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ok bought a new pc arriving during the week, have an asus xonar essence stx ti fit in it, have corsair sp 2500 speakers ,ordered a set hd 650s, ok so a) do i need a extra amp for my headphones or do is the one on the sound card enough if not could you recommend reasonably priced ones and would this plug straight in to the headphone port on the card.
b) would you guys recommend anything else for this set up
horus,
It case you weren't aware, unlike many other sound cards, the Xonar STX card requires additional power from your new pc's power supply. The STX has a molex connector on the back to accept additional power directly from the pc power supply. The reason for this is to "hopefully" obtain cleaner power to provide better audio. A poor pc power supply can adversely affect the sound you hear from the STX (and any other sound card for that matter). The quality of pc power supplies in pre-built systems can, unfortunately, be quite variable.
The Windows CD that comes with the STX has software which, after it's installed, will allow you to select 3 different (in effect) power settings for low, medium and high impedence headphones. Your Sen HD650s are 300 ohm phones so you should start with the middle setting and if you don't feel you have enough volume, go to the top setting. The STX will power the 650s, but it will be up to your own ears to tell you if it's enough. I am not familiar with your headphones, but I believe the majority consensus on these forums it that you should use an external headphone amp to get the best sound out of your 650s. A search like "amp for HD650" will bring up several threads for you to read on various opinions about which head amps mate well with the 650s. You might want to consider Schiit Audio's (http://schiit.com/), very highly regarded, and reasonably priced, headphone amps.
If you intend to use the STX with an external headphone amplifier (without its own internal DAC)
do not plug the external head amp in to the "headphone" output jack of the STX. The "headphone" jack on the STX is only intended for direct connection of a pair of headphones. Use the RCA left/right analog line outs.
My additional suggestion for software media player for Windows would be either Foobar2000 or J.River Media Center 16.
These forums contain a vast amount of useful data, you only need to "search" for it.
I think the HD650 is a great headphone and the STX is a good source. Enjoy.