ASUS Xonar Essence STX

[EmoRarity]

I will opt to refute your claim with a simple: no.

But mah gayman' qualitah. 

[helping]

But mah gayman' qualitah. 

[Lauen]

I am a regular gamer / music listener and I can tell you that onboard sound is shit, big time.

well if you have actual shit onboard, then maybe. but I really hear no difference between my onboard sound (Realtek ALC892 on a Sabertooth 990FX R2.0) and my ASUS Xonar D2X, I actually use my onboard more, due to the usefulness when using lower impedance headphones or IEM's (sometimes I use my J33's on my desktop, and that is nice, considering the soundcard downright DOES NOT WORK with my IEM's, I tried, and I think I basically fried the J33i's I had).

[EmoRarity]

My onboard sound is not "shit" but my STX is way better, now I have the HD 598`s but soon I will buy the HD 800`s, can`t use onboard with those headphones...

To bad that the high output impedance kills the HD598's, and its to bad that the HD800 has no bass response, and is nothing more then an over hyped plastic money furnace that kinda makes you hate music.

[EmoRarity]

I can select how much impedance output I want from the card and I don`t care about bass.

No...no you can't, output impedance isn't selectable, its a result of circuit design, and the STX has a poorly designed circuit.

And while you don't care about bass, you will care when its never there, as it is like missing a third of the song.  

[Ginge620]

I had an issue with the onboard sound on my Asus Crosshair IV Formula. When i had something plugged into line in it would buzz through headphone out. So i wanted to get an overkill soundcard and the Essence STX was what i chose. Not had any issues with it at all. Like how it uses PCI-E connector not to mention it looks beast. The asus audio software could be improved but functions fine, no issues with drivers. Only bad thing i can think of is that it uses a molex connector for additional power which is a bit of a pain. Overall i dont regret buying it.

[EmoRarity]

2- From the Xonar Audio Center I can select the gain

3- I don`t care about bass because I don`t listen to music with bass, don`t like bass at all.

A software selector doesn't change hardware limitations, your output impedance is set, its is permanently set, it can't and never will change.

I have yet to find a genre of music that doesn't have bass in it, simply because all music does to some extent or another. 

There are cheaper options for you that don't have bass in the same way the HD800 does, and it will do it in away that doesn't make music suck. 

[EmoRarity]

There is bass in classical music, there is bass in piano solos, there is bass in jazz flute. There is bass in every genre with the except to that one person that listens to solid tones. 
You are still not grasping the idea the a high output impedance is A BAD THING. 
And thirdly, consumerism at its finest, gotta spend because spending. 

[EmoRarity]

I don`t care if there is bass into space or into my spine, I don`t like bass, so I don`t care.

Is a bad thing for you but a good thing for me because the HD 800 has 300 ohms of impedance.

Money is not a problem for me so I don`t care.

At least you read my other posts, and the HD800 measures up to 600, it only dips to as low as 325 once or twice. 

Your consumerism is still amusing regardless. 

[EmoRarity]

I know it measures up to 600, I meant nominal impedance is 300, but is not a problem, the STX can drive them without any problems.

It`s not consumerism, in my case it`s called "buying what I like". 

Its an over priced headphone that sounds on par with about $700 headphones. It really isn't a good headphone, I would say worse then Beats, but Sennheiser isn't that bad of a company. 

[EmoRarity]

Worse than Beats? You can`t go worse than that! 

I have a pair of HD 800 at work and sounds pretty good to me.

Worse then Beats over the fact that they have a %56 mark up for no reason other then Sennheiser does what they want. 

I would say that I used a pair for a week, but I used them for an hour and didn't touch for the rest of the time that I had them, and I had a Woo Audio tube amp that tried its best to make them enjoyable so someone that isn't from Sennheiser. 

They were plastic, boring, fatiguing and oversized. The look cool and thats about the only positive thing to be said about them. 

[EmoRarity]

Ok, I get it, you don`t like the hd 800, I am still getting a pair this week, in fact I am waiting for the delivery. I have made a deal with my supplier, the HD 800 and the T1 for 1800 €. 

What headphones do you like? I have used the hd 800 a lot and was not fatiguing at all, the size is ok for me, boring at all.

I've used headphones most major brands of headphones ranging from the Skullcandy Ink'd, to Ultrasone Pro 900's, to Focal Spirit Ones, to the Stax's SR-007 and 009. 

I've used mostly every single Sennheiser and Audio Techncia headphone in their respective line ups from the past five years.

I own Shure SRH1540's, Shure SE-215's, and Sony MDR7506.

Of the hundreds of hundreds of headphones that I have demoed and tried or owned. I like the 7506. Its nice. 

My pair is six years old. 

[EmoRarity]

Nice to see what people prefer and like. Different people different tastes I guess, but closed design does not appeal to me.

As I find myself in loud places even at home, at work, or at school, I don't get much of a choice. Should also be noted that I pretty much hate everything that isn't the 7506, I only recommend headphones that I hate less. 

[SSL]

Ok, so my impedance is set always at max, love that, no problem with it.

I listen a lot of classic music, so no bass there....

Who said that I something cheap? Money is not a problem for me, if I like something I buy it and right now the HD 800 and the T1 are the best for me, I think I will buy them both.

 

No bass in classical music? You pretty much lost all credibility right there, buddy. And gave me cancer.

[EmoRarity]

No bass in classical music? You pretty much lost all credibility right there, buddy. And gave me cancer.

I had my giggle back at HD800. 

[SSL]

I had my giggle back at HD800. 

 

I ain't gigglin. <_<

[EmoRarity]

I ain't gigglin. <_<

How about now? 

[SSL]

How about now? 

 

 

Alright, a bit, then. Well done.

[EmoRarity]

Alright, a bit, then. Well done.

[ShearMe]

Thread was tldr, so sorry if I missed something, but if "money isn't a problem" then why settle with a soundcard? Why not get nice dedicated hardware?

[SSL]

Thread was tldr, so sorry if I missed something, but if "money isn't a problem" then why settle with a soundcard? Why not get nice dedicated hardware?

 

You didn't miss anything.

[pierrelucsav]

1- I don`t give a ... if my STX kills my 598 headphones.

2- From the Xonar Audio Center I can select the gain 

3- I don`t care about bass because I don`t listen to music with bass, don`t like bass at all.

 

What you are selecting is the gain, not the output impedance. The output impedance is fixed and its value is 10 ohms, which is bad if your headphones are less than 80 ohms.

[mr moose]

GO back to sleep everyone, the Asus marketing team has this one under control.

[helping]

this forum should have a sitcom

[Guest]

I say go for it.  I love my Xonar Essence STX.

 

People will say it's confirmation bias but I honestly know the sound quality coming out of my rig is better with the card.  A thousand push-ups.

 

Source:  I just went from using one, to not having one and using my SoundMAX chip on my Craptop, to then using my M6F's Supreme FX II or whatever, and then to reinstalling my sound card.

 

While it may not be noticeable to some, the clarity is very noticeable to me, particularly on FLAC files. So if you want it and have the money then go for it, try it out and see the results for yourself.  Either you hear it and you love it or you won't and you'll sell/return it.