Xonar Essence STX vs. Xonar Essence STX II (What's the difference?)

[Nyx-AGB]

Hi

I've owned a Xonar Essence STX for a few years now and it's a great sound card. But today I saw a new card, the Xonar Essence STX II, in Asus's website. It might have been their for a while, I haven't checked for a new sound card since I bought mine in 2012.

 

The biggest difference I have notice just looking at Asus's website is that the STX II has Windows 8.1 support, slightly different software, and it's not compatible with the Asus UNi Driver.

 

Has any one tried the Essence STX II? Better than the fist gen STX, or is it almost the same?
 

 

[EmoRarity]

The really question, is what is the difference between onboard and soundcard. And the answer is none. 

[CatCloud]

The really question, is what is the difference between onboard and soundcard. And the answer is none. 

The bling and shielding? oh and the price tag.

[Fulgrim]

Read this thread.

[Nyx-AGB]

My on board sound card had a ton of hissing and it sounded horrible when I played FLAC files on it. That's why I bought the the sound card.

[Unhelpful]

The really question, is what is the difference between onboard and soundcard. And the answer is none. 

Not true for all onboard audio... Don't forget to always ask what motherboard somebody has first.

[eLucid]

If you're playing flac files then why not get an external dac instead?

[Murdoch]

The really question, is what is the difference between onboard and soundcard. And the answer is none. 

 

The really question?

 

In fairness, the STX has a pretty decent headphone amp built in, ya know for high impedance headphones. Say what you like about the DAC, but you'll have difficulty driving 300+ ohm headphones directly from onboard.

[SSL]

The really question?

 

In fairness, the STX has a pretty decent headphone amp built in, ya know for high impedance headphones. Say what you like about the DAC, but you'll have difficulty driving 300+ ohm headphones directly from onboard.

 

Once a-fucking-gain, impedance doesn't really determine how hard a headphone is to drive.

 

 

Not true for all onboard audio... Don't forget to always ask what motherboard somebody has first.

 

Trivial point.

[Nyx-AGB]

If you're playing flac files then why not get an external dac instead?

 

The really question?

 

In fairness, the STX has a pretty decent headphone amp built in, ya know for high impedance headphones. Say what you like about the DAC, but you'll have difficulty driving 300+ ohm headphones directly from onboard.

 

Like aesrock said I prefer the STX over a DAC, because they can drive high impedance headphones. I also like the fact it's in my PC and not cluttering my desk.

[Unhelpful]

Once a-fucking-gain, impedance doesn't really determine how hard a headphone is to drive.

 

 

 

Trivial point.

Not trivial at all you snob.

[SSL]

Like aesrock said I prefer the STX over a DAC, because they can drive high impedance headphones. I also like the fact it's in my PC and not cluttering my desk.

 

DACs can't drive headphones period. Amps do.

 

Impedance doesn't determine how hard a headphone is to drive.

 

A desktop amp/DAC takes up about 4 square inches. So clutter, wow.

 

Not trivial at all you snob.

 

I sense ... hostility?

[Nyx-AGB]

A desktop amp/DAC takes up about 4 square inches. So clutter, wow.

 

I'm a little messy, so an amp/DAC would just add to the mess.

And the Xonar STX has a DAC built in so doesn't make much difference if I use a Xonar card or and external DAC.

[SSL]

I'm a little messy, so an amp/DAC would just add to the mess.

And the Xonar STX has a DAC built in so doesn't make much difference if I use a Xonar card or and external DAC.

 

It's be a pretty useless soundcard that didn't have a DAC built in.

[Murdoch]

Once a-fucking-gain, impedance doesn't really determine how hard a headphone is to drive.

 

Why so hostile dude?

 

Aren't I correct in saying that higher impedance headphones as a general rule are harder to drive? Isn't impedance the go to metric for determining that?

 

In my experience that's been the case, if I plug my HD650s into onboard they sound quiet as shit.

[SSL]

Why so hostile dude?

 

Aren't I correct in saying that higher impedance headphones as a general rule are harder to drive? Isn't impedance the go to metric for determining that?

 

In my experience that's been the case, if I plug my HD650s into onboard they sound quiet as shit.

 

Because I'm hostile. Problem?

 

Impedance is only a (smallish) part of the equation. The main issue is sensitivity. Case in point electrostatic headphones, which despite impedances as low as 30-50 ohms still require lots of voltage to get going. Your HD 650s have high impedance, but more importantly are fairly insensitive and thus require a decent amp to get to decent listening volume.

 

Read this thread.

 

Fork in the brain.

[Nyx-AGB]

Because I'm hostile. Problem?

 

Impedance is only a (smallish) part of the equation. The main issue is sensitivity. Case in point electrostatic headphones, which despite impedances as low as 30-50 ohms still require lots of voltage to get going. Your HD 650s have high impedance, but more importantly are fairly insensitive and thus require a decent amp to get to decent listening volume.

OK so what's the problem with the built-in headphone amp of the STX? Why would you need an external amp?

[Murdoch]

Because I'm hostile. Problem?

 

Impedance is only a (smallish) part of the equation. The main issue is sensitivity. Case in point electrostatic headphones, which despite impedances as low as 30-50 ohms still require lots of voltage to get going. Your HD 650s have high impedance, but more importantly are fairly insensitive and thus require a decent amp to get to decent listening volume.

 

See that wasn't so hard, you fixed a generalisation with the correct info, and you weren't a dick about it.

 

You're not hostile at all, you're a cutie!

[SSL]

OK so what's the problem with the built-in headphone amp of the STX? Why would you need an external amp?

 

Output impedance and damping factor.

 

To be brief, the impedance of headphone should be at least 8x the output impedance of the amp it is connected to. Soundcards, due to shitty design, typically have output impedances in the 10 to 40 ohm range. The ideal is <1ohm, even <0.1ohm. It is called impedance mismatch if the factor is less than 8x.

 

The problem with impedance mismatch is that it can cause audible changes in the frequency response of a headphone, potentially degrading quality. Given that most gaming headsets and even some audiophile headphones have low impedance, soundcards are generally an inferior choice to a good external amp or amp/DAC combo unit.

 

 

See that wasn't so hard, you fixed a generalisation with the correct info, and you weren't a dick about it.

 

You're not hostile at all, you're a cutie!

 

Fuq

[Murdoch]

 

Fuq

 

Fuck does that mean? I'm not up to speed with all these audiophile terms.

[SSL]

Fuck does that mean? I'm not up to speed with all these audiophile terms.

 

Most of this is explained or linked from the audio FAQ sticky.

[EmoRarity]

Most of this is explained or linked from the audio FAQ sticky.

leave this place bby, this is thread for only reel audyopeeling. 

[ShearMe]

Your HD 650s have high impedance, but more importantly are fairly insensitive and thus require a decent amp to get to decent listening volume.

 

aint my experience....

[Murdoch]

Most of this is explained or linked from the audio FAQ sticky.

 

ctrl+f "fuq"

 

Can't find it! HALP!

[SSL]

aint my experience....

 

Yes, we all know the audiophile snob uses a $40 oem shit.

 

ctrl+f "fuq"

 

Can't find it! HALP!

 

lol, that's how I spell "fuck" sometimes.

 

 

leave this place bby, this is thread for only reel audyopeeling. 

 

You drunk or not wearing glasses be honest.