Asus Xonar Essence STX for gaming on a headset?

Speedz

Speedz

Speedz

Associate
Joined
25 Oct 2011
Posts
55
Hey
What would the Xonar Essence STX be like when gaming on a headset? Because I've heard it's pretty good for headsets seen as it has a headphone amp (I think) however some people have said it's directed towards people listening to music mainly and not gaming. I play on an Astro A40 headset just using two 3.5 mm jacks because when I use the optical cable and USB for my mic, people tell me my mic quality goes to crap.
What do you guys think?
By the way, if it's no good for gaming, then what sound card would you suggest for headset gaming?
 
of course its a good gaming sound card, it just wont sound any better than another gaming sound card unless you get nice refined 250ohm + headphones.

if you use generic ''pro'' gaming headsets then its going to sound no different to the cheaper sound cards.

if you spend £150 on a sound card then expect to get some decent headphones to match
 
I was just about to ask the same question - hope you don't mind me chiming in here.

I've got a PC-350 headset which I believe is 150ohms currently running off my Asus D2X. However I feel it needs a bit more grunt with a soundcard capable of headphone amplification.

Theres two options here:
Asus Essence STX ~£130
or Asus Xonar Pheobus. ~£160

Both have amplified sockets and the obvious choice would be the Pheobus as it is designed specifically for gamers (that being my prime use). HOWEVER - Cost wise the Phoebus is more expensive than the STX (which many reviewers have said the Phoebus can't touch - The STX is still superior in sound quality).

Sooooo, Is the STX a capable gaming soundcard? - Two main games I play are CSS:GO, BF3, and sometimes some Crysis 2.

The Pheobus has Dolby Surround v4 support - whatever that is lol, whereas the STX has Dolby Headphone support - so not sure which is better for gaming with decent cans....

Also - anyone know if the STX can take a 2 channel speaker and headphone connection at the same time - allowing me to flip between the two using software?
 
martynpd said:
of course its a good gaming sound card, it just wont sound any better than another gaming sound card unless you get nice refined 250ohm + headphones.

if you use generic ''pro'' gaming headsets then its going to sound no different to the cheaper sound cards.
Click to expand...

Got any suggestions for decent headsets then? Don't really know anything about audio specs etc
 
zoomee said:
Also - anyone know if the STX can take a 2 channel speaker and headphone connection at the same time - allowing me to flip between the two using software?
Click to expand...
Yes the output is relay switched on the card and the control for it is in the control panel meaning you can have your hi-fi and headphones connected at the same time.

I use my ST primarily for music, but it does just as good a job with games as a DG/DS would and as i've also got the surround board with mine it'll do the same job as the D2. The STX cannot do this, so bear that in mind as you are buying a stereo card that doesn't do analogue surround sound.

Technically speaking, you can connect whatever headset you like to the sound card, but there aren't going to be any obvious benefits with low end headphones/mics. You will also need to have both the mic and headphone connectors adapted to 1/4" TRS. (AKA 6.3mm stereo jack) If they are presently 3.5mm jacks, you can get adaptors nice and cheap, and a lot of headphones come with adaptors to do this.
 
Okay, instead of me being confused by audio tech stuff haha, Can you guys recommend me a good sound card for gaming (good positional awareness) and listening to music?
Any help appreciated :)
 
Kei said:
Yes the output is relay switched on the card and the control for it is in the control panel meaning you can have your hi-fi and headphones connected at the same time.

I use my ST primarily for music, but it does just as good a job with games as a DG/DS would and as i've also got the surround board with mine it'll do the same job as the D2. The STX cannot do this, so bear that in mind as you are buying a stereo card that doesn't do analogue surround sound.

Technically speaking, you can connect whatever headset you like to the sound card, but there aren't going to be any obvious benefits with low end headphones/mics. You will also need to have both the mic and headphone connectors adapted to 1/4" TRS. (AKA 6.3mm stereo jack) If they are presently 3.5mm jacks, you can get adaptors nice and cheap, and a lot of headphones come with adaptors to do this.
Click to expand...

Thanks bud - Not bothered about surround sound at all (other than directional sound through 2 channel headphones) as I have a set of Logitech Z2300's and my PC-350 sennheiser headset. The PC 350 needs the extra amplification so I have no choice other than to go for either an STX or pheobus. (prefer PCI-e cards for future compatibility).

The Pheobus has a native pci-express chip unlike the STX as its a newer chipset - but the sound quality on the pheobus isn't as good as the STX :( - can't believe Asus are charging more for it than the STX!

Speedz said:
Okay, instead of me being confused by audio tech stuff haha, Can you guys recommend me a good sound card for gaming (good positional awareness) and listening to music?
Any help appreciated :)
Click to expand...

In all honesty mate, If you havn't got a set of super duper headphones which need extra amplification - I can't recommend the Asus D2X enough. Its awesome - forget creative they're rubbish - stick with Asus.

I'm selling mine (its only a month old!) in members market because of these PC-350 headphones I got - otherwise its a gorgeous card and pee's on all my previous creative cards - highly recommend it.

EDIT: Astro A40's are only 50ohms looking at a quick google - so I'd save your monies tbh and stick with something like a D2X or similar - waste of money getting the higher end cards JUST for gaming.
 
Last edited:
Well, it wouldn't be entirely for gaming. I do listen to music most of the time I'm not gaming. But still, you would recommend the D2X seeing as my headphones wouldn't make a difference for anything above it yes? To be honest, this will be a kind of birthday present, and instead of getting a better soundcard now and getting some better headphones for xmas, I'd really like a new monitor (120hz). Been wanting one for a while.

Also, I know it's a hard question to answer, but how much of a difference to sound cards make? Like will I notice a much of a difference to what my on-board audio currently is?

Thanks again mate :)
 
no worries dude ;)

The difference between something like an Asus D2X and onboard audio - is like night and day - you'll notice straight away. Even one of them DG or DX model Asus cards will make a hell of a difference to onboard audio!!

Whereas the difference between an STX and a D2X/DG/DX requires audio geekness abilities lol ;)
 
The difference between onboard sound and a soundcard CAN be night and day but I'd say for a lot of people it probably wouldn't be.

First of all it depends a lot on what you're listening to the sound/music with. A crappy cheap set of cheapers or a cheapo headset won't do a decent soundcard any favours.

Lastly... Some people just don't seem to notice the difference :P Whether they're just a little bit hard of hearing or something I don't know but some people just don't seem to notice any difference.

Ideally you would try other people's kit or stuff in a shop before you buy but that's not always possible :)
 
The need for a proper 'gaming' soundcard (like Creative SB and X-Fi range) is getting less and less because the performance impact of sound processing is so minor on modern CPUs, game developers are choosing to do everything via software processing which requires no special sound card features and allows much more flexibility.

Therefore, you buy a sound card for the analogue hardware, things like a high quality DAC, powerful amps, etc - which is precisely what the Essence ST/STX excel at.
 
Whilst I agree hardware processing is no longer an issue - The audio quality difference between onboard Audio and a dedicated soundcard is HUGE!. I am not an audiophile, seriously I don't even think my ears have the frequency range after years of blasting super subwoofers in cars lol.

BUT - I can defo tell the difference between onboard audio and a dedicated soundcard - especially when gaming.
 
The difference in sound quality between the STX in my desktop and the onboard sound on my laptop is absolutely massive when using headphones. The difference is even greater when using the built-in speakers on the laptop!
 
titaniumx3 said:
The need for a proper 'gaming' soundcard (like Creative SB and X-Fi range) is getting less and less because the performance impact of sound processing is so minor on modern CPUs, game developers are choosing to do everything via software processing which requires no special sound card features and allows much more flexibility.

Therefore, you buy a sound card for the analogue hardware, things like a high quality DAC, powerful amps, etc - which is precisely what the Essence ST/STX excel at.
Click to expand...

software processing is often changeable in games (such as borderlands 2) but for me onboard vs dedicated sound card still = night and day

theres no need to get anything other than a dx or d1 though I'd rather buy a headphone amp or dac etc on top of than throw £150 at a soundcard
oh and if I were you i'd get pci express because pci slots are starting to disappear from boards

you'd be miles better off with £50 sound card and some decent headphones than stx + headset
 
Last edited:
zoomee said:
no worries dude ;)

The difference between something like an Asus D2X and onboard audio - is like night and day - you'll notice straight away. Even one of them DG or DX model Asus cards will make a hell of a difference to onboard audio!!

Whereas the difference between an STX and a D2X/DG/DX requires audio geekness abilities lol ;)
Click to expand...

The difference between the cards in my opinion does not require audio geekyness.

If you are familiar with a certain scene from a movie or certain passage in a musical piece you should be able to hear difference between the cards or not.

I tend to find that Asus soundcards tend to have a similar certain sonic signature across their range.

I own the DS, D2X and the STX and they all sound the 'same' tonally. I find them on the darker side of neutral to these old ears whereas many people would find them closer to neutral.

To me the difference between the DS, D2X and STX is very very marginal when gaming using a pc orientated gaming headset. For gaming I have the Roccat Kaves. And also like many people I have a dedicated headphone for music use.

On the DS and D2X I found at least in my experience that my dedicated headphones didn't sound any better than my Kaves. If anything it sounded slightly worse. It was only when I re-listened via the STX that the dedicated headphones came into their own.

This is probably due to the headphone amp on the STX as the other two don't have an integrated amp. Also combining with different op amps this could have affected the overall sound.

Musically the STX is subjectively better than the other two cards but then again it should be as it is a more expensive option especially when you consider you require a decent form of output whether speakers or headphones to compliment it.

It all depends on what a person is willing to spend to achieve that result.

Having said that if you were the type of person to go that route and as good as the STX is at least in the pc-orientated soundcard market I am of the impression that it would have trouble against dedicated cd players or dacs slightly above it price point.

An 'audiophille' pc soundcard it might be possibly but it certainly not audiophile overall.

I think Kei would appreciate this that when you start trying to discern which sounds is better overall between a DCS stack system, A Burmester and an EmmLabs that's when you need audiogeekyness and even then it still subjective at best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom