[Winterlord]

Hello all,

Recently, after I bought some nice speakers and an integrated amplifier I thought about upgrading my source, which is a Xonar D2 sound card. The new Xonar Essence STX seemed like the perfect upgrade, with RCA outputs, a great DAC chip and replaceable op-amps. However, after reading a bit and after some of the hype settled down, it seemed like there are better alternatives for upgrade, such as a dedicated external DAC. My main uses are music, gaming and some movies, and I always listen is stereo. So, I wondered, could a nice sounding external DAC (for no more than 250$) could really be a better alternative for upgrading my source?

Oh, and one more thing, I am feeding my preamplifier with the front out from my soundcard, should I verify that the output signal at it's peak is about 0dB at the driver main console, or should I set the volume to maximum and feed that signal to my amplifier?

BTW, I have a very good power supply (Corsair HX520), which produces a very clean power signal, so it has an advantage over external DACs without dedicated power supplys, and with the Essence getting power straight from the power supply, to keep the signal as clean as possible, this could mean that the Xonar might be better for me. Can it still beat dedicated DACs or are they are still better for my uses?

Thanks

 

[Winterlord]

Nothing?

 

[thebathingape]

I haven't heard the Essence yet, but getting an external DAC was a huge upgrade for me when it came to sound quality.

I don't think the Essence can match an external dac at all. Correct me if im wrong

(I have a Xonar D2X).

 

[oqvist]

Did you replace the Xonar with the DacMagic? That costs quite a bit more... I am not hundred percent sure you can get a DAC that is significantly better then the Essence for the same amount of money

. It also depends if you need some of the features of it.

I am on the line here as well. I have no doubt external DACs if you are prepared to pay is better though. I might be lucky in that I got a good PSU and don´t hvae any issues with noise at all or anything with my Elite PRO. I don´t have any external DACS but it surely beats some denon cd stereos and cd players I tested them with. But that denon stereo was very high end in the 90s so not the newest....

Seems like the Essence is quite a bit better than the Elite PRO and considerably cheaper so I am wondering at what price levels you need to go with external DACs to give a significant improvement. I do want to go that route but it quickly gets expensive with cables.

 

[Alydon]

AFAIK the only person that has compared the Essence to an external DAC is taso89. He compared it to a Zero DAC with an upgraded OPA-Earth discreet opamp, and he found the essence to be "CLEARLY superior."

I'm sure there are many DACs out there that are superior to the Essence. But for $200 I think you'd be hard-pressed to find one.

 

[thebathingape]

Yes I use optical out from Xonar to the Dacmagic.

I borrowed a zero dac/amp for a little and comparing it to the Xonar D2X it sounded much more controlled and defined, but too dry for my tastes (this will probably be different with changing the dac/opamps etc). The Xonar was more airy and warmer, but bass was much more bloated.

I would go the DAC route from what i have experienced, but i was not too excited by the zero. I am very very happy with the Dacmagic though.

Anyone with both an Essence AND an external DAC in here?

(ahh Alydon you just answered that ^^)

 

[Alai]

Maybe because the Dacmagic is three times the cost?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebathingape /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes I use optical out from Xonar to the Dacmagic. I borrowed a zero dac/amp for a little and comparing it to the Xonar D2X it sounded much more controlled and defined, but too dry for my tastes (this will probably be different with changing the dac/opamps etc). The Xonar was more airy and warmer, but bass was much more bloated. I would go the DAC route from what i have experienced, but i was not too excited by the zero. I am very very happy with the Dacmagic though. Anyone with both an Essence AND an external DAC in here? (ahh Alydon you just answered that ^^)

 

[thebathingape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe because the Dacmagic is three times the cost?

Yes I know he knows. Just comparing with the few things I have tried

 

[Winterlord]

Well, this is hard.. the DacMagic may be a better source, but the Xonar is considerably cheaper, anyway, I just noticed that there might be some problems installing an Essence here, because the PCI-e slots are adjacent to the power hungry 8800GTS, and even if there is enough room, the heat might just fry it.

Maybe I should save up and get the DacMagic, I don't know already.. the problem is that these products are not available here, so I must order them online.

I am very tempted to go the DacMagic way, but doesn't it upsample everything?

 

[MikeW]

read the valab thread in the dedicated source forum... 180$ shipped. Not sure how it compares to the sound card, but it beats the zero. it's also got USB, Coax, and Toslink input, uses I2S for USB, with a very new DIR9001 reciever chip. It's a TDA1543x8 non-oversampling design, it's also got passive output, no opamps at all

 

[thebathingape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterlord /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, this is hard.. the DacMagic may be a better source, but the Xonar is considerably cheaper, anyway, I just noticed that there might be some problems installing an Essence here, because the PCI-e slots are adjacent to the power hungry 8800GTS, and even if there is enough room, the heat might just fry it. Maybe I should save up and get the DacMagic, I don't know already.. the problem is that these products are not available here, so I must order them online. I am very tempted to go the DacMagic way, but doesn't it upsample everything?

I am not saying to just go for the Dacmagic. Just something better than e.g. a zero dac which didnt really impress me. Maybe a Valab DAC like MikeW is suggesting.

 

[oqvist]

keep it simple stay with soundcards... I have been for the last week at the same time as getting used to my PRO 900 been researching for I don´t know how many hours now about what DACs available... You always find two new ones you need to research. Exchange rates being horrible and the only one I can find here in Sweden is the V-dac. DacMagic is sold out everywhere.

I actually dreamt that I was going for new york. I don´t know if it was a birthday present or something but the airplane kind of missed the landing... It made a very tight low pass turn very near some light posts and what do I see on the right side... A huge neon sign for a galleria with the signage "meiers audio". I was so happy I was going to get there and get a bargain but then I woke up

As it´s now Keces 131.1 is the only one I haven´t heard anything bad on that prevents me from getting it. But well that is more then 2x the DACmagic... I just don´t want to spend 300$ and then realise there wasn´t much of an improvement over what I already have.

 

[BigTrouble]

You may want to consider if one day you wanna switch to headphones (or have 'em being part of your rig), Essence's got a built-in headphone amp just so you know.

 

[Alydon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTrouble /img/forum/go_quote.gif You may want to consider if one day you wanna switch to headphones (or have 'em being part of your rig), Essence's got a built-in headphone amp just so you know.

This is a very good point. Winterlord, looking at your sig it appears that you don't have a headphone amp. The 225's you have dont really *require* and amp to sound decent. But they will really sing once you properly amp it, and the amp section of the STX is more than sufficient to drive them.

So in essence (pun intended) you'll be getting two upgrades: An upgraded source, and an amp as well.

And, you can then sell your current D2 for $100 in the FS forums here or on eBay, etc, making your net cost for the upgrade ~$100.

So for $100, you'll get:

• And upgraded DAC
• A headphone amp
• RCA outs
• Replaceable opamps

Yep, I think in your case the STX is the way to go.

 

[oqvist]

Get an external amp and you have more choices in term of soundcards is an option as well.

I am so lucky that I actually found a DacMagic here in town will be interesting.

As for placement yeah the PCI E slot is quite close to my 8800 GTX as well... But on the cold side at least so might work. Anyone have any idea how well the Essence can coexist with other soundcards? I heard there was an issue with Prelude and the Essence?