[Fakeyfakerson]

So, I recently picked up a xonar stx and beyerdynamic dt 770's 80 ohm to go with it, upgraded from onboard audio and hd 280's, sounds awesome. What I'm wondering about is the built in amp from the essence STX. What's the quality like? It has 3 settings, +0dB for 0-64 ohms, +12dB for 64-300 ohms, and +18dB for 300-600 ohms. Since my headphones are 80 I'm using the +12dB setting, is this the most appropriate? Would I be able to switch to the newer 250 ohm version of the dt 770's and still have it sound as good, or is this amp (TI TPA6120A2) not really meant for that? If it's capable, I would like to exchange mine for the newer versions, they're supposedly even more comfortable than the 80 ohm version, and they look better.

Thanks.

 

[ROBSCIX]

The quality is reasonable considering the price of the unit and what you get. If your thinking it will compete with high end external amplifiers, you would be incorrect. This is just a chip amplifier and will not stand up to tube amps or high end solid state amplifiers for sound quality.

The amp should have enough power to drive the other headphones.
To note: the line out of the card is of higher quality then the headphone output so many are using the line out connected to an external amplifier. You can also change the I/V opamps to change the signature of the headphones amplifier to some extent.

 

[Fakeyfakerson]

Yea, for the time being a dedicated amp is out of my budget, so this seemed like the best use of money for both an awesome sound card for music and gaming. Is the recommended setting of +12dB the best for my headphones, or would they benefit more from the higher setting?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Use the recommended settings. Onboards amps are good exactly what your using them for. Considering the price though, you can only expect so much.

 

[Fakeyfakerson]

Alright will do, thanks. Since you seem knowledgeable and while you're here (lol) do you know (posted this in another thread) 'will leaving on the DS3D GX DSP effect have any affect on my music or anything else, or will it only be activated when I start up a game? Just wondering since I sometimes forget to turn it on when I first launch a game, would be easier to leave it on all the time.'

 

[ROBSCIX]

The GX setting is for effect emulation with games that require EAX/openAL support.
There shouldn't be any difference for normal music..etc.IIRC.

 

[Fakeyfakerson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif The GX setting is for effect emulation with games that require EAX/openAL support. There shouldn't be any difference for normal music..etc.IIRC.

Alright, thanks again, I'll just leave it on 24/7. I also have to remember to turn the number of channels from 2 to 8 while gaming.