Asus Xonar Essence STX vs Creative X-Fi Titanium HD

Here are the specs Rob:

http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/saffire_pro_14

Thanks

 

Personally, Xonar STX and UniXonar. A friend of mine own a creative SB 64 which is a 10+ years old sound card. but when the card pair with my Senn 595 it just sound better then my Xonar and AKG 702. the answer is very subjective. I only manage to get a sb live and i found the sound is not comparable with the sound blaster 64. I really can't believe this when i was testing out the card. i am still looking for a SB 64 now. The sound is just good deep, wide and clear.

With the Xonar and X-FI, i think you just cant go wrong. You shouldn't notice much difference.There is another option but need to look around for yourself as i have not tried it out. The X-Meridian 7.1 2G. So Good luck.

 

XiiiRolls the AKG 702 needs to be burned in for 300 hours then they open up And improve alot. Also High Gain works better for the AKG 702's as High Gain gives supplies the AKG 702s 199Vm which is just about their Req 200vm voltage req,While Normal Gain supplies them 144. Also you can Try op-amps like OPA2107AP. Becuase From my Sig you can see I also have a AKG 702 as well but Mine is fully burned in. Also why you shouldnt judge headphones out of the box as they need to be burned in first. But yea 144VM voltage being supply to the AKG 702 is not giving them enough voltage to be power and to sound right. I came across this issue when I was on the Auzentech bravura's HP amp.

The main diff is the X-FI HD doesnt have a headphone amp which why the STX would be a good choice because of that Unless the OP later on get ahold of the Fiio E9 Desktop amp which is a very powerFul HP amp which has line IN for the sound card. which I heard good things about.Tho it does exist in Fiio E9/E7 combo wheres it becomes a USB DAC HP amp, wheres the E7 slot into the E9 and is the DAC.

 

That is all true, i was so upset at that time which my head phone is only like 4 months, now it is 1 year plus, and i think i have make a right decision to purchase a cardas cable to pair with it. The moment i change the cable to the cadas the headphone just sound like a brand new ultimate headphone. It just sound so nice, the only bad thing about it is that the cable is not so mobile as it is quite thick. I have also purchase a cheap all in one DAC+AMP namely Maverick Audio. output form my asus stx and to the maverick and frankly speaking it is a waste of money as it sound no different compare to stx. My Phone sound a lot more better now, the cardas is really a must have but i still think the sb64 + senn 595 has its own magic there, the sound is so good. Sometime old doesn't mean its no good. just not yet to be discovered.

 

Some sources have excellent synergy with certain headphones.

 

THIS.

i have heard some old mobo sound chip sound stunning with some cheap headphones and not just because they were easy to drive. I like the old DAC`s aswell as the new, a 1-bit DAC can still sound amazing

synergy is everything and this is why when you find a good card.mobo.headphone.amp combo you should stick with it!

 

I have yet to hear any onboard compete with a good soundcard. They are usually very poor quality in comparison.

 

Hello, I need assistance configuring Asus Xonar Xense. I'm pretty happy with the card but i need some help configuring it for best sound quality. anyone have the same card. I would appreciate it if you can help me set it up correctly.

 

Set it up for what? Music? Gaming? What speakers and headphones are you using? The Virtual Speaker Shifter works wonders with 5.1 analog for example. That card will do pretty much everything. It really shines when gaming AND with analog speakers. Let us know a bit more of what you want it set up for. Good luck!

 

For general use, but mostly for gaming. I usually spend all the time gaming on my rig but on occasional times I listen to music "rock,metal, etc"

speakers are five years old creative inspire 5.1 "yes I know they suck"
and headphones are the sennheiser PC-350 that came bundled with the card.

 

set your speakerstowards 5.1, when you switch to headphone mode, then set the headphone amp settings towards the PC-350 Xenses. They have their very own setting. Also you might wanna lower the volume knob setting to 5% and do the left and right volume to 100% in the mixer.

Becuase by default the vol knob is on 66% and the left and right in mixer is on 76%

 

I would suggest you leave the left and right volume sliders/faders on their default setting. They do not need to be set to 100%.

 

Where's our Meridian 7.1 2g review? :biggun:

 

Keep checking the front page. If you time it right, you will be the first to know.

 

I've been thinking about getting one of these cards with my next build as well. I've had a lot of issues with SLI and my current Auzentech x-fi Forte on a 790i mobo. I'm feeling kind of burned by x-fi and I'm inclined to go the Asus route. Then again the problems might go away on a new motherboard and I'm a big gamer so hardware accleration is important to me. I really am at a loss and don't know which one to choose.

 

I have the ST which is apparently slightly "better" than the STX (can't tell because I never tried the STX), and all I can say is that I'm 100% satisfied.
I love listening to music and I use my sennheised hd555s to do that, and the sound card just goes so well with the headphones.
With all the good features like built in amplifier and what not, I found it to be a better option rather than a gaming sound card.

At first I was a bit skeptical about the gaming aspect, but after using this sound card for a few months now (I think ½+ year), I can say that it serves very well! Sounds amazing with headphones and when connected to a receiver, I also like to use the dolby effects to simulate a room and such when gaming.

While I originally planned only to use this sound card for headphones, I recently connected my 5.1 receiver using the coaxial output and all I can say is that it works very well, as well as sounds good.

However, like I said, I can't compare it to your other choice or STX, but you will definitely not be disappointed in this card if you pick it up (whether be it ST or STX), this is absolutely amazing for music, and I can't come up with anything in the gaming aspect that it would lack.

Note though, that the sound card is very very clear and crisp in sound, at first I was a bit disappointed with the bass, I used to like punchy and high bass volumes.
Now I use the equalizer to boost the bass a little. Although the bass isn't punchy (not that the hd555s have punchy bass but compared to my old sound stuff) I can say that the listening experience is a lot better, and I can't understand how I thought I was listening to good sounding music before, with this clear and crisp sound the experience is just better, and even if I can make the bass punchy again, I don't want to, it's simply so much better with a more balanced sound.

That's how I felt when I got the ST, which is almost identical to the STX (I don't think the STX has the daughter board for connecting 7.1/5.1 speakers so you will have to use digital if you want surround with the STX), so I can guarantee you'll not be disappointed in the ST/STX if you decide to get it.

Edit: If your more of a gaming guy, you probably want to lean more towards the gaming cards, however I don't know how much "better" they are in gaming than regular sound cards.
But you having the hd650's (I think?) you're probably more of an audiophile

 

Thanks for the reply man, yeah got my STX 4 months ago, coupled it with HD 650 which I got on December last year = Couldn't be any better Really satisfied with the sound, really clear and clean. Crisp high, accurate mid, really punchy bass. Especially after my HD 650 passed 80++ hours mark, BANG, it's true sonic performance out, making my listening experience up to another level.

Xonar ST/STX + HD 650 = Excellent combination

 

I agree with you, even having a Xense. But...

I don't exactly agree with that. I also have a Koss PortaPro (around 30,00 USD!) and I think that its bass is punchier than HD650 (mine has around 60 hours of playback). Of course HD650 has a better overall sound, but I still think that considering the price, PortaPro is a great headphone. Maybe some opamp change with more time of playback (i.e. burn-in) can give me a better impression of the Senn can.

 

hi guys, I have a question

Which card is better? Asus Xonar D2X or Titanium HD

I have Logitech Z-2300, listen to music and playing games

 

LOL, The Titanium HD is a direct competitor to the Asus STX. So to answer your question, the Titanium HD is much better than the D2X.