[g-san]

Hi All,
 
After much reading I've decided to open thread to try and compare a Yulong D100 against a Xonar Essence STX (and my first post to boot). I am currently using the card with ATH-AD700s but I plan to upgrade to DT880 600s and a decent Tube amp.
 
I'm not certain about the rules for posting websites, but I've managed to find a really good deal for the D100 and I am wondering whether it will be worth it to jump ship.
 
Any thoughts on this?
 
Cheers
 
 
Edit: Answered my own question (see post below).

 

[reiserFS]

Definitely, all external desktop DACs will beat the STX. At such a nice deal you'll get reference quality. You will need a DAC if you plan to get a amp, because otherwise you'd just amplify the EMI.

 

[Professor00179]

@g-san - the STX is going to be a definite upgrade. STX can compete only with similarly priced DACs so there is no question whether the Yulong will beat it.

 

[g-san]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've ordered the D100 and is on its way - will post more info once it arrives (legitimacy and reliability etc).

 

[zenpunk]

Make sure to report here if you can actually hear a difference between the two.

 

[moonshake]

Quote:

Make sure to report here if you can actually hear a difference between the two.

+1 

 

[reiserFS]

Don't worry, he will.
 
Quote:

Make sure to report here if you can actually hear a difference between the two.

 

[g-san]

Received my D100 3 days ago and I must say it sounds alot better out of the box than my Xonar Essence STX. I'm not very good with detailed impressions but I'm very happy with the purchase and I feel that it is a worthwhile upgrade.
 
Hooked up to my older X-fi card which I find better for positional audio and gaming is even more of a bliss!
 
Now to sell the sound card and get better phones... (DT880 600s perhaps?)

 

[satanicoo]

Dear g-san,
 
could you comment on your sound quality on USB Yulong vs Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer -> Yulong D100?
I have a Yulong D100, and have been using it trough USB, now i adquired an Asus Xonar Essence STX card for audio positioning, but it really sounds a bit worse when listening to music, some backgroung noise and just not the same detail.
 
What is your experience like?

 

[zenpunk]

The STX should be abslolutely silent if your computer use quality parts. People concerned about SQ should also make sure spread spectrum is enable in the bios and avoid overclocking. 

 

[Bojamijams]

What does spread spectrum have to do with audio SQ?

 

[zenpunk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum.
 
I only mention it because gamers often overclock their PC ( I used to) and many websites recommend turning it off. It also seems to be some kind of paranoia surrounding EMI inside PC. 

 

[Bojamijams]

I'm very skeptical that the EMI that the processor produces can be felt far enough away in a desktop computer to be picked up by the sound card.  On smartphones and other tightly packed devices, yes spread spectrum is important. But in a desktop computer, I doubt it.  Especially since the STX for example comes with an EMI shield. 

 

[zenpunk]

I completely agree and as the article specifies it not a perfect solution either. It is just that many people attribute a poorly performing soundcard to "nasty EMI" and "dirty power supply" when most problems reside with badly set up PC and/or drivers. The STX is a great sounding card and you will have to spend quite a lot of cash on an external DAC to best it.
If you are concerned about EMI and use your PC mainly to play music it is safe to have Spread Spectrum turned on as  it is was designed to minimise EMI interferences, even if people are still debating how effective it is.

 

[AlexRoma]

Very good thread.. At the moment I am chosing between these two parts for DAC use with my LittleDot MKIII tube amp.. 
 
Any other comments, impressions, would be appreciated, as I am still not sure what to choose.. Is the difference in sound that big to justify the twice the price difference between these two device (STX vs Yulong D100) ?
 
Buy the way, I am gonna use DT880-s 600ohm and Sennheiser HD600 headphones.  At the moment I use Audinst HUD MX-1 as source DAC, and am not quite happy with it's overall performance..