Xonar STX or Phoebus

[ESlik]

Originally Posted by GhostXL

Mind not being a major smartass when you comment? When I said a lot of people, I'm not just referring to Newegg alone, that was just an example. Also good for 4-5 days ago, I don't have the time to check every sound card in existence for fixes.

I was just giving a warning out that some games had issues with the card.

Cool, that is great, it's fixed. Instead of being a troll about everything, you could just simply say it's not an issue anymore.

Way to be a smartass.

For driver fixes etc.,all you had to do was check right here. I posted them a long time ago as did a few others.

[sykozis]

Originally Posted by GhostXL

Mind not being a major smartass when you comment? When I said a lot of people, I'm not just referring to Newegg alone, that was just an example. Also good for 4-5 days ago, I don't have the time to check every sound card in existence for fixes.

I was just giving a warning out that some games had issues with the card.

Cool, that is great, it's fixed. Instead of being a troll about everything, you could just simply say it's not an issue anymore.

Way to be a smartass.

Always take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. If there isn't a "verified owner" tag next to the review, there's always a good chance that the reviewer doesn't own the product or simply wants to bash the product....or it's from an employee of a competing company (which has happened before). Newegg always has been and always will be a poor choice of review sources. It's hard for them to filter legit reviews from BS reviews....it's also hard to know if the negative reviews are based on user induced issues or issues with the product itself.

Also, this section is pretty good at getting threads about audio card drivers when they're released...lol

[GenClaymore]

Yea i agree i see alot of people who don't even own the product post neg reviews just to bash it. Some times newegg catches them, some times they dont.

[ROBSCIX]

With any new products it is always best to talk to actual owners, instead of people bashing the products are just spreading 3rd hand misunderstood info.

"I have a friend who has a cousin had has trouble with that card!"

[Agent-A01]

Originally Posted by GhostXL

Mind not being a major smartass when you comment? When I said a lot of people, I'm not just referring to Newegg alone, that was just an example. Also good for 4-5 days ago, I don't have the time to check every sound card in existence for fixes.

I was just giving a warning out that some games had issues with the card.

Cool, that is great, it's fixed. Instead of being a troll about everything, you could just simply say it's not an issue anymore.

Way to be a smartass.

im not being a smart ass, i responded directly to your comment " check newegg lots of people are having issues". not my fault you interpreted it wrong.

[liakinen]

About Newegg we have to take into consideration the ignorance of many users. For example: This "memory kit is sh@t" it says 2400mhz and runs at 1333mhz on my system.
hmm Ok does your system support it, do you know what xmp profile in bios is ?

[---TK---]

Originally Posted by GhostXL

Don't get the Phoebus right now, it's plagued with driver issues. The card BSOD's BF3, and many other games. Not saying it wont be fixed, just as of right now it's a mess.

Just go look at newegg reviews, many people are upset.

this is the comment we all responded too. When looking at those reviews it was 4 people with problems. only 2 of 4 have verified owner status

[sykozis]

Originally Posted by liakinen

About Newegg we have to take into consideration the ignorance of many users. For example: This "memory kit is sh@t" it says 2400mhz and runs at 1333mhz on my system.
hmm Ok does your system support it, do you know what xmp profile in bios is ?

Exactly.... Can't count the number of times I've read a negative product review that was the result of ignorance or lack of knowledge/understanding on the user's part.

[Fox2232]

I would get ST because STX is has less stable clock. And to be PCIe they used additional PCI2PCIe bridge as it's not native. With Phobeus I do not know. But 7.1 Soundcard has electronic to power all those outputs which may cause interferences and leaves less space for Stereo which you actually intend to use.
For stereo ST if you have free PCI, if not then STX. For 5.1/7.1 movies Phobeus.

And for games? It depends on your preference, someone likes subwoofer explosions and 7.1. But for me stereo sound is more accurate and clean.

[ROBSCIX]

The Phoebus is natice PCI-E if that helps.
BTW, the ST has a seperate IC to reduce any jitter found in the clocking signal but that doesn't mean the STX has a "less stable clock".

Personally, For me, nothing beats a good surround sound system for gaming, especially when it is turned up loud and you have excellent directional audio. A loud speaker system is not always practical though so headphones come in handy no matter what.

[ESlik]

You don't have to go to Newegg etc. to find negative comments on hardware that people don't own. You get that right here. As ROBSCIX mentioned above.... Only the "owners" of various hardware should be taken seriously. Everyone else should simply pay attention to what real owners are saying,and maybe learn something. While everyone is entitled to an opinion,that opinion should be based on actual knowledge of any given hardware device. To do otherwise, serves only to confuse potential buyers.

[jhelsas]

Speaking as an STX owner:

I have never had problems with the Xonar STX under Windows, I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means and haven't had any problems with it for gamming. For music it's simply awesome.

Under linux it's a diferent story. Although it sound as great, the driver support isn't nearly as nice as under windows and sometimes I had to deal with rough edges.

That said I'm planning to buy an dedicated DAC, something like Schiit Bifrost in a near future.

[ROBSCIX]

There is nothing wrong with offering opinions but some people spout off their opinion or re-read BS as it is fact when they really have no idea if the information is good or bad because they didn't do the testing themselves.

Personally, when I relate information it is based on my personal testing and if I am posting about something I have read, I make a not of that fact that I read or heard a certain peice of information. Such helps to keep the right information out on the net and leave the broken telephone game in the school yard.

[rm - ottawa]

Hi all new member here. So I recently bought the Phoebus and some Razer Tiamat 7.1's. This is my first time ever buying a sound card, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Basically, I'm not sure if I should keep the card or swap it for something like an Essence STX.

Basically I can't even use the controller box that it comes with because I have this 7.1 headset, and I'm also weary of driver issues.., and then there's the whole non replaceable opamps thing (which admittedly is still very new to me). I've carefully read through all the posts in this thread, and do not see a clear winner.

Is there ANY reason that I would be better off swapping to the Essence STX (Or any other sound card, I am willing to spend more than $200 if it's a good investment). I would likely need to make a decision this week if I am to return the Phoebus, and appreciate and am grateful for your expertise.

I know I could quickly swap for one of these 2 cards at my local shop:
- Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion -
- Asus Xonar Essence STX - 124dB SNR PCI-E


PS I am also going to be in the market for music headphones to compliment the gaming tiamat 7.1's, would you guys agree senheiser is the way to go? I've also heard good things about the AKG 701 Quincy Jones, but I really like my bass and am not sure they deliver on that front, am willing to go $400 on a good music headset.

Thanks,

[Darkest]

I'd honestly recommend sending the Tiamat's back while you can (if you can) and trying a decent pair of stereo headphones for gaming. It's worth trying if you plan on getting some headphones for music anyway. The Phoebus is a pretty good soundcard with a decent built in headphone amp'. I'd certainly take it over the Recon3D - and while I favour the Essence I'm not sure it's worth swapping to that card in your situation while you might still use analogue surround as the Essence is a Stereo card.

You'll find that many gamers now that invest in audio hardware go the route of decent stereo headphones and a clip on/desktop MIC over headsets (which are often over priced and in my experience low quality in most respects. Not to say they 'all' are, but I've yet to find any that don't come under that category). The Xonar cards come with Dolby Headphone which lets you emulate surround on stereo headphones, and often with pretty good results.

[Denial]

Originally Posted by rm - ottawa

Hi all new member here. So I recently bought the Phoebus and some Razer Tiamat 7.1's. This is my first time ever buying a sound card, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Basically, I'm not sure if I should keep the card or swap it for something like an Essence STX.

Basically I can't even use the controller box that it comes with because I have this 7.1 headset, and I'm also weary of driver issues.., and then there's the whole non replaceable opamps thing (which admittedly is still very new to me). I've carefully read through all the posts in this thread, and do not see a clear winner.

Is there ANY reason that I would be better off swapping to the Essence STX (Or any other sound card, I am willing to spend more than $200 if it's a good investment). I would likely need to make a decision this week if I am to return the Phoebus, and appreciate and am grateful for your expertise.

I know I could quickly swap for one of these 2 cards at my local shop:
- Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion -
- Asus Xonar Essence STX - 124dB SNR PCI-E


PS I am also going to be in the market for music headphones to compliment the gaming tiamat 7.1's, would you guys agree senheiser is the way to go? I've also heard good things about the AKG 701 Quincy Jones, but I really like my bass and am not sure they deliver on that front, am willing to go $400 on a good music headset.

Thanks,

If you're going to use two different headphones, you might as well keep the phoebus. The EssenceSTX doesn't support analog 7.1. As far as the difference in quality between the STX/Phoebus, I doubt it's much. Unless you're listening through $1000 headphones, you probably wouldn't be able to tell. The moddable opamps of the STX is nice, but the 7.1 tradeoff isn't, if I used 7.1, I'd rather have that than slightly different sound (it's hard to call the sound better, the opamps kind of just change the parameters of the music a bit).

As for the headphones, I'm a sennheiser fan myself. 595's was probably one of the best purchases I ever made. I've been considering stepping up to HD800/700 but I heard they aren't as good for the music type I listen too. But then again, a lot of people said the 595's weren't either but I love them.

If you like bass and are going for ~400 I'd look into Denon

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD2000-.../dp/B000MVEC0Q

They are definitely bassy but they do everything else really well too. You're not going to get bass from senns. Don't get me wrong, senns will go low, but the AHD2000's are way heavier.

[ROBSCIX]

There is quite a bit of difference in component quality between the STX and Phoebus and the Recon3D shouldn't even be in the same sentence.

If you want the surround headphones, the Phoebus is your best bet.

[rm - ottawa]

Thanks for the insights, I do enjoy the surround sound and will stick with my Phoebus. I also will hang on to the 7.1 Tiamat's Also thanks to Denial for the Denon AHD2000 referral; I am seriously considering ordering a pair of these for music, to compliment the gaming tiamat's. Do you guys think the AHD2000 will be a great choice for bass music, and decent value at $369.99? If I invest in these, I will have high expectations as I am already enjoying new Tiamat's for pretty good sound.

Just as a footnote, the Phoebus is the first card I've ever purchased, and the Tiamat's are the first headset above Steelseries quality I've invested in, I'd like to complete the "trifecta" by adding a very nice bass pair of headphones that will make me smile as I turn them on

Thanks again for the input!

[---TK---]

Beyerdynanic dt770 pro 250 ohm is supposed to have kicking bass and wont break your piggy bank either

[Darkest]

If you're aiming for that price tag off the bat, rather than working your way up you could also take a look at the Sennheiser HD600's. Some prefer them to the more expensive 650's. Although as Denial said the Denon's linked are fantastic headphones and have heavier bass.

I'd recommend reading some reviews over at head-fi.org on cans (headphones) within your price range. You might also want to figure out what sort of 'bass' you enjoy. Some people like an overpowering boom, some people like something more subtle with good clarity and definition.

[Denial]

Basically at any given price tag there are going to be a bunch of models that compete there and belong there. $400 is probably a good price, because after that diminishing returns set in and the money in doesn't equal the quality out any longer.

I mean, yeah a pair of $1000 headphones will be better than $500 ones, but definitely not anywhere near the same level of $10 ones to $500 ones.

But yeah, anything at the ~$400 price range is going to be good. I just know the AHD2000's are known for their bass. I had a pair but sold them because I liked the 595's more, but I don't really care for bass. If you like trance/techno etc type music AHD2000s were awesome for that. I listen to mostly metal though and the 2000's are meh when it comes to reproducing it, in my opinion anyway.

I would look over to head-fi.org and make a post there about $400 headphones with good bass. The guys over there can probably give you excellent suggestions.

[GhostXL]

Originally Posted by sykozis

Always take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. If there isn't a "verified owner" tag next to the review, there's always a good chance that the reviewer doesn't own the product or simply wants to bash the product....or it's from an employee of a competing company (which has happened before). Newegg always has been and always will be a poor choice of review sources. It's hard for them to filter legit reviews from BS reviews....it's also hard to know if the negative reviews are based on user induced issues or issues with the product itself.

Also, this section is pretty good at getting threads about audio card drivers when they're released...lol

It wasn't just newegg reviews. The patch notes for the drivers even mention the problems being fixed.

It's cool that they fixed the issues. It's really just frustrating that people have to troll and flame over stupid things.

That being said, I still recommend the Xonar STX for headsets/headphones.

[Agent-A01]

Originally Posted by GhostXL

It's cool that they fixed the issues. It's really just frustrating that people have to troll and flame over stupid things.

Somebody doesnt know the true meaning of troll or flame

[---TK---]

Originally Posted by Agent-A01

Somebody doesnt know the true meaning of troll or flame

Please don't quote that troll. He is on my ignore list. Reading that quote just proves nothing of relevance was said as usual

[Agent-A01]

Originally Posted by ---TK---

Please don't quote that troll. He is on my ignore list. Reading that quote just proves nothing of relevance was said as usual

Will do, lol. i came close to doing the same thing.