My STX II Impressions

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by moab600, Jul 30, 2014.

  1. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    So a week ago i temped and bought Asus Xonar STX II 7.1 as i always wanted stx, and i love to test(and then buy)new soundcards or any other good hardware :D

    Anyway i have had the following sound cards: Audigy SE back in 2k8, Xonar D1 in 2k10, Phoebus in 2k13 and SBZ in 2k14 and now STXII.

    I will compare the STXII to the SBZ, but before i begin i most note that out of all those sound card, besides STXII, the two that stand strong is the SBZ and the D1.

    Phoebus is a missed oppurtinty, not to say the card is bad, in terms of hardware is very good and the AMP is good as on STX, but the software is rubbish and lack of driver updates killed the card for me, plus SBZ has better sound quality it was specially noted in movies where effects like Earthshaking were noticebly better on SBZ...

    NOW TO THE REIVEW :D

    Music-We all know that xonar specially the STX are made strong for music, and the STXII is not different. everything sounds sooo rich, the guitar, the bass is very clear and awesome without causing disruptions even when there is a lot of instruments.
    Each instrument sounds perfect, i was able to noticed in lot of songs new instrumentals, the songs i tested but not limited to - Linkin park songs, Lordi, some random MTV songs, Amon Amarath, dead by april, papa roach, paul vyn dyk and a bit more... mainly rock metal and electric.

    If i need to score it's music performance it would get solid 10 from me.

    Movies I came with little expectations but got blown away by the difference. i tested Saving private ryan, Drag me to hell, black hawk down, Transformers 3, and Pacific rim.
    each movies effects wheter it splash of water, tank moving, RPG rocket, shooting, sand effects storms, fighting... each of those heard perfect and very very clean, it's hard to describe how balanced and perfect those effects were, i seriously got so hooked to the movies that i forgot that i was testing the card... again i would give solid 10 for now.


    Games- That section probably what you were waiting, and the main culprit was Battlefield 4, i tested on surround settings with home cinema and war tapes.

    Both of them sounds much clearer than SBZ, much more balanced and i might caught new sounds, environment played even bigger roll as u can hear everything, my ears felt orgasm with the sounds of war.

    that for now was my main test, other games i tested was Starcraft II HOTS, PPSSPP and that it for now sence that all i play atm. all games showed improvement in sound.


    As for driver they are solid no issues, as for the headphones AMP i did not check since i don't use headphones often, but i will do it.

    To sum it up, that card is awesome though expensive now, luckily in my country in the first time that i aware, it costed the same as outside of the country. I would recommend this card to everyone, not sure how about STX II VS ZXR since i don't own it, but it's way better than SBZ.

    Overall score 9.5 out 10, because nothing is perfect.

    Share you thoughts, questions :D
     
  2. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Cool, well now you need to upgrade your speakers and then let it really shine :) Nice review dude :)

    regards
    ,RagDoll.
     
  3. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    i got them 6 weeks ago, they are very good. yes it low end home theather speakers but they produce very good sounds, good for me for now.
     
  4. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    They are very good for PC speakers :) Enjoy, I used to have z5500, which were good too :):D:D:D

    regards
    ,RagDoll.
     

  5. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    Yep can't afford a good home theater setup,and it took me a long time to choose them. i read some negatives and positives and all i can say, those are the best pc speakers i've ever heard, they are very very good.
     
  6. gridiron whirlw

    gridiron whirlw Ancient Guru

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    Nice review.
     
  7. goat1

    goat1 Ancient Guru

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    Good review,I bet the STX 2 and ZXR are close enough that you can't really tell. I think having either of those cards would be a win win..
     
  8. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    yep and i see u have the Z5500. well then it's up to u to decide :D
     
  9. goat1

    goat1 Ancient Guru

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    I normally use Z5500's for the games I play,unless its L4D/L4D2,then I use headphones.
     
  10. cheappo

    cheappo Guest

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    Hey moab600, thanks for the review. I just wanted to know if the card has any headphone/HRTF features that are similar to Creative's CMSS or Pro Studio Surround (so you can tell whether a sound is coming from in front/behind/above/below you when wearing headphones.
    Thanks.
     

  11. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    It does have Dolby surround options, i don't use them when i use headphones. positional sounds is quite good as it is, but u might try it as well.
     
  12. goat1

    goat1 Ancient Guru

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    Personally, I'm not a fan of dolby headphone, sounds too hollow. I like creatives sbx pro more. I really like my roccat kaves for gaming. Some guys might not care for them, but being true 5.1 you don't need any fake processing. The kaves also have a vibration unit it in them that works stellar!
     
  13. cheappo

    cheappo Guest

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    @goat1, I haven't tried Dolby Headphone yet (hope I get to soon), but also like Creative's HRTF function. Was going to buy Roccat Kave a while ago, but then found out that tey're supposed to release a newer version of them in the near future (kave XTD analog). Anyways, I guess you can't expect anything better regarding headphone virtualization from the STX II since Creative keeps their technology to themselves. When I get a new PC, I'll definitely consider this card.
     
  14. War child

    War child Master Guru

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    Well if i had to compare the STI I vs ZXR I would say (since I had both) the STX comes out way on top thanks to its clarity, good range and quality.

    I can only assume the STX II is an improvement over the original blueprints.

    Also I don't like true 5.1/7.1 head"sets" at all. They can't reproduce a good quality surround anyway since the cans are so compact. I would much prefer a top end headphone over gaming headsets anyday.
     
  15. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    STXII is just super amazing, even in games where sounds isn't that good like red alert 3, it sounds soo much better. the reproduction level of the sound is so CLEAN.

    I never understood what real clean means by now.
     

  16. War child

    War child Master Guru

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    I try to keep all my cards hidden in stealth behind a custom made panel. How obtrusive is the cable running from the audio card to the daughter card?

    My only option is to have the audio card inbetween my SLI config and then run the daughter cable around the end of the lower GPU.

    I don't like cables on show :(
     
  17. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    you can't hide it, it gonna shows up but just 1 cable never mind :D
     
  18. War child

    War child Master Guru

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    Haha I have OCD with mine. All cables are hidden except custom MDPC ones I have for GPU and 24pin.
     
  19. moab600

    moab600 Ancient Guru

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    Cables OCD vs Quality OCD, who will win?????
     
  20. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Quality OCD wins imo :) Doesn't matter about some cables showing :):)

    regards
    ,RagDoll
     

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