Asus Xonar Essence STX or Creative Soundblaster ZXR?

[ErickS89]

I'm currently looking to replace my current sound card which went bad yesterday so I'm without audio.. and I'll never resort to onboard audio ever!

 

I really like the ZXR as it has 8-cores for audio processing, but the essence stx has a cleaner PCB which yes can affect audio!

I only plan on using my studio monitors and my 600 ohm headphones, if I want surround just plug in a optical cable into an avr and there ya go.

 

Anyone have opinions on the stx and zxr or are there even better options? 

My Budget is $1000 so yes, go crazy.

[Elbstrand]

Get an external DAC / receiver.

 

Edit: Just saw you got an AVR, can't you connect your stuff there?

 

Edit2: there is also a "Asus Xonar Essence One" if you don't want to break into hifi areas

[h264]

I'll never resort to onboard audio ever!

 

DO IT!  I'll bet you right now there's no difference except excessive volume.  I have nothing to bet you over the internet though...

[ErickS89]

Onboard audio is pretty much slapped on there and it's okay, but it does not come even close to discrete audio cards,

There are bad audio cards and there are good audio cards, much the same with motherboards.

[t0wer]

external is the only way to go IMO.

[Elbstrand]

external is the only way to go IMO.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Does anyone know the "Teac UD-H01"? Did read some good reviews, should be nice for what ErickS89 is needing.

[t0wer]

Maverick audio d1 or d2

Little dot dac ii

Fiio e17 + e9

Audioengine d1

Matrix mini i

odac + o2

 

 

I'm a fan of DIY

so if you can solder add

www.amb.org's m^3 and gamma 1/2 to the list.

if you're using a laptop or need it to be transportable.

odac + o2, fiio e17 or something from iBasso would work.

[ErickS89]

 

Any suggestions?

 

Does anyone know the "Teac UD-H01"? Did read some good reviews, should be nice for what ErickS89 is needing.

Is Teac reputable?  I've never heard of them.

[Elbstrand]

Is Teac reputable?  I've never heard of them.

 

Yes, they do make good products. My german sources for AV stuff say that particular one sounds really great for the money.

 

But there are tons of other options out there especially with studio monitors and 600ohm headphones you should look more into the hifi area. Don't get me wrong stuff by creative and asus isnt bad, but it's childplay compared to real hifi solutions.

 

PS: http://www.rme-audio.com/ is supposed to have some great stuff.

[h3ll0]

Schiit Bifrost and a Schiit Valhalla.

[Elbstrand]

Schiit Bifrost and a Schiit Valhalla.

 

That sounds like you are cursing :P

[h3ll0]

 

That sounds like you are cursing  :P

HA that hilarious!

Oh by the way your last name is Kruse mine is the French way of spelling it Cruse.

[Elbstrand]

HA that hilarious!

Oh by the way your last name is Kruse mine is the French way of spelling it Cruse.

 

Welcome to the family i guess :D

[ShearMe]

If you're already using a receiver, why do you need a soundcard? Does your mobo not come with an optical out, or do you need DDL/DTS? Does the headphone jack sound worse than your soundcard did?

 

I'd say pick the Creative ZXR, but only because I want to know your opinion of it....  :rolleyes:

[ShearMe]

Don't get me wrong stuff by creative and asus isnt bad, but it's childplay compared to real hifi solutions.

 

You wouldn't happen to have any empirical evidence comparing Creative and ASUS to "real hifi solutions" would you? I doubt the difference is as severe as you speculate.

[Elbstrand]

You wouldn't happen to have any empirical evidence comparing Creative and ASUS to "real hifi solutions" would you? I doubt the difference is as severe as you speculate.

 

Actually i can't find data on the creative one, but the asus soundcard he mentioned offers 192khz@24bit while the TEAC one i linked does 192khz@32bit. You can do that with most of the specs...

 

But honestly the subjective sound would be far more important. For instance my Denon AVR 2807 sounds much clearer and more dynamic then my Creative X-Fi ever could. (In my ears, also blindtested)

[h264]

You wouldn't happen to have any empirical evidence comparing Creative and ASUS to "real hifi solutions" would you? I doubt the difference is as severe as you speculate.

 

sure it's a severe difference, a severe COST difference!  Not to mention, a severe confirmation bias difference.

[Shayne]

I would say the Asus essence one if you don't mind spending a bit extra. But between the two you listed definitely the STX over the creative card. I have the STX myself and it is a fantastic card.

[AbsintheGold]

been looking at these 2 items for my pc too

 

thinking of going with the zxr since the features it comes with its more inline with what i intend on using it for

 

but kinda confused into why the zxr doesn't need extra power compared to the essence one, you would think that 2 dedicated sound processing cpus would need more then the 75w off the motherboard to provided the 124db snr and 600oms power to audiophile grade headphones.

[h264]

been looking at these 2 items for my pc too

 

thinking of going with the zxr since the features it comes with its more inline with what i intend on using it for

 

but kinda confused into why the zxr doesn't need extra power compared to the essence one, you would think that 2 dedicated sound processing cpus would need more then the 75w off the motherboard to provided the 124db snr and 600oms power to audiophile grade headphones.

 

 

I'm more confused as to why the Xonar STX NEEDS a whole molex plug, honestly.  Both should have PLENTY of power for headphones.  Please don't blow out your ears on either of these cards at least, K?

[ShearMe]

Actually i can't find data on the creative one, but the asus soundcard he mentioned offers 192khz@24bit while the TEAC one i linked does 192khz@32bit. You can do that with most of the specs...

 

But honestly the subjective sound would be far more important. For instance my Denon AVR 2807 sounds much clearer and more dynamic then my Creative X-Fi ever could. (In my ears, also blindtested)

 

I'm not saying they are equivalent, just that the differences between them do not make one seem like "childsplay" over the other. 

I have no doubt your Denon sounds subjectively better than your X-Fi ever will, and I'd bet it sounds better objectively as well, but I doubt these vast differences are anywhere other than your head. If there's compatibility issues between your headphones and the X-FI then that's another story entirely...

 

sure it's a severe difference, a severe COST difference!  Not to mention, a severe confirmation bias difference.

 

Indeed. Recently there's been an issue with my Little Dot MK IV SE practically forcing me to use my motherboard's audio and I was surprised at how little a difference there was.

 

 

I'm more confused as to why the Xonar STX NEEDS a whole molex plug, honestly.  Both should have PLENTY of power for headphones.  Please don't blow out your ears on either of these cards at least, K?

 

Maybe the designers of the STX are drawing power from Molex rather than the PCI-E connection because they think it's cleaner?  :unsure: Pure speculation.

[t0wer]

 

Maybe the designers of the STX are drawing power from Molex rather than the PCI-E connection because they think it's cleaner?  :unsure: Pure speculation.

 

there might be something to that if it's on its own rail.

[needmorewood]

http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Essence_One/

u have no money restrictions then get this

[N7_Zer0]

Agreed that external is the way to go. For your budget, I'd suggest the Schiit Bifrost / Asgard 2 combo. If you're into tube amps, there's also the Lyr for a little more. The Valhalla has no pre-outs to an amp/active speakers.

 

http://schiit.com/

 

 

I'm more confused as to why the Xonar STX NEEDS a whole molex plug, honestly.  Both should have PLENTY of power for headphones.  Please don't blow out your ears on either of these cards at least, K?

 

Because power through the PCI bus is dirty and can cause unwanted noise. The molex is there to provide a "cleaner" source of power.