be installed on the STX/ST's DIP-8 socket.
Only the two I/V sockets effect the headphone output, "Headphone" and "FP headphones" (front panel jack) settings
All three sockets, (two I/V sockets and the one buffer socket) effect the line-out outputs, "Speaker" (RCAs) and "FP Speaker" (front panel jack) settings.
 
This who I bought my AD797BRs from.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/mod-1x-AD797BR-Dual-to-Mono-Op-amp-module-ultralow-noise-replace-a-dual-op-/261100530695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccacdec07

 

[tofu]

Does anyone have any idea of how the ST/STX would compare against a schiit magni/modi combo. At about the same price, I am not sure. I am more inclined to look into the magni/modi combo, as buying a soundcard for my computer would make a big difference in price for someone of my income. any help would be great.

no one really knows what the new schiit amp/dac sound like, which makes all the hype surrounding them pretty baffling. i guess they're expecting a $99 bifrost.

i'd like to say "i'm sure it'll sound just as good, if not better", but who really knows? wait until a few in depth reviews are published. i'd hold off on buying anything for now.

 

[bcschmerker4]

Quote:

The ones in the eBay listing are one single channel op-amp soldered on to a SOIC to DIP-8 adapter, will not work on the STX/ST.
 
The three op-amps sockets (DIP-8) on the STX/ST are dual channel each, the stock (factory installed) op-amps are dual channel (DIP-8) op-amps.
The LME49990 and AD797XX are single channel (SOIC) op-amps.
So you need two single channel (SOIC) op-amps soldered on to a dual SOIC to DIP-8 adapter, that can then be installed on the STX/ST's DIP-8 socket.
Only the two I/V sockets effect the headphone output, "Headphone" and "FP headphones" (front panel jack) settings
All three sockets, (two I/V sockets and the one buffer socket) effect the line-out outputs, "Speaker" (RCAs) and "FP Speaker" (front panel jack) settings.
 
This who I bought my AD797BRs from.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/mod-1x-AD797BR-Dual-to-Mono-Op-amp-module-ultralow-noise-replace-a-dual-op-/261100530695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccacdec07

After reading the specs on the Analog Devices AD797 at Analog.com, I find it a definite rival to the NSC®/TI® LM6172IN for the I-V section upgrade (to supersede the stock JRC2114D) on my own STX (postponed due to an issue at work) and a to-consider for the line-level buffer (to supersede the stock NSC®/TI® LM4562N).  How's it fare for preference vs. the NSC®/TI® dual/hex--LME49990MA set-ups, in terms of per cent?

 

[cssarrow]

Has any of you put MUSES01 or MUSES8920 op amps on your Xonar Essence STX?

It sounds wonderful.

Too bad they're $50 each.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Has any of you put MUSES01 or MUSES8920 op amps on your Xonar Essence STX?
It sounds wonderful.
Too bad they're $50 each.

Many opamps can get very pricey, they are like anything else, some think they are worth the price and other not so much.

 

[genclaymore]

yea and more when you buying them already on the adapters already, it best to have some one you trust to put them on adapters for you. That way you get it done cheaply or with a trade.

 

[No Idea]

Hello, having a little problem with my STX and I was wondering of anyone could help me out
 
I was told on a number of occasions that the Xonar STX would be more than enough to drive a pair of Q701's despite people buying E9's and what not. However I'm struggling to get them to any decent volume even at full volume! Not that I ever have them at full because there is this popping sound that occurs when ever i go over 30% volume...
 
I have the most up-to-date drivers from ASUS and have turned on the HP "Extra High Gain" setting, that has got me where I am now. Does anyone have any ideas? Do I need an external amp? (Bearing in mind I spent all my money on a GTX 670... :/ lol)
 
Thank anyway,
 
-Tom

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello, having a little problem with my STX and I was wondering of anyone could help me out
 
I was told on a number of occasions that the Xonar STX would be more than enough to drive a pair of Q701's despite people buying E9's and what not. However I'm struggling to get them to any decent volume even at full volume! Not that I ever have them at full because there is this popping sound that occurs when ever i go over 30% volume...
 
I have the most up-to-date drivers from ASUS and have turned on the HP "Extra High Gain" setting, that has got me where I am now. Does anyone have any ideas? Do I need an external amp? (Bearing in mind I spent all my money on a GTX 670... :/ lol)

The STX's and E9 are about equal and use the same Amplifier chip (6120A2).
Did you disable the motherboard's built in audio (disabled in bios)?
What happens when the amplifier is on the Normal Gain setting?