Shahrose
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok, so I've been waiting for the card to burn-in to post my impressions. I think it's been long enough. I'm using the RCA Line-out to feed an M^3 amp (see sig). I tested with FLAC/320kbps MP3's through Foobar2000 0.9.6.2 WASAPI 24-bit enabled. 24/96khz was selected in the Windows soundcard properties. Headphones used were the DT990 Pro and the HD650. My computer PSU is the Corsair 520HX.
In short, there is a noticeable increase in SQ over the HT Omega Claro Plus+, and every other soundcard I've owned (see profile). The soundstage is very large, and it's the first thing you notice. The sound is very holographic and layered and several times during the course of my testing, I had to check if my speakers were on. This happens with me sometimes, but with the STX the effect was occurring much more frequently...which is a good thing.
The second thing I noticed was that the STX had a smooth sound, there was no hint of harshness that I've encountered in every soundcard thus far (the Prelude got close to this smoothness, but not quite). The card is also not as bassy as my previous Claro Plus+ but the bass is noticeably tighter and more well defined. Surprisingly, although there's slightly less bass on the STX, it his more impact and slam than the Claro Plus+. I think this is a result of the quicker transients I'm hearing on the STX as well as the faster attack. I have both cards installed and tested them side by side for the assurance that these differences are real and not placebo. In fact, the differences aren't just real, they're clearly audible.
As a result of the smoother and more neutral sound, the midrange and thus, voices, are more prominent and there's a better sense of space around voices.
I'm also pleased to report that the background is completely black with the soundcard + amp volume maxed out.
In short, there is a noticeable increase in SQ over the HT Omega Claro Plus+, and every other soundcard I've owned (see profile). The soundstage is very large, and it's the first thing you notice. The sound is very holographic and layered and several times during the course of my testing, I had to check if my speakers were on. This happens with me sometimes, but with the STX the effect was occurring much more frequently...which is a good thing.
The second thing I noticed was that the STX had a smooth sound, there was no hint of harshness that I've encountered in every soundcard thus far (the Prelude got close to this smoothness, but not quite). The card is also not as bassy as my previous Claro Plus+ but the bass is noticeably tighter and more well defined. Surprisingly, although there's slightly less bass on the STX, it his more impact and slam than the Claro Plus+. I think this is a result of the quicker transients I'm hearing on the STX as well as the faster attack. I have both cards installed and tested them side by side for the assurance that these differences are real and not placebo. In fact, the differences aren't just real, they're clearly audible.
As a result of the smoother and more neutral sound, the midrange and thus, voices, are more prominent and there's a better sense of space around voices.
I'm also pleased to report that the background is completely black with the soundcard + amp volume maxed out.
