Tough decision - Sound Card ?

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by spizone, Dec 15, 2012.

  1. spizone

    spizone Member

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    Hi all
    Its time for a new sound card and having a hard time deciding between 3 models i have my eye on :confused:

    Will start with a brief history of what i had and used before.

    Up until 2004/5 mainly Sound blaster, many types, but the last one was SB16 (Hacked KX Audio Drivers). Then 2005 till now a Maya44 PCI from ESI.
    Back then i was hugely involved with audio production for myself and others, myself mainly a hobby. Now im no newbie when it comes to audio production, but by no means a professional either .
    Programs Ive used before and using now, Cubase, Reason, SoundForge and a few others.

    OK back to the present. Ive just recently done a upgrade, specs on my sig. Now Ive also got back into gaming, hence why im looking for a new audio card, but i still like to do the occasional music production/editing.

    Ive done a fair bit of research and reading and Ive finalized it to three products im interested in.

    1- Asus Xonar Phoebus
    2- ASUS Xonar Essence ST
    3- ASUS Xonar Essence STX

    Now some of you may be thinking why those cards - Audio production ? Well im looking for something that is balanced in between (Gaming), im not as hardcore i used to be, but still want to as a hobby (Audio Production).

    One more thing, ive built my own speaker/amp setup - club disco cabinet speakers x4 and 400 mosfet amp and yea it pumps :banana: I will also be purchasing a hi-end headphone set, but still researching into that.

    So any of you audio heads out their can recommend me out of those 3 cards i mentioned or something else, would be appreciated thx.
    spiZ
     
  2. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Go the Phoebus I reckon :) Even though I've never heard it and don't own it, the spec sheet and reviews show it's a very good gaming and music allrounder... Others here will be better advice cos some here have a phoebus and some even have the ST and STX too...:)

    btw, awesome setup :)

    regards,
    RagDoll.
     
  3. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    Do you want surround support or only stereo?
    The Phoebus is surround, the STX is stereo and the ST can be either stereo or surround, if you get the H6 expansion card, but it is only PCI.

    For headphones, these cards will all basically sound similar.
     
  4. Zboe

    Zboe Guest

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    I can't speak from an "audio production" standpoint but from a listening standpoint I think you are looking in the right area. I have two different Asus cards and they both sound good to my ears. I hate distortion and "noise" in my sound. My other machine has a DG which is 5.1 with adjustable headphone amp (LAN rig) which sounds good. The DX is better for non/light use headphone applications though.

    If I was looking at the Essence lineup I would grab a STX myself but that's just me.
     

  5. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Why would he get an STX when he has a 4.0 speaker setup?
     
  6. spizone

    spizone Member

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    Thx all for reply's, much appreciated...

    PCI or PCIe - is their any difference or any thing i should no about otherwise not to worried. Another question, if i get a PCIe version, would it be ok to slot it into a PCIe 2x16 slot (Marked in red the image below)?
    http://imgur.com/zRY8B
    My reason for asking is that my gpu takes up quite a lot of space and as u see in the above image their no chance i can use the PCIe 2x1 slots marked in green.

    As for surround or stereo, stereo for now as my amp has only 2 inputs, but would like to have the option of surround for future interests.

    Thankyou :)
     
  7. spizone

    spizone Member

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    2 speakers for left and 2 for right, its not a proper 4way setup, but stereo....
     
  8. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Oh, well sorry my mistake :( By the sounds of your original post, sounds like a 4.0 setup, maybe specify that. If you're thinking of getting surround later, I'd still ofcourse rule out the STX and either do what RobScix suggested or the phoebus :)

    regards,
    RagDoll.
     
  9. spizone

    spizone Member

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    OK what i said about getting surround later, forget that. After much researching and reading, stereo is what im after. Its very hard to find a product that's balanced between gaming audio and semi professional use.

    But ive decided its either the ST or STX, most probably the STX. Just one question, besides the ST being stereo/surround with add-on board and PCI and the STX being stereo with PCIe, what other differences are their?
    The reason im asking, down here where i live the STX is $175 and the ST is $210.

    sorry man i should of been more clearer :3eyes:
     
  10. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    To note, you can always run TWO audio interfaces. One for recording and 1 for playback. I have used up to 4 at a time and I have a freind that runs 5 soundcards/interfaces.
     

  11. spizone

    spizone Member

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    Now that u mention this ROBSCIX, ive been thinking maybe i should invest in a dedicated PCI(e) card for my games needs and a dedicated USB card for music production needs.:rolleyes:
     
  12. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    It is actually a very common setup to have multiple GFX cards.
     

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