Xonar D2 to Xonar Essence STX, worth the money?

theforce · 16 May 2009 at 19:24

Currently have a Xonar D2 and l am very happy with it. The reason l want to upgrade is because the Xonar Essence uses higher quality components and features an on-board amplifier to drive my HD 650. My headphones sound good with the Xonar D2 but yet again l have never heard them powered by an amp to witness the difference.

I also have some Platronics headphones for gaming when a mic is used. In addition l have a 5.1 Megaworks system that l now rarely use. In the future l am thinking of replacing my 5.1 system with a good 2.0 system from M-Audio.

Now there are some people who argue that an external amp would be nicer. After searching around l have seen that the good amps start from €300 which is a bit more expensive than the Essence STX.

My plan is to sell my D2 and get the Essence but l want some opinions from people who migrated from a D2 or a D2X to an Essence. What is the difference in sound quality? Furthermore people that used an Essence and compared it to dedicated amps are also welcome to say their opinion.

Thanks in advance.

r2d2 · 16 May 2009 at 20:45

I have the hd650 with a headphone amp already (graham slee solo) which I use with my extrememusic xfi. I will upgrade to the essence stx very soon. I am getting the stx to improve my source sound.

From reading reviews and forums on the card its one of the best cards out there for music listening on headphones.

You already have a D2, and that is a quality card so You might be better to get a decent headphone amp maybe? - seeing as though you have a high quality source.

Can the d2 drive the hd650s properly?

theforce · 16 May 2009 at 22:13

The D2 does a very good job. I will go with the STX since from what l read it does a really nice job and it won't make a hole in my wallet.

r2d2 · 17 May 2009 at 01:10

theforce said:
The D2 does a very good job. I will go with the STX since from what l read it does a really nice job and it won't make a hole in my wallet.

I am going to get one too, canrt wait lol. You should post up a review when you get it and compare it against your last card. :cool: