Phoebus vs ST vs STX

[Excon]

I'm having a hard time deciding between these 3 cards and figuring out the differences. I will be using it with Sennheiser PC363D's. Will I have issues with my CF setup causing my cards to run at 8x/4x instead of 8x/8x?

[Godlygamer23]

No. You will have no issues with what you specified. Your PCIe slots to your video cards should not become 8x/4x with any sound card attached. They should stay at 8x/8x. As to your other question, The ST and STX are exactly the same, except the ST uses PCI while the STX uses PCIe 1x. Between those two cards and the Phoebus....The Phoebus doesn't have swappable op-amps. The Phoebus has more (and different) outputs on it. Also, the ST and STX use Molex for supplemental power, while the Phoebus uses a 6 pin PCIe power connector.

[mr moose]

What's wrong with your on-board sound?

[Excon]

What's wrong with your on-board sound?

Onboard sound for a high end pair of headphone's?

[ShearMe]

Onboard sound for a high end pair of headphone's?

 

On board audio should be fine with your headphones - better, in fact, than a soundcard due to their output impedance.

[mr moose]

Onboard sound for a high end pair of headphone's?

yes, is there a problem with your on board?

[Excon]

I was always under the assumption that onboard=terrible. That a dedicated sound card will make a huge difference. I really don't understand.

[ShearMe]

On board used to be pretty terrible because motherboard manufacturers didn't implement the chips correctly and/or had poor traces which caused a lot of EMI.

Despite what many people would have others think, audio isn't magic. It's not like a 7 cent DAC chip for on board is "terrible" and a 10 cent DAC chip on a soundcard is "amazing."

[h264]

I was always under the assumption that onboard=terrible. That a dedicated sound card will make a huge difference. I really don't understand.

 

assume = ass + u + me (basically modern onboard can power any low impedance headphone to acceptable volume with minimal noise).

 

[Excon]

Alright, well I guess ill try then using onboard audio once they arrive. I guess I was just misinformed.

[FanOfKOTOKO]

Doesn't the PC363D come with the little USB thing anyways? Try that and see if you like it before moving onto something better if you ever do? O_o

[Excon]

Doesn't the PC363D come with the little USB thing anyways? Try that and see if you like it before moving onto something better if you ever do? O_o

Yea it does seemed gimmicky to me, I don't know i just wanted a nice soundcard for the hell of it.

[t0wer]

then you should have bought pc360's as the only difference is the usb sound card.

i'd just give the usb dongle a try and try onboard and use which ever you like more.

[mr moose]

Alright, well I guess ill try then using onboard audio once they arrive. I guess I was just misinformed.

I think we all have, that's just how it goes with this sort of thing, time changes, so does technology but so often people don't.  Audio is one of those areas that has a lot of snake oil in it, it cannot always or easily be tested like FPS, hdd speed, CPU clock, etc. So when we get an idea in our heads it takes a long time to dispel the myths and get our feet back on the ground.

[h264]

I think we all have, that's just how it goes with this sort of thing, time changes, so does technology but so often people don't.  Audio is one of those areas that has a lot of snake oil in it, it cannot always or easily be tested like FPS, hdd speed, CPU clock, etc. So when we get an idea in our heads it takes a long time to dispel the myths and get our feet back on the ground.

 

yeah ... I'm still saving up for that $10,000 dscope.  10 more years...

[Lyons]

I think we all have, that's just how it goes with this sort of thing, time changes, so does technology but so often people don't.  Audio is one of those areas that has a lot of snake oil in it, it cannot always or easily be tested like FPS, hdd speed, CPU clock, etc. So when we get an idea in our heads it takes a long time to dispel the myths and get our feet back on the ground.

 

Hey, my sonic purifiers will bring MEASURABLE differences. Don't think for a second I'll put up with macro-vibrations of the copper in my audio cables that are unshielded from electromagnetic fields, especially at a very reasonable €899.

[t0wer]

yeah ... I'm still saving up for that $10,000 dscope.  10 more years...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/652945597/red-pitaya-open-instruments-for-everyone?ref=category

 

it's not $10,000 but I thought about going in for 1

[mr moose]

Hey, my sonic purifiers will bring MEASURABLE differences. Don't think for a second I'll put up with macro-vibrations of the copper in my audio cables that are unshielded from electromagnetic fields, especially at a very reasonable €899.

 

OH, you only have two?  I separated all my cables and bought one for each individual wire. :blink:

[t0wer]

OH, you only have two?  I separated all my cables and bought one for each individual wire. :blink:

 

I hire my sister to do double dutch with my audio strands when I play my music.

only costs me $5 an hour.

[mr moose]

I hired my sister to do double dutch with my audio strands when I play my music.

only costs me $5 an hour.

It can't sound better at only $5 you need to be paying at least $200 for anything that will make a difference to the sound. Like these.

[t0wer]

It can't sound better at only $5 you need to be paying at least $200 for anything that will make a difference to the sound. Like these.

shhhhhh don't tell her that

[Shindo]

Depends. Do you care about surround sound (none of that virtual BS) and will your audio system even use the potential of the ST(X)? Remember that your audio quality is only as good as your weakest link in your audio setup, so to physically hear a difference we're talking about a $500 difference in headphone price between the Phoebus and the STX, not to mention any other audio equipment you're gonna have. But let's say everything is top of the line, you're an audiophile who loves to listen to music how it was meant to be heard and still enjoys gaming as a hobby but won't be rocking Final Fantasy gear when taking pics with E3 booth babes; then the power of the STX can be heard. My friend (who defines audiophile) has an STX and listening to it is just fantastic. But if you're a diehard gamer who wants to be totally immersed in the game and you have a nice 5.1/7.1 surround setup AND still enjoys listening to great audio like the rest of us (but doesn't cringe at $300 headphones) then the Phoebus should be your choice. Any other questions just hit me up.