[Bipolarsmile]

Hey guys,
Im new here,not sure if this is the right place to post this at.
Currently i have my Sennheiser HD650 with a Xonar Essence Stx which i tought about upgrading.
i heard got stuff about the Audioengine D1 and Fiio E17
So my questions are if either one of them is an improvement?
Will i hear a difference with my Stereo Speakers?(i have Microlab Solo 7c stereo speakers)
And if i do upgrade should i just take the stx out or just plug the dac right into the Stx?
 
Would greatly appreciate any help or comment.

 

[MrTechAgent]

Don't bother wasting your time with those DACs ..I have a STX as well and I'm upgrading my amplification (Burosn Soloist SL) , the STX has a exquisite DAC for the price
To use an external amp with the STX is easy , the RCA ports at the back (Speaker Mode in Control Panel) will by-pass the amp and just use the DAC (No Double Amping) ....cheap DAC upgrades will not reveal that transparency in the top end to get that 20% out of your Summit-Fi system....good amplification upgrades and then time for a topflight DAC  

 

[whirlwind]

  Don't bother wasting your time with those DACs ..I have a STX as well and I'm upgrading my amplification (Burosn Soloist SL) , the STX has a exquisite DAC for the price
To use an external amp with the STX is easy , the RCA ports at the back (Speaker Mode in Control Panel) will by-pass the amp and just use the DAC (No Double Amping) ....cheap DAC upgrades will not reveal that transparency in the top end to get that 20% out of your Summit-Fi system....good amplification upgrades and then time for a topflight DAC  

 
yup.....great dac ....works like a charm

 

[Bipolarsmile]

First of all thanks for the quick replays =]
Which amp for you reccomend to get for the Stx?
and another question....which DAC/AMP would be an upgrade to the stx?
 
Again thanks a lot for the helpful info.

 

[MrTechAgent]

  First of all thanks for the quick replays =]
Which amp for you reccomend to get for the Stx?
and another question....which DAC/AMP would be an upgrade to the stx?
 
Again thanks a lot for the helpful info.

I don't think I can specifically name any DACs cause I haven't heard all the best systems out there , but I have heard some ...
Auralic and Violectric are some good options (Since you didn't state any price range ) , if you are into tubes then Little Dot makes some solid stuff for a good price , just make sure the Output Impedance is below 2 ohms to get the best control over the transducer 

Even 2 ohms is too high 

 

[Bipolarsmile]

Are there any amps you would suggest pairing up with the STX for up to 300-400$ that would make an audible difference?

 

[headphonatic]

Are you willing to buy from Ebay? If so take a look at this
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-SMSL-Sanskrit-24bit-192kHz-USB-DAC-Coaxial-Optical-Decoder-SD-1955-upgrade-/261384157525
 
Won't find a better DAC for the money.

 

[Bipolarsmile]

And this DAC would be an improvement over the STX? if not then which DAC or AMP as suggest should i look at at the range of 400$
 
Thanks again for your help guys 

 

[headphonatic]

  And this DAC would be an improvement over the STX? if not then which DAC or AMP as suggest should i look at at the range of 400$
 
Thanks again for your help guys 

The prices for a good source are starting to fall, since the parts don't cost much to attain. Although, implementation of the DAC chip is the most important factor, our Chinese counterparts can provide the same thing for a lot cheaper. Switch out a couple of the op amps, and its one of the best DAC's overall. 

 

[netsky3]

  Are you willing to buy from Ebay? If so take a look at this
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-SMSL-Sanskrit-24bit-192kHz-USB-DAC-Coaxial-Optical-Decoder-SD-1955-upgrade-/261384157525
 
Won't find a better DAC for the money.

 
How it is sounds??

Do you know something about its chip? I am thinking to buy it for an upgrade.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bipolarsmile /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

Which amp for you reccomend to get for the Stx?

 

You are supposed to match amps to headphones (or speakers), and not in the sense of EQ effects (ex. a "warm" colorifier to balance out a bright headphone) but in the sense that you avoid using an amplifier that may have some kind of issue with the impedance or sensitivity rating of whatever you want to drive.

 

In this case you can try something like the Meier Jazz, which works well on high impedance, higher sensitivity headphones, but can handle low impedance and even low impedance+low sensitivity headphones. I have the Cantate.2, which is the older, slightly warmer amp that came before the Jazz, and een that one will go far beyond hearing damage levels on the HD600 before I even hear distortion and noise.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bipolarsmile /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

and another question....which DAC/AMP would be an upgrade to the stx?

 

It won't necessarily be an "upgrade" unless there's something wrong with the design of the STX, like a colored output stage or high crosstalk. I don't think either is true for the STX. One advantate with using a DAC-HPamp though is that you shorten the analog circuit paths, which is ideal even though not necessarily audible. For that you can try the AudioGD NFB-15. 

 

Note that it will need to be able to take SPDIF inputs, just like the NFB-15, to utilize the DSP functions on the soundcard, like if it comes with any kind of virtual surround simulation for gaming, like Dolby Headphone.

 

[DjBobby]

   
How it is sounds??

Do you know something about its chip? I am thinking to buy it for an upgrade.

In the meantime they have a newer version, called Sanskrit 6 anniversary. They replaced the chips for the CM6631A, WM8740, JRC2114MD, claiming to work now on 32bits /192khz. 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-new-Sanskrit-decoder-DAC-6-anniversary-edition-Optical-fiber-coaxial-USB-input-support-mobile/1694538293.html

 

[netsky3]

 
In the meantime they have a newer version, called Sanskrit 6 anniversary. They replaced the chips for the CM6631A, WM8740, JRC2114MD, claiming to work now on 32bits /192khz. 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-new-Sanskrit-decoder-DAC-6-anniversary-edition-Optical-fiber-coaxial-USB-input-support-mobile/1694538293.html

 
What do you know about its sound?

 

[DjBobby]

   
What do you know about its sound?

Nothing, yet. I have ordered it out of curiosity. On it's way, probably will have it next week.
 
Update: Sanskrit 6 arrived today. First impression: pleasantly surprised. Plug and play on Macbook, absolutely no noise on USB, works up to 192khz with no issues. As for the SQ will need some more days for the final verdict. For now, coming from Modi2uber, I would say Sanskrit sounds sweeter and goes somewhat deeper in the sub-bass.