[freestyler]

Link for the drivers i talked few posts earlier: http://www.mediafire.com/?i6wz3y8cfnhusn2
 
It's easier to switch from ASIO to direct sound without problems.
For example let's have you have a VOIP program open like ventrilo. Now you can't start foobar with asio cause you get "can't open device" (or smth like that) so you had to close ventrilo first and then open foobar. When u want to use ventrilo again, you have to close foobar first.
Also if you were playing music through the new bit-perfect asio and then opened a youtube video or a game, the sound would get stuck on an infinite loop (which is extremely annoying when you are listening in high volumes) and then you have to stop the foobar manually.
 
All in all it's less hassle free to "play" with the bit-perfect ASIO, resulting in a better experience.
Also you get the new red colored theme control panel and the asio properties are available on the right click menu of the tray icon.
Add in the mix that the delay when monitoring is lower i think and those drivers easily surpass the stock ones.
 
Also the creator said something about preparing new modded drivers. So thanks again to him.

 

[dex85]

it's sad that some people have to do what Asus should have done a long time ago. i honestly don't think they will release final bit-perfect drivers this year, given how long it took them just to release beta drivers. hopefully i'm wrong.

 

[jalyst]

They're really "dragging their feet" on the software side....
Then again their only competitor with resources for soft-dev beyond generic dvrs are creative, so it makes you realise why they're so slack
 

 

[hellenic vanagon]

Quote:

Jitter is very hard to measure accurately
 

Τhank you ROBSCIX!
 
 

 

[fufula]

 
Quote:

Link for the drivers i talked few posts earlier: http://www.mediafire.com/?i6wz3y8cfnhusn2
 

 
Is there an XP x86 version available?

 

[giedrys]

What I like about these new modified drivers is the ability to play 88.2 and 176.4khz files thru bit perfect ASIO. Other than that, something's wrong. I gear a lot of noises, clicks etc. during playback.

 

[ROBSCIX]

,,then yes something is wrong.  If you just let music play without touching the system you have pops and clicks etc.?

 

[joms]

Hi may i ask a noob question? Do I need to buy the Xonar  Essence ST plus H6 daughter card if i plan to have a 2.1 system only? The STX cannot do 2.1 right?
 
Also, if I am ONLY to use the Asus Xonar ST on my 2.1 (Audioengine 2 speakers plus velodyne impact 10 subs), then i should not worry about upgrading the I/V opamp as i've read that it is only for the headphones? What I should only upgrade is the buffer opamp.. .right? Its just that I see a lot of people who uprades all 3 opamps. Do all of you guys use headphones and bookshelf speakers?
 
Anyway, in this regard, whats the best opamp for you (i know its subjective but I live in the Philippines and there is no opamp nor xonar card here and I only order in the internet and have it delivered which takes a month+ so I rely mostly on reviews). Anyway, I'm interested in a sweet/dark/laid back for my front speakers and a good bass (subwoofer). Jazz/pop/piano/vocals are my interest. I dont play techno/rock or the like, Hmmm another thing, does the subwoofer have its own opamp in the H6 card?  If so, whats the best opamp for it? I'm not interested at all on the center/rear/side/headphone channels.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 

 

[Apocalypsee]

 
Quote:

Hi may i ask a noob question? Do I need to buy the Xonar  Essence ST plus H6 daughter card if i plan to have a 2.1 system only? The STX cannot do 2.1 right?
 
Also, if I am ONLY to use the Asus Xonar ST on my 2.1 (Audioengine 2 speakers plus velodyne impact 10 subs), then i should not worry about upgrading the I/V opamp as i've read that it is only for the headphones? What I should only upgrade is the buffer opamp.. .right? Its just that I see a lot of people who uprades all 3 opamps. Do all of you guys use headphones and bookshelf speakers?
 
Anyway, in this regard, whats the best opamp for you (i know its subjective but I live in the Philippines and there is no opamp nor xonar card here and I only order in the internet and have it delivered which takes a month+ so I rely mostly on reviews). Anyway, I'm interested in a sweet/dark/laid back for my front speakers and a good bass (subwoofer). Jazz/pop/piano/vocals are my interest. I dont play techno/rock or the like, Hmmm another thing, does the subwoofer have its own opamp in the H6 card?  If so, whats the best opamp for it? I'm not interested at all on the center/rear/side/headphone channels.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 

You need a lot of reading. Both the ST AND STX are 2.1 stereo card, the ST + H6 daughter card is only for surround
 
From my understanding the I/V is needed for both RCA out and headphone out, the I/V stage is to change current the DAC spit out and convert it to voltage before going to buffer. So after the I/V stage it split to the buffer and/or the headphone amp
 
Read this thread and the STX tweaking/ Q&A impression thread for some opamp recommendation

 

[dex85]

yes, not much of a competition drivers wise 

  
also Asus is wide oriented in IT market, audio represents a tiny portion of market to them, so i wouldn't be surprised if they didn't give much resources and attention into drivers development (i imagine they are heavily undermanned in that department).
Quote:

They're really "dragging their feet" on the software side....
Then again their only competitor with resources for soft-dev beyond generic dvrs are creative, so it makes you realise why they're so slack
 

 

[ROBSCIX]

 
Quote:

 

You need a lot of reading. Both the ST AND STX are 2.1 stereo card, the ST + H6 daughter card is only for surround
 
From my understanding the I/V is needed for both RCA out and headphone out, the I/V stage is to change current the DAC spit out and convert it to voltage before going to buffer. So after the I/V stage it split to the buffer and/or the headphone amp
 
Read this thread and the STX tweaking/ Q&A impression thread for some opamp recommendation

2.0 is stereo
2.1 refers to included subwoofer, which could be used on these cards IF, the subwoofer was part of the speakers system and didn't require a dedicated output. 
Many soundcards overlook TRUE 2.1 support.  Meaning a set of stereo speakers along with a dedicated subwoofer output.  Even cards that support 5.1  don't seem to properly support true 2.1 systems.  It is a shame, but we may see some future cards with the proper support for 2.1 systems.
 

 

[mojave]

Quote:

Hi may i ask a noob question? Do I need to buy the Xonar  Essence ST plus H6 daughter card if i plan to have a 2.1 system only? The STX cannot do 2.1 right?

 
That is correct, you do need the ST with the H6. You also need to set the input and output in the Xonar control panel to 5.1. This will allow you to use the card's bass management to redirect the bass to the subwoofer output. If you are watching movies, you need to downmix with your decoder (ffdshow, for example) to 2.1. If you are gaming and only want 2.1, you need change the speaker setup in Vista or Windows 7 control panel so that it is set to 2.1. You do this by configuring in the control panel to 5.1, but then turning the Center and Surround channels off by unchecking their boxes.
 

 

[germanium]

Robscix is correct you do not need the H6 card for 2.1 speakers. I'm currently running a 2.1 setup myself on an Asus Essense STX card which has no analog out option for surround & it works quite well. He is also correct in the card not truely supporting 2.1speakers with a seperate feed to the sub. With anything less than 4.0 out when using the H6 card on the ST you would be wasting your money on the H6 card unless you plan on updating to 4.0,5.1 or 7.1.
 
The trick that Mojove talking about may work with videos that have a seperate sub channel but probably not for music so to me it is not practical as most music does not have a seperate feed for a subwoofer & if hooked up in the way it would be used for video you would end up with anemic bass from the sattelites with music. Hook the 2.1 speaker up though as you would use the with music & set your video programs to feed the 2.0 signal instead of the 5.1 & you will have the best possible of both worlds for 2.1 speakers. With the video program set to 2.0 you will probably get the dolby surround mix which through high quality speakers & amps still gives a good impression of surround as there is phase information in that that would give a much wider sound picture in some situations than the way that Mojave suggested. Dolby suuround uses phase & amplitude to steer the channel & this shows through even with 2.0 & 2.1 speakers. The impression of surround is not as pronounced as with having all the speaker it is designed for but the effect in some cases has a more natural feel as it is not as overdone with only 2 main speakers.

 

[mojave]

You aren't wasting your money on anything less than 4.0 when using the H6 card. I do 95% of my listening to music and use the subwoofer output of the H6 card. I obviously couldn't do this with just the ST so the H6 is well worth it. I use the high quality bass management in J. River Media Center, but one could just use the drivers bass management using the settings I gave above for a 2.1 output when listening to music. If you are using your Essence ST in a computer that is your HTPC or preamp/processor, then you probably need the H6.
 
The scenarios when you can get 2.1 and just use the ST are when you have powered speakers/subwoofer combo like the ones from Klipsch or Logitech. These have the crossover built into their amplifier and it redirects the bass to the "subwoofer." Also, if your subwoofer has high level speaker outputs, you can first send the signal from your amplifier to the sub and the on the speakers.
 

 

[ROBSCIX]

Yes, that is the other use for the H6 if you do not want full surround is use it for a dedicated subwoofer output.
When speaking with various companies I always suggest offering user TRUE 2.1 options for users as 2.1 seems to be a very popular configuration.
using high quality stereo speakers but also have the subwoofer for the lower end of the spectrum or for bass reinforcement.
You may see this option on  a few cards in the futre.