Does anyone know how the headphone amp in the Xonar Essence gets the -12V? Since the opamp circuit requires a dual-polarity power supply and the pci-express only has +12V, does it use a negative voltage generator to generate the -12V in some way?
The Headphone Amplifier used in this card is Texas Instruments 6120A2 (120dB SNR, 100dB THD+N @ Vcc±12V, RL=600Ω, f=1kHz)
Originally Posted by d(((--)))b /img/forum/go_quote.gif It uses molex connector from your power supply... With out that it w ould not work at all.
You didn't get my question.
The essence draws a 12 volt line from the pci-e and a 5V line from the molex connector (+12V --> 0.15A, +5V --> 0.68A). And the PCI-Express gives only +12V, not -12V.
Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad I'm not crazy.
I am speaking with ASUS to make all of the Dolby options available no matter what output you choose in the software. That way we can have the option to choose and still be able to use the amped headphone port.
Asus Essence STX linked via RCA-to-RCA cable --> amp --> headphones.
Analog Out set to '2 Speakers'
Using the 'Dolby 7.1 Speaker' feature.
Dunno why it's so different sonically from the headphone out tbh.
I read up earlier on this thread that the OPA2114 opamps were for the headphone-out and the main, better, LM4562 opamp was for the main front out.
Could be wrong though but that's what I read.
Might also explain the difference in SNR as well (117 dB for the headphone out vs. 124 dB for the analog out).
Here's an update: the new driver (xp) downloads and installs fine. It took a few extra restarts to get the icon to "stick" in the notification area by the clock.
I swapped the 2114's for OPA2134's and everything sounds really nice. My impression is that the bottom end is "chunkier" (a good thing) than previously, but it's really impossible to be sure without 2 rigs side by side. However, the opamp swap doesn't hurt anything, so you all can proceed safely with your own experiments.
Also the difference in SNR between the 2 sets of outputs would be due to the higher voltage gain in the headphone circuit. As the gain goes up, the noise floor comes up with it. In any event, the difference is inaudible.
Well I got my STX card. Initial experimentation seems to show that higher gain + lower volume gives better results than lower gain and higher volume. This seems counter-intuitive to what I've always been told, in that lowering the volume digitally obscures digital information in the sound, and shouldn't sound as good as higher volume. But it definitely sounds cleaner and more fleshed-out the other way around.
As far as the upgrade from my old card goes, I'm surprised by how small a jump this is. I got my old cheapo Audigy 2 Value to sound damn good with software tweaks, and while this card definitely has cleaner highs, and better lowend control, I didn't get the wow-factor I was hoping for going from a ~$50 sound card to this flagship monolith. More listening is required, however.
Originally Posted by Reputator /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I got my STX card. Initial experimentation seems to show that higher gain + lower volume gives better results than lower gain and higher volume. This seems counter-intuitive to what I've always been told, in that lowering the volume digitally obscures digital information in the sound, and shouldn't sound as good as higher volume. But it definitely sounds cleaner and more fleshed-out the other way around.
As far as the upgrade from my old card goes, I'm surprised by how small a jump this is. I got my old cheapo Audigy 2 Value to sound damn good with software tweaks, and while this card definitely has cleaner highs, and better lowend control, I didn't get the wow-factor I was hoping for going from a ~$50 sound card to this flagship monolith. More listening is required, however.
interesting. the move from the Audigy 4 (same as Audigy 2 really) to the X-Fi to the Prelude was noticeable and from the Prelude to the Claro Plus+ even moreso. i don't know how you can miss the difference from the Audigy 2 to the Essence. maybe you were expecting way too much. OTOH, i would say your amp is also limiting your sound chain.
Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif interesting. the move from the Audigy 4 (same as Audigy 2 really) to the X-Fi to the Prelude was noticeable and from the Prelude to the Claro Plus+ even moreso. i don't know how you can miss the difference from the Audigy 2 to the Essence. maybe you were expecting way too much. OTOH, i would say your amp is also limiting your sound chain.
It's not that I miss the differences, it's just that they were smaller than I expected.
It should be noted I no longer use that amp since going to this card. I tried RCA out > Porta Corda MkIII but it didn't sound as good as the built-in amp.
I will be receiving my Essence sound card today from Newegg great thread lots of excellent information here I do have a couple of question with regards to my setup I would like to ask.
Firstly I downloaded the user manual to take a look at the I/O of the card.
I am a little confused about something why does the manual show input 3 as the dedicated headphone output to plug in your cans, an then under connecting headphone it say’s to use RCA-to-3.5mm Y cable?
The other question is I have to sets of phones one is the Sennheiser PC 350 which is a gamer set obviously it as 2 jacks one for the mic, and the headphone input.
Would you guys connect those as the manual suggest which is RCA-to-3.5mm Y cable to the left and right outs or would you guys use the dedicated headphone jack, and then plug in the mic accordingly.
I want to achieve the best possible audio quality for both music listening through my HD595, and also make sure that all my connections are proper.
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