Asus xonar essence stx 7.1 review: ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 Soundcard Review | your ears will love you | Audio

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 Soundcard Review | your ears will love you | Audio

Introduction

The quality of audio devices has improved dramatically in recent times, particularly when it comes to providing excellent HiFi quality at affordable levels. This, coupled to the ease of having vast digital audio collections, has lead to more of us having high-end audio headphones or speakers, and the accompanying audiophiles such quality brings. So what if you need to make the most of your setup and demand absolute audio perfection regardless of cost?

Cue the ASUS STX II 7.1 sound card. The sequel to one of the finest audiophile sound cards on the market. Back in 2009 the market was in a state of flux with Creative suffering hideous driver issues leaving a yawning chasm just waiting for another manufacturer to fill, and the Xonar range from ASUS beautifully filled that gap. There were a massive bunch of cards to choose from but if you wished for only the finest audio quality then the Essence STX was the one to go for. You did have to purchase an additional break-out card to allow things other than studio headphones to be utilised and that’s where the STX II really comes up trumps. 

With the full specifications available here, if you’re interested, it’s better to give a brief overview, as the STX II does so much we could take up half the review space with numbers many people don’t fully understand.

Industry-leading 124dB SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) audio quality inherited from the Xonar Essence ST/STX
Ultra-low jitter with premium TCXO clock source
Clean and consistent power supply thanks to high-fidelity low-dropout (LDO) regulators and WIMA® capacitors
Headphone amplifier supports up to 600ohm-headphone impedance with additional gain for in-ear monitors
Exclusive op-amp swap kit includes 3 op-amps and tool for easy tone tuning (Texas Instruments LME49720s and one MUSES 8820)
Celebrated MUSES op-amps deliver true-to-life musicality
Ultra-fidelity (120dB SNR) 7. 1-channel output via the daughter board

 

Up Close

The packaging for the STX II hints at what a high end product this is. No fancy graphics, no unexpected colour schemes, just a solid box with a clear design ethos. Inside, apart from the two elements to the STX II itself, there are three additional OP-AMP changes — Texas Instruments LME49720s and a MUSES 8820 — allowing you to fine tune the audio reproduction for your particular tastes. 

   

     

         

          

  

As you can see the various add-on cards of old which had to be purchased separately have all been merged into a single PCIe soundcard replete with all the connectivity you could hope to have, especially if you’re in the market for a high quality surround sound experience.

Beneath that lovely EMI shroud is found the heart of the Essence STX II. There is a TI PCM 1792a DA converter, MUSES OP-AMPs, WIMA capacitors and the celebrated Texas Instruments TPA6210A2 headphone amplifier. Wherever you look the ASUS STX II is stuffed with the highest quality parts to bring a whopping 124db SNR clarity through speakers, and 120db when utilising headphones. All of this is kept in perfect synchronisation with a temperature controlled crystal oscillator.


        

Conclusion

There are likely to be two main audiences for the ASUS Essence STX II; Audiophiles, and those seeking only the best possible products in their system.

Which category you fall into depends largely upon how much sense you made of the above. If you were gasping with joy at the knowledge that the STX II utilises MUSES amps then you know already that every single item on the check list has been fulfilled and should immediately rush out and purchase one.

If you didn’t grasp much of it but are sick of the audio you’re currently experiencing then we can assure you that you wont find a better quality sound card on the market. Of course it’s incredibly expensive but if you own a suitably high quality set of speakers or headphones the difference is astronomical. Everything sounds exactly as you’d wish it to do, with a clarity of definition that left our mouths open every single time we pumped our media of choice through it.

The inclusion of three OP AMPs and the 7.1 daughter board means that you can install a baffling array of audio devices into the STX II and then fine tune the output until you are as satisfied as a duck who lives outside a bakery. Everything from low to high impedance headphones, studio monitors and regular surround systems is supported.

The ASUS Essence STX II 7.1 Soundcard is aural nirvana and if you have even the slightest interest in high quality sound you should seek one out. Unquestionably excellent and an easy winner of our OC3D Gold Award.

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ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.

1 Review


Article NavigationPage 1: IntroductionPage 2: Specifications & FeaturesPage 3: Packaging & AccessoriesPage 4: Closer LookPage 5: SoftwarePage 6: Performance TestingPage 7: Performance Testing: Continued…Page 8: Conclusion

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 Review


?by Tony Le Bourne
 Comments
?30-08-14

Introduction

Product on review:ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1
Manufacturer & Sponsor:ASUS
Street Price:
175 GBP — Without Daughter Board
215 GBP With 7.1 Daughter Board

ASUS Xonar have made a mighty stamp in the discrete audio market and the Essence STX has long been an audiophile favourite since its release. This was due to its great performance and is easy to modify. Since then, high end audio has been pressed by the ever expanding needs of the tech savvy generation, wanting the best from whatever they put their PC to. Whether it is gaming, audio creation, HD movie playback or simply rocking out to their music library. Creative have encompassed this need fairly well with their Z-Series of Sound Blasters. Making the Xonars, such as the Essence Series, limited to just stereo channels or the majority of the entertainment series featuring 5.1/7.1 surround, but no headphone amp, look relatively disparate and too specific. Then came the ROG Phoebus, providing excellent 7.1 surround sound with a dedicated headphone amp that gave gamers a serious look into what is available in the discrete sound card segment. The Phoebus, loosely based on the Essence layout, loses some audiophile appeal when they needed to drop the Op-amp sockets in order to cram in the extra audio channels. Operational amplifiers, as they are more formally referred to, can change the characteristics of the audio either physically and/or subjectively improving the output signal. So the use of socketed Op-amps can give great appeal to audio enthusiasts who enjoy changing, swapping, and testing the latest Op-amps available or simply allowing the use of a known preference.

Following suit with the Creative ZxR, ASUS has opted to expand the PCB real estate with use of an optional daughter board, providing 7.1 surround functionality while retaining space for the relatively large Op-amp sockets. Though the design layout is almost identical to the older generation STX, there are various changes including an improved TCXO (temperature controlled crystal oscillator) clock source, new low-dropout regulators, professional level WIMA capacitors as well as coming equipped with the latest MUSES Op-amps that aims to provide the best out the box audio experience from a discrete consumer sound card. Let’s move on.

Overview by ASUS

Keeping the audiophile spirit and philosophy alive

Four years after the debut of Essence STX the long-term holder of the number-one position in Head-Fi’s Sound Cards segment, as voted by highly-satisfied users globally ASUS remains committed to delivering ever better high-end sound cards to delight the most demanding audiophiles. Drawing on years of experience in developing Essence One, Essence STU and Essence III, Essence STX II delivers meticulous design, quintessential performance and profound musicality elements that shape the spirit of the whole Essence Hi-Fi series.

8 pages

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2

3

4

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Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Specifications & FeaturesPage 3: Packaging & AccessoriesPage 4: Closer LookPage 5: SoftwarePage 6: Performance TestingPage 7: Performance Testing: Continued…Page 8: Conclusion

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1

Top specifications and features

  • Maximum DAC frequency (stereo)
  • DAC bit depth
  • Built-in controller panel
  • EAX Version
  • S/PDIF digital coaxial output

Sound Quality

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7. 1:
21
Best score:

Interfaces

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1:
10
Best score:

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 features:
11
Best score:

Maximum DAC frequency (stereo)

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1:
192
Best score:
384

DAC bit depth

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1:
24
Best score:

Why ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 is better than others

  • Maximum DAC frequency (stereo) 192 . This parameter is higher than that of 51% of goods
  • DAC bit depth 24 . This parameter is higher than that of 14% of goods
  • S/PDIF digital coaxial output
  • ASIO 2.2 support. This parameter is higher than that of 47% of goods
  • Multi-channel audio output capability
  • Built-in controller board
  • Remote control

Overview ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.

1

Sound quality

Interfaces

Functions

ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 Review: Highlights


Maximum DAC frequency (stereo)

The higher the DAC frequency in stereo mode, the better the audio signal at the output of the sound card. Acceptable today is the frequency of 192 kHz.
Show all

192

max 384

Average: 129.7

384


DAC bit depth

24

Mean value:

Mean value:


Ability to output multi-channel sound

Multi-channel sound support allows you to build a full-fledged home theater with 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound standard on its basis. Many modern sound cards, even integrated ones, have such functionality.
Full text

Yes


Digital coaxial output S/PDIF

The S/PDIF digital output allows you to connect external audio system components (such as an amplifier) ​​via a simple shielded coaxial cable with an RCA connector.
Full text

Yes


Number of microphone inputs

Simple sound cards, especially integrated ones, contain one microphone input. More advanced models allow you to connect multiple microphones for singing karaoke or duet vocals.
Show all

1

max 16

Mean: 2.7

16


Number of 6.3 mm jack inputs

The presence of one or more 6.3 mm jack inputs in the sound card indicates its ability to interact with professional audio equipment.
Show all

1

max 18

Mean: 4. 7

18


Number of analog output connectors

Analog output jack is a physical pin jack for connecting external speakers or other devices via a compatible plug. There can be more output connectors than analog channels, and then they are labeled the same.
Show all

8

max 27

Mean: 4.6

27


Number of analog output channels

An analog channel is used to transmit the audio signal from the sound card to the speaker system. A channel is not the same as a socket, and there can be more output sockets than channels.
Show all

8

max 24

Mean: 4.4

24


Number of analog input channels

Number of analog inputs to which you can connect several sources at once for simultaneous operation. This way you can record duets from two microphones, digitize old tapes and vinyl discs without having to constantly reconnect sources.
Show all

2

max 24

Mean: 3.9

24


Connection type

Internal sound cards are connected directly to the motherboard via PCI-Express or PCI interfaces (legacy models). External — mainly via USB, much less often — via the high-speed FireWire bus. In rare cases, the sound card is connected via the laptop’s PC Card interface.

PCI-E


Built-in controller panel

The controller panel in the context of a sound card is a series of fader sliders that are used to adjust the parameters of devices — physical and virtual. A significant advantage when working with audio editors, as it allows you to adjust parameters much more precisely than with a mouse or keyboard in software.
Show all

No


Version EAX

EAX (Environmental Audio Extensions) is an Application Interaction Programming Interface (API) designed to create spatial audio effects. Many sound cards have such equipment, but not all.
Show all

no


Remote control

The remote control allows you to control the operating modes of your sound card from a distance. Mainly applicable for recreational use, but there are exceptions.
Show all

No


ASIO support

ASIO (Audio Stream Input Output) is a widely used Steinberg development standard aimed at improving the performance of multi-channel audio devices and minimizing latency. In the context of sound cards, it is relevant only for the Windows OS family.
Show all

2.2

max 2.3

Mean: 1. 9

2.3


Need for additional power

Mainly external sound cards of above average level may need additional power. Less often, internal cards may require additional power, then they are powered from the power supply through a special connector.
Show all

No

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ASUS Xonar Essence STX

Xonar Essence STX is positioned by the manufacturer as the highest category sound card for audiophile listening to music. The card is distinguished by high-quality electronic filling, record high passport characteristics (124 dB signal/noise).

The ASUS card can be safely called the successor of the Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Gold ideas. They are united by the ideology of a stereo card (the absence of «unnecessary» multi-channel outputs), a separate powerful headphone output, the best TI Burr-Brown DAC to date and high-quality audiophile piping with the ability to replace the op-amp without soldering.

PCM1792A is used as a DAC, so STX simply has no analogues among mainstream consumer cards yet. The price of $200 is high, but not sky-high. It is very difficult to find this card for sale in Russia, but there are a couple of offers in price.ru.

Interestingly, for a mass computer user, spending $200-300 for a video card is a common thing, but for a sound card, usually $50-100 maximum is allocated. Then there is a psychological barrier. On the other hand, true audiophiles do not recognize cheap products, as they always associate price with quality. So making the price low is losing the target audience. In this light, $200 is a reasonable compromise. The card really has a good filling, but the price is not too high for elitism, which makes the card accessible to a fairly large audience.

At the same time, unfortunately, not everything is going smoothly with the Asus Xonar drivers. The strange operation of the DSP in the most important 44.1 kHz mode, based on the results of tests of DX/D2 cards, raises doubts about the superiority of this card over existing solutions from other manufacturers. Let’s see what happened to the manufacturer in the end.

Contents

The card comes in a large elegant box. Inside, in addition to the card, there are the necessary adapters.

  • Large jack-small jack (for headphone output)
  • 2 RCA small female jack (to be able to connect active acoustics, which has a cable with a minijack connector)
  • optical adapter

CD with drivers, short manual, posters and smartly designed report of Audio Precision SYS-2722 test results. The report contains the most successful results, therefore, on the one hand, the report makes it clear that the results are high, and on the other, it is not clear what could be weaknesses.

Appearance

Because the card is stereo and is not low profile, you can see the lack of minijack connectors, instead RCA is used for the line output, headphone output via a large jack (corresponding to a mid-range and high-end headphone plug). RCA digital output combined, combined with optical.

There are additional outputs for connecting a microphone and analog output to the computer case. Nearby is an additional analog input.

The card requires additional power without fail through the molex connector.

The AV100 main controller is a relabeled C-Media Oxygen 8787. So you can expect the functionality of this particular controller. This controller replaces the controllers from VIA ENVY24XX due to ready-made more functional drivers. The manufacturer can only make cosmetic changes. You can read more about this in the Razer Barracuda article.

Path characteristics

  • Stop-Band Attenuation: -130 dB
  • From the ratings it can be seen that the parameters are very high, not only with low distortion and noise levels, but also with excellent aliasing suppression. In comparison, the CS4398 (used in the E-MU1212m, X-Fi Elite Pro, Asus Xonar DX) has the following specifications: Dynamic Range, S/N: 120dB, THD+Noise: 0.0006%, Stop-Band Attenuation: 102dB. Those. in terms of quality, the technical parameters of Essence STX lead the way. Another interesting point is the different options for enabling PCM1792a allow obtaining different characteristics. When using two PCM1792a in mono modes, you can get record performance, however, not every amplifier can digest 9 V rms at the output, and the requirements for DAC piping will also increase, which will affect the final cost of such a solution. However, even in the simplest 2V rms configuration used in the STX, the PCM1792a performs better than other DACs.

    Only one high quality DAC is not enough to get outstanding performance, the quality also depends on the binding. Here Asus gives a strong trump card in the form of the possibility of replacing the op-amp.

    When measuring Dr.Dac2 with various op amp configurations, it was clearly seen that op amps significantly affect the spectrum. Also, most fans of all the best always have something to improve, and here there is an opportunity to do various experiments.

    NJM2114 and LM4562 are used by default for line output. The TPA6120A2 manufactured by Texas Instruments is used as a headphone amplifier.

    ADC CS5381 and op amp NJM5532 are responsible for recording.

    CS5381 ratings:

    • THD+Noise: 0.0003%
    • Dynamic Range, S/N: 120dB

    It is slightly inferior in terms of dynamic range to that used by AK5394A in m-series E-MU cards, 120dB vs 123dB. For those who consider the Asus Essence STX as a tool for various objective tests, it should be noted that there is a small level of noisshaping in the 192 kHz mode. Unlike cards based on X-Fi, STX allows you to record at 192 kHz, while top-end cards based on X-Fi have a driver limit of 96 kHz, both Creative Elite Pro and Auzen Prelude.

    Control panel

    Today, truly convenient and efficient control panels are found only in professional cards, where manufacturers think about the convenience of managing the card. For household cards, manufacturers first of all think about beautiful design and all kinds of animation. The exception to the rule is observed only in Audiotrak, where you can save / load panel settings, there are channel indicators that make it easier to understand whether the card is currently playing or not, as well as fairly easy-to-manage panels. X-Fi and Xonar have to run in the depths of the tabs.

    Looking at C-Media-based products of the CMI8787/8 family, Razer Barracuda and Xonar, you can see that Razer has a more user-friendly control panel. Since it was possible to put a reference driver on the Razer Barracuda, it is possible that, if desired, you can screw the driver from Barracuda onto the Essence STX. But at the same time, it should be noted that STX is far from the reference design, and in the reference drivers there is no control for switching the linear and headphone outputs.

    For user convenience, there are five factory presets (DSP Mode), which are combinations of presets from Dolby and GX.

    Different gain levels can be selected for the headphone output. Impedance recommendations are for guidance only, the desired gain level should be chosen for each headphone individually, depending on their sensitivity.

    In general, there are no serious shortcomings, and the manufacturer may correct some shortcomings in the future. Now the control panel does not remember the individual volumes for the speaker and headphones modes, and the panel with a warning about the danger constantly flies out when the volume level of the headphone output is changed. If this warning only fired when changing up, this would be understandable, but it also crashes when changing down. If the user is deafened, then it will be easier for him to rip off his headphones, rather than quickly switch the volume back.

    When recording a wave source, the recording level is affected by the master level, which is annoying when recording Internet radio and other internal sound sources, as does not allow you to individually adjust the overall volume for playback without affecting the recording level.

    Games

    With games without a separate study of the Xonar line against X-Fi and conventional cards, it is difficult to draw a clear conclusion. The main problem is that not all games are designed to work with sound cards with gaming capabilities, many already provide the final sound by default, which does not require the intervention of a sound card. At the same time, as a rule, there are no recommendations from developers, which forces users to experiment on their own. By the way, the majority of prof. cards have additional manual for setting up a map with a popular prof. software.

    The most controversial mode settings for 2.0|HP. If the game does not support HRTF and does not allow the map to process localization of sources in hardware, then the method of choosing a multi-channel configuration in the game, and in the sound card mixing multi-channel sound to stereo from multi-channel sound, is already very popular.

    3D positioning implemented through Dolby algorithms. Oblivion, a DirectSound-only game with no EAX effects, checks source positioning well, and here X-Fi has the upper hand in both 2.0 mode and headphones. But not everyone will like the great realism of X-Fi in 2.0, because. this is achieved only by stronger suppression of high frequencies for sources from the rear. If in the midrange the positioning is confident for both cards, then in the high frequencies in X-Fi they are suppressed and do not give reference to the location in space, while in Xonar high frequencies are positioned in front. As a result, the sound source in the mid-frequency region is behind, and in the high-frequency region in front.

    STX claims support for GX, a special mode for gaming. Unfortunately, it does not always work, and sometimes when you start the game, there is simply no sound. Therefore, to answer the question about the competitiveness of Xonar series cards against X-Fi, it will take time to finalize the driver, and after large-scale testing in various games.

    RMAA Report

    Device: ASUS Xonar Essence STX Audio (cmudaxp.sys) DirectSound

    Features:
    DirectSound 2D Hardware: Yes
    DirectSound 3D Hardware: Yes
    EAX 1.0: Available
    EAX 2.0: Available
    EAX 3.0: Available
    EAX 4.0: Available
    EAX 5.0: Available

    Rates:
    dwMinSecondarySampleRate 100
    dwMaxSecondarySampleRate 192000

    Free buffers stats:
    dwFreeHw3DAllBuffers 128
    dwFreeHw3DStaticBuffers 128
    dwFreeHw3DStreamingBuffers 128
    dwFreeHwMixingAllBuffers 128
    dwFreeHwMixingStaticBuffers 128
    dwFreeHwMixingStreamingBuffers 128

    Max buffers stats:
    dwMaxHwMixingAllBuffers 129
    dwMaxHwMixingStaticBuffers 129
    dwMaxHwMixingStreamingBuffers 129
    dwMaxHw3DAllBuffers 129
    dwMaxHw3DStaticBuffers 129
    dwMaxHw3DStreamingBuffers 129

    Misc stats:
    dwFreeHwMemBytes 0
    dwTotalHwMemBytes 0
    dwMaxContigFreeHwMemBytes 0
    dwUnlockTransferRateHwBuffers 0
    dwPlayCpuOverheadSwBuffers 0

    Device: ASUS Xonar Essence STX Audio OpenAL 1. 1

    Features:
    Hardware 2D Buffers 62
    Hardware 3D Buffers 62
    EAX 1.0: Available
    EAX 2.0: Available
    EAX 3.0: Available
    EAX 4.0: Available
    EAX 5.0: Available
    X-RAM: N/A

    5 It can be seen that all versions of EAX are supported, but most games see no higher than EAX 2.

    Automatic frequency

    Under DirectSound and MME, the frequency automatic works properly. This can be seen not only by the absence of distortion, for example, in RMAA, but also on the spectrum analyzer through the E-MU1616m when monitoring the signal from STX in mode 192 kHz. In different modes, one can observe its own characteristic spectrum of the noise shelf. There is no automatic frequency for the ASIO interface, the frequency must be selected manually. The same applies for the SPDIF output, the sample rate must be selected manually.

    Working with ASIO, suitability for ProAudio

    Speaking about ProAudio, it should be understood that the issue can be considered from two sides, this is the quality of recording / playback and the functionality of the card.

    For many, it seems like an axiom “prof. card == high-quality sound” and that ASIO is a panacea for all ills, like bypassing the terrible “windows mixer”. As a result, due to various such misconceptions, some users only create various problems for themselves.

    Today, ASIO support is nothing special. The lack of low latency is mainly for external cards and built-in sound. Low latency is only important when playing external instruments in real time, such as midi keyboards or midi controllers.

    It is important to understand that the quality of recording and playback has nothing to do with the belonging of the equipment to any field or the positioning of the card manufacturer in the market. The main difference is only in functionality. In prof. cards usually use balanced inputs/outputs in the form of TRS or XLR, which are redundant at home. Also phantom power for microphones from prof. cards is 48 or 12 V. Household cards have only 5 V.

    The quality of converters from STX is at a high level, and if compared with internal Pro Audio cards, then for home conditions at prof. no advantage cards. Even the popular E-MU1212m does not have any special advantages in recording and playback.

    Prof. there were no problems with the programs, when running several programs with an ASIO interface, the card worked stably.

    Real minimum delays are higher than prof. kart.

    When testing the internal loop signal, the delay must be twice the value of the selected buffer. For the E-MU1616m, this is true, but for the STX, the delay is significantly higher.

    It’s a bit unfortunate that the card does not have a digital input, it would be tempting to use the card as an extension to an existing professional one, which would remove the issue of delays.

    RMAA PRO ASIO Diagnostics

    Device: ASUS Xonar Essence STX ASIO

    Features:
    Input channels: 2
    Output channels: 8
    Input latency: 352
    Output latency: 704
    Max0 buffer80 buffer size: 57600
    Preferred buffer size: 352
    Granularity: 64
    ASIOOutputReady — supported
    Sample rate:
    8000 Hz — not supported
    11025 Hz — not supported
    16000 Hz — not supported
    22050 Hz — not supported
    32000 Hz — not supported
    44100 Hz — supported
    48000 Hz — supported

    88200 Hz — not supported
    96000 Hz — supported
    176400 Hz — not supported
    192000 Hz — supported
    Input channels:
    channel: 0 (IN-00) — Int24LSB
    channel: 1 (IN-01) Int24LSB
    Output channels:
    channel: 0(L) channel: 5 (Sub) Int24LSB
    channel: 6 (Lb) Int24LSB
    channel: 7 (Rb) Int24LSB

    At the output, you can see 8 channels instead of the usual two.

    All stereo pairs route the signal to a single two-channel output.

    Summarizing the features of working with ASIO, we can say that a separate prof. The Essenes STX card cannot yet be replaced in terms of functionality. For audiophiles, you need to take note that there is no frequency automaton under ASIO and all kinds of manipulations with playback from under ASIO will give nothing but a headache. In terms of recording and playback quality, STX can compete with professional cards.

    Important information about compatibility with Hi-End equipment

    Very often there are reviews that sound cards often always play badly. There are several reasons why modern sound cards may simply not be compatible with home amplifiers.

    The latest models of DACs are distinguished by high technical characteristics, while in order to increase the signal noise parameter, for example, developers do not reduce the noise level in absolute terms, but instead increase the useful signal level. As a result, to obtain a record 132 dB, the DAC outputs 9in RMS. Today, almost all modern sound cards produce a signal of about 2 V RMS. This is a higher level than accepted in Hi-Fi standards. Manufacturers of Hi-End equipment do not always provide for this, and it is highly likely that when such equipment is connected to a sound card, the amplifier input will be overloaded, which will accordingly affect the sound quality for the worse.

    The second point is complaints about «dirty food». Without proper grounding, a ground loop can easily form from the system unit and the notorious «Hi-End» can behave differently. Recommendations to assemble components exclusively from one manufacturer are often dictated precisely by fitting all components without working out for versatility and catching sometimes obvious jambs.

    Subjective listening

    Path for testing the analog output

    Switching between sound cards was carried out through a router on passive elements — galette switches.

    Amplifiers used: laboratory amplifier based on LM3886. Speakers based on Eton8-800/37HEX + Vifa XT25 acted as monitors. The same woofer is used in the ADAM S2.5A, and the same tweeter is used in the BlueSky SAT 6.5 MK II satellites. For those who focus on quality = price, the cost of similar passive monitors on similar components will be approximately $2000-2500 pair. Speaker impedance is 6 ohms. Microlab Pure 1 was additionally used (price at the time of active sales $700) .

    When comparing top class devices, the greatest difficulty is finding a possible difference in sound. On the one hand, the very fact of the different filling of the cards obliges the expert to catch this difference, and on the other hand, the difference in sound quality can be higher than human perception. As practice shows, the difference that many audiophiles hear often disappears with proper testing, namely: testing must be blind, all sources must be accurately adjusted in volume.

    When comparing the STX with the E-MU1616m, it should be noted that the signal level differs slightly, by only 0.45 dB (according to the SPL meter, and not just the levels at the output of the sound card without taking into account the interaction with the amplifier), which gives the illusion of a more detailed Xonar sound . After equalizing the volumes of the cards, it is very difficult to confidently determine which card is playing at the moment. During preliminary non-blind listening, sometimes there was a feeling that “something sounded different” through the STX, but when listening to the same musical sections in direct comparison with the E-MU1616m, the difference disappeared.

    Does this give grounds to believe that there is no difference and the desire for top-end DACs and other high-quality stuffing does not make sense? This must be decided by everyone for himself. Taking into account the relatively low prices in the mass sector, nothing prevents choosing products with possibly excessive quality to be sure that the sound card will not be a bottleneck in the path on any musical material.

    Headphone output test path

    Popular high impedance audiophile Sennheiser HD650 and low resistance isodynamic professional Fostex T50 RP. Additionally, Technics RP- F880 were used as low-impedance, since the specificity of T50 RP as isodynamic headphones with a small impedance deviation can give a slightly different result than with other dynamic headphones with low impedance.

    Headphone amplifier delivers high performance with both high impedance and low impedance headphones. For example, the E-MU1616m is noticeably inferior in quality and volume margin to the Fostex T50RP. With high-impedance headphones, the quality is on par with the E-MU1616m. If we make a comparison with Dr.Dac2, then the quality of STX is comparable for both types of loads.

    Objective measurements

    For top-class products, objective measurements and search for bugs is more of a theoretical interest. When the core specs are already overkill, does it make a big difference whether the signal/noise level is 110, 115, 120, or 125 dB? However, the product is top class and these characteristics are paid attention to. Often, not so much in terms of sound quality, but more to determine how the potential of the product is revealed and whether the product is really top in its class. Also, high technical characteristics is often a guarantee of excessive quality.

    A report from the AP is attached to the card, it is impossible to check this data through loop STX or E-MU1616m due to the limitations of their ADC. However, this does not prevent us from taking measurements and looking at the output quality, if the card is really capable of delivering the declared 124 dB, then the reports for its own loop and STX->E-MU1616m should show figures no lower than 118 dB.

    Asus Essence STX Audio Precision Test Report

    Despite claims of good power filtering and effective shielding, things are not so rosy. In its own loop, the signal noise parameter ranges from 112 to 118 dB, depending on the configuration of the system with many ground loops inside the system unit, as well as the quality of the power supply. During optimization during system tests, with the disconnection of extra fans and hard drives with a DVD drive in its own loop in 48 kHz 24-bit mode, the signal-to-noise parameter turned out to be about 119db. It is possible that you can get more, because the bottleneck in the test was the ADC.

    During tests with the E-MU1616m, a signal / noise ratio of 117 dB (maximum gain) was recorded at the headphone output, but it was not possible to fix high parameters from the line output, a small ground loop appeared, to eliminate which it is necessary to look for a separate point on the board for a separate wire connecting the STX and 1616m grounds. In any case, the characteristics obtained are really high and the report received at AP is beyond doubt.

    By itself, the signal / noise parameter does not say anything about the quality, however, the lower it is, the better you can see other parameters, namely, the distortion of the useful signal.

    In 44.1, the parameters are worse, by indirect evidence, this is a consequence of a higher jitter for 44.1 versus 48/96/192. Dr.Dac2, sensitive to jitter, was connected to STX via spdif. According to the noise level, we can conclude that at 44.1 the jitter is higher than that of the E-MU1616m, and at the same time, for 48, on the contrary, the jitter is less than that of the E-MU1616m. For the E-MU1616m, the differences between 44.1 and 48 are negligible.

    Is jitter important? According to research, jitter has little effect on subjective perception, and in this case, you can simply ignore it. It is also stated that this is fixed in the next multi-channel ST modification. The ST version has a PCI slot and has the ability to connect a daughter board, the same as in the HDAV 1.3 Deluxe kit. The changes will affect only the headphone output (declared worse signal / noise) and the lower class ADC.

    The most useful information is the distortion spectra, and the higher the signal to noise ratio, the clearer and more understandable the spectrum will be.

    Channel spectra are slightly different. At different times during measurements, the levels of the second and third harmonics differ somewhat. A visually low level of the noise floor can give a misleading impression that there is a lot of distortion, but in reality for other cards, where the noise floor is visually at the level of -130 dB in the measurements, similar distortions may no longer be visible.

    If we compare the spectrum from the E-MU1616m, we can see that the spectrum of the E-MU is cleaner, and the harmonic levels are slightly higher.

    Headphone output level before overload distortion rises to about 6 Vrms into a load above 100 ohms.

    Power output is sufficient for most headphones. Because everything is known in comparison, it is recommended to compare the graph with the results of the Headphone amplifier comparison test.

    Distortion for 1 V RMS at the output is very low, there are practically no higher order harmonics. Thus, it makes sense to use an external amplifier only to obtain a different shade of sound.

    The level of distortion at maximum volume is quite low, higher order harmonics are observed only at 33 and 56 ohms. In this case, harmonics of higher orders of insignificant amplitudes.

    One often hears concerns that measurements on a resistive load are not informative, because. headphones are not such a load. When comparing the spectrum of distortions similar in characteristics to «50 Ohm» loads, spectra are obtained with minimal discrepancies.

    Distortion spectra for 1 V, resistor against Fostex T50RP headphones (50 ohm impedance) and Technics F880 (56 ohm impedance).

    STX against other audiophile cards

    There are not many audiophile cards against STX, from consumer stereo cards, this is the family of ProdigyHD2 cards on the top AKM, from the professional E-MU1212m.

    E-MU1212m PCI ($200) vs STX ($200)

    The cards are in the same price category. The E-MU1212m benefits from professional features, low latency ASIO, balanced inputs and outputs. Professional ADAT connectors, SPDIF input and output. Among the shortcomings drivers are difficult to manage, there is no headphone amplifier, there is no support for games. For domestic use, the E-MU1212m has no advantage. The popularity of the card as «the best with top DAC/ADC» for home use is fading and now there are better products for this purpose, and here STX is preferable. It is not yet possible to give the full advantage of STX over E-MU due to a better DAC due to the worst final results for the 44.1 kHz mode. STX receives a separate bonus for the possibility of replacing the op-amp without soldering.

    HD2 ($150) vs STX ($200)

    The cards are very similar in functionality. In terms of driver convenience, HD2 has an advantage, all settings are more accessible, full automatic frequency for all interfaces. STX has a more convenient implementation of changing the coefficient. amplification, it is controlled from the card control panel, while for HD2 you need to remove the card and rearrange the jumpers on the board.

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