[germanium]

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbulky /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Germanium. I read your post. When you say flat response beyond 10 mhz what do you mean? Are you talking FR figures? I was under the impression these figures are between 20-20000 hz. Also what kind of audible loss are you refferring to due to the coupling caps? Is it low-end coupling loss or mid-range? Could it cause what I'm talking about. Can a person with no soldiering experience do what you talked about? Also, is it reversible?

Audible response is considered 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Both lineout & headphone amp have orders of magnitude greater flat response than the human ear can detect. Both amps themselves are flat to beyond 1 megahertz.

The losses in the coupling caps are more like a smearing of the sound & as a result the overtone structure is no longer as clear as it should be. Bass is less defined sounding & there is a loss of natural energy to the music at all frequencies. The shimmering sound coming from cymbals is reduced but the harsher elements of the cymbal sound make it through so the cymbals end up sounding harsh but less detailed at the same time.

Removing the coupling caps resolve most of these issues. Sound is smoother but more dynamic at the same time transients have more natural intensity & searing gitare solos retain thier searing qualities (speaking only of those thar are meant to sound that way not those that aren't). Cymbals are smoother & more detailed.

Those that tried it along with instructions are in my thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/xo...ne-out-433996/. There other people have tried it & came to the same conclusion that I have that it sounds better in the ways I have described.

While I don't really recommend that someone do this that doesn't have any soldering experience the mod is very easy & reversable if you decided you liked it better stock. I recommend you find someone with at least some soldering experience to at least show you how on one & maybe you do the other with them looking on. This is a multilayer board & is easily damaged if you rush the process.

 

[jalyst]

Thank-you!

I cant see a "how-to" in that thread, haven't read it all yet though.

 

[garbulky]

Thanks for the response Germainium.
Okay so I take it back, all those comments I made about mid-range prominence and thin bass. IMO, it was my ears getting used to WAY better sound than my previous sound card. That or there was some sort of break-in/burn-in process working here. Right now to my ears, the bass goes quite deep, feels balanced and is very clear. Also the soundstage is really very good. Now, I haven't heard anything better than this soundcard and the HD600 with my headphone amp but I must say that I am shocked that such quality can be got out of my headphones which I bought refurbed for a little under 300 dollars (and medium bit rate mp3's at that!). I am receiving some axiom m80ti's soon and I can't wait to hear how they sound with the essence as its source.

 

[bogglor]

I recently bought a package deal -- Essence ST , H6 daughterboard, and HD-650s -- through a private sale online. Everything is connected and sounding great except for one thing.

I have Logitech Z-5500s for my PC speakers (I know, I know...) and am having an issue connecting them up to the H6 daughterboard. Basically, it seems that the center and sub channels are dead. I can't get them to register a test sound at all. I know that the cable coming from the Logitech control unit is fine, and I know that the 3.5 to RCA adapter is fine (I have tried many) since they work with my Realtek on board. I've tried to deliberately misroute (ie attempt to output other channels on the center and sub jacks) with no luck either. All other ports on the board work fine. Is it possible that just these 2 jacks are bad and that I should RMA the card or is there something in software that I might be missing?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Do you have the bass redirection turned on?
I mean you should still be able to hear the test sound but this might help.
I am unsure which OS you are using but if you are using Vista..etc set up the audio control panel in the main control panel. Also verify they are connected to the proper outputs on the H6 DAC card.

 

[bogglor]

It's Windows 7 x64, latest drivers. Speakers set to 5.1 inside of Windows but as you know, messing with the Asus channel setting changes this (and has no effect regardless -- it doesn't work in 5.1, 7.1, whatever) Everything is connected correctly as far as the 3.5mm wire (orange if memory serves, dont have it in front of me right now) that carries the sub/center from the Z-5500 control head. This is correctly going in to the proper ports on the H6. I have tried center/sub swap also to no effect. The ports just seem dead to me.

 

[Telix]

Dumb question, you guys... I have been updating the STX tweak/impressions thread, is there significantly different information in this ST "sneak peak" thread that both need to exist? I've changed the title of the STX thread to "STX & ST" to try to include both, but is that not going to work?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Basically everybody has been keeping the information here.
Compiling both into one thread is not a good idea, they are very different cards as the ST can be surround. If a person is looking for information on the ST they don't want to weed through a bunch of information on the STX.

 

[Telix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Basically everybody has been keeping the information here. Compiling both into one thread is not a good idea, they are very different cards as the ST can be surround. If a person is looking for information on the ST they don't want to weed through a bunch of information on the STX.

Can you help me with the differences between the two cards, for a question in the STX FAQ? I'm not sure what they are, entirely, besides the clock.

 

[bogglor]

I would keep the threads separate, yeah. There's a zillion useless, bordering on trollish posts by this one guy in this thread alone where he provides little to no valuable info (I read all 96 pages). I can't even imagine how many the other thread contains.

The fundamental differences I gleaned are the clock, the ability to connect the H6 daughter card for multichannel analog surround, and the one thing that nobody has mentioned yet -- DRIVERS. The STX drivers can't be used for the ST. I really had to go hunting around to find them since if you just go to the Asus site, only the STX drivers are readily available.

 

[ROBSCIX]

The drivers are similar but the ST allows the options for the surround sound add-on board. oth driver will be outfitted with auto sample rate adjustment for ASIO on the next release.

 

[forciano]

I recently got some OPA 827 for the I/V ( thanks again Robscix). After getting some synergy issues sorted out. I can definitely say that the sounds seems more accurate or as it should sound in real life, bass is perfect not overwhelming. The mid range is also pretty good, and depending what Im listening to the upper frequencies can get a bit to high for my taste, but reducing the gain in my amp a bit has fixed this.
I can also say that listening lossless music is a real joy, and seems that will force me to update my music collection to get most out of my setup.

 

[forciano]

And I might add listening to some Carlos Santana and Michael Jackson CD's is just makes me drool with this setup =)

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forciano /img/forum/go_quote.gif And I might add listening to some Carlos Santana and Michael Jackson CD's is just makes me drool with this setup =)

Glad you are enjoying them. Many actually suggest they like these over the legendary 627's... I think they both sound very similar.

 

[mojave]

Yesterday I had a chance to try some different opamps. I ended up with AD8620BR for the buffer and LT1469 for the I/V. This combo is very dynamic and detailed, yet not fatiguing. To me, it felt the most lifelike of any of the combos I tried. The OPA2107 was too harsh and the OPA2277, while smooth, seemed less detailed and had a darker feel. I actually tried many combos of both buffer and I/V using these opamps and also LT1358 an LT1057.

For the center/subwoofer buffer I also used the AD8620BR. I used the LT1358 for the I/V (I plan to get another LT1469 for the Center). For the surrounds I used OPA2107 for the buffer and OPA2277 for the I/V. I may change the buffer on these to something else.