Sound card Vs o2+ODAC

[Tech Lover]

hi. i was wondering what would be better for usage, an internal sound card like asus Xonar essence STX or o2/odac?

i will be receiving my HD700 soon so pls advise along with pros and cons

thanks

[Langdon]

O2/ODAC, no competition.

It has no crappy drivers to deal with, no interference from the inside of your computer which can cause crackles and static, and you can move it around and use it with different computers. The STX has absolutely nothing over the O2/ODAC.

[Tech Lover]

O2/ODAC, no competition.

It has no crappy drivers to deal with, no interference from the inside of your computer which can cause crackles and static, and you can move it around and use it with different computers. The STX has absolutely nothing over the O2/ODAC.

what about the audio source? i have read that the o2/odacs are connected via usb and act like that. so why would that be better than a 8x or even 16x native pci-e connected high end sound card with proper emi shielding?

dont really get that can u explain a bit

[OddballMV]

what about the audio source? i have read that the o2/odacs are connected via usb and act like that. so why would that be better than a 8x or even 16x native pci-e connected high end sound card with proper emi shielding?

dont really get that can u explain a bit

 

External devices don't need shielding because they are external, that's the whole idea of them to get the audio source away from the digital noise going on inside a computer. I don't think PCI-e improves sound its just the interface they use.

[Langdon]

what about the audio source? i have read that the o2/odacs are connected via usb and act like that. so why would that be better than a 8x or even 16x native pci-e connected high end sound card with proper emi shielding?

dont really get that can u explain a bit

Sound doesn't utilise enough bandwidth so there's really no point in 8x/16x PCI-e slots. 

USB connection is better in the sense that you can plug it into laptops as well and the whole connection is shielded with the covering on the wire to the boxed enclosure of the O2.

I'm not sure about proper EMI shielding.

[Tech Lover]

External devices don't need shielding because they are external, that's the whole idea of them to get the audio source away from the digital noise going on inside a computer. I don't think PCI-e improves sound its just the interface they use.

yea i got that but my only concern is the audio source. i have heard Linus say that no matter how good ur out put headphones are the source of the sound is what matters.

 

that also makes sense because all the sound cards are actually DACs cause they convert sound from digital to analog and the quality is what matters.

so what is the SOURCE of the audio when using an o2/odac setup? thats my question. 

[Tech Lover]

Sound doesn't utilise enough bandwidth so there's really no point in 8x/16x PCI-e slots. 

USB connection is better in the sense that you can plug it into laptops as well and the whole connection is shielded with the covering on the wire to the boxed enclosure of the O2.

I'm not sure about proper EMI shielding.

i should have mentioned it already, i will never use a laptop for good audio experience. i watch movies, do gaming and everything else on my PC and i use my laptop just to download torrents and thats it. 

so i dont really want to move anything from one place to another. i just want good audio. i m already pleased with my stx but was just curious about the o2/odac config.

 

im confused about the source of the audio. 

[OddballMV]

im confused about the source of the audio. 

 

Your digital music files are sent to the STX and converted into analogue (using the DAC part) and then amplified and then sent to headphone jack. Same thing with an external device really except the computer sends the digital files across USB to the external device for analogue conversion and amping. When people say improve your source they generally mean the quality of the music file (lossless audio files for example) and the device used to convert and amplify the file, be it onboard, internal or external soundcard.

[EmoRarity]

HD700's will not pair well with the STX, and they will love to show you how bad it sounds.

 

Your digital music files are sent to the STX and converted into analogue (using the DAC part) and then amplified and then sent to headphone jack. Same thing with an external device really except the computer sends the digital files across USB to the external device for analogue conversion and amping. When people say improve your source they generally mean the quality of the music file (lossless audio files for example) and the device used to convert and amplify the file, be it onboard, internal or external soundcard.

More so not the bitrate but the resolution and sampling rate. Which is seldom improved with flac and wav formats, so there is really no point to getting a higher end dac since "nothing" is encoded in anything higher then 16bit/48khz.

[Tech Lover]

HD700's will not pair well with the STX, and they will love to show you how bad it sounds.

 

More so the not the bitrate but the resolution and sampling rate. Which is seldom improved with flac and wav formats, so there is really no point to getting a higher end dac since "nothing" is encoded in anything higher then 16bit/48khz.

 

 

Your digital music files are sent to the STX and converted into analogue (using the DAC part) and then amplified and then sent to headphone jack. Same thing with an external device really except the computer sends the digital files across USB to the external device for analogue conversion and amping. When people say improve your source they generally mean the quality of the music file (lossless audio files for example) and the device used to convert and amplify the file, be it onboard, internal or external soundcard.

so here is what i got, sound cards and o2/odac combo actually do the same things, only the sound card is internal and the other is external.difference is the connectivity with sound card using pci and other using usb. 

then the difference in performance is related to the quality of the product. am i right guys?

[EmoRarity]

so here is what i got, sound cards and o2/odac combo actually do the same things, only the sound card is internal and the other is external.difference is the connectivity with sound card using pci and other using usb. 

then the difference in performance is related to the quality of the product. am i right guys?

More so the amp then the dac, but yes pretty much.

[OddballMV]

More so the amp then the dac, but yes pretty much.

 

How well does the STX DAC part pair with external amps then? Picking up just the O2 amp for example rather than the combo unit would be a much cheaper alternative.

[EmoRarity]

How well does the STX DAC part pair with external amps then? Picking up just the O2 amp for example rather than the combo unit would be a much cheaper alternative.

 

Kinda a wasted investment, just get something with a simple dac (Or use the one on your motherboard) and spend more of your money on your dac. But it should also be noted that you should bother yourself to get better headphones first. 

LCD2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(Can't explain how much better)HD700

[MayflowerElectronics]

yea i got that but my only concern is the audio source. i have heard Linus say that no matter how good ur out put headphones are the source of the sound is what matters.

 

that also makes sense because all the sound cards are actually DACs cause they convert sound from digital to analog and the quality is what matters.

so what is the SOURCE of the audio when using an o2/odac setup? thats my question. 

 

Don't take audio advice from Linus.

 

I think everyone answered the question already, but the o2/ODAC are miles better than any sound card on the market. As always, we have the least expensive units available.

 

http://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/objective2-amplifer-with-odac.html

[OddballMV]

 

Kinda a wasted investment, just get something with a simple dac (Or use the one on your motherboard) and spend more of your money on your dac. But it should also be noted that you should bother yourself to get better headphones first. 

LCD2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(Can't explain how much better)HD700

 

 

I was think if he already has the STX how can he utilise it best. I take it you mean more money on the amp as well?

[ShearMe]

I was think if he already has the STX how can he utilise it best. I take it you mean more money on the amp as well?

 

If he already has the STX, sell it. 

[EmoRarity]

I was think if he already has the STX how can he utilise it best. I take it you mean more money on the amp as well?

Get headphones that would pair with it better. HD600 comes to mind, along with Mayflower's modded Fostex.

[mr moose]

so here is what i got, sound cards and o2/odac combo actually do the same things, only the sound card is internal and the other is external.difference is the connectivity with sound card using pci and other using usb. 

then the difference in performance is related to the quality of the product. am i right guys?

The advice is good in this thread . The key diffence between the O2 and the STX is that the STX has a horrid output impedance which will not match well with most headphones. And the O2/Odac does not require drivers or control panels programs or any other bloatware for you pc.

[pierrelucsav]

How well does the STX DAC part pair with external amps then? Picking up just the O2 amp for example rather than the combo unit would be a much cheaper alternative.

 

The STX DAC is great. The other features aren't. So $200 for a good DAC is overpriced as hell, but once you've made the mistake of buying it, it can serve as a very decent DAC. Handing the amplification part to the O2 will definitely improve the sound, that's what I did.

[h264]

the difference in performance is related to the quality of the product. am i right guys?

 

yup

[MayflowerElectronics]

The STX DAC is great. The other features aren't. So $200 for a good DAC is overpriced as hell, but once you've made the mistake of buying it, it can serve as a very decent DAC. Handing the amplification part to the O2 will definitely improve the sound, that's what I did.

 

Why do that when the o2 and ODAC are $250?

[mr moose]

Why do that when the o2 and ODAC are $250?

because I think he already had the STX.

[MayflowerElectronics]

because I think he already had the STX.

 

No, he doesn't.

[piplupgao]

yea i got that but my only concern is the audio source. i have heard Linus say that no matter how good ur out put headphones are the source of the sound is what matters.

 

that also makes sense because all the sound cards are actually DACs cause they convert sound from digital to analog and the quality is what matters.

so what is the SOURCE of the audio when using an o2/odac setup? thats my question. 

the source will be something like MP3 or FLAC

[OddballMV]

No, he doesn't.

 

i m already pleased with my stx but was just curious about the o2/odac config.