Asus DX or D2X? (or something else)

Juusuhako · 5 Feb 2015 at 17:49

Hey people,
I just returned a SB-Z and would like to try Asus instead because I hear so good about 'em.

Right now I can find a D2X, and a DX which is half the price of the other. From what I read D2X is more suited for speakers, whilst DX seems to be an all-round solution, but has no amp. however.

I believe STX (not STX II) is abit overkill for my 32ohm headphones, right?

My headphones: Aurvana Live 2

rids57 · 5 Feb 2015 at 18:22

You thought about an external such as the Xonar U7?

It has a very good DAC, a passable headphone amp, all of the features you get with an internal card and a physical volume control on the desktop. It would also be a good choice if you intend running SLI or Crossfire graphics cards at some point.

As for the STX, it does have more power than you need for an Aurvana Live 2 but it's not all about power, it also puts out the cleanest audio signal thanks to an excellent DAC and very high quality components. It would also give you the ability to upgrade your headphones to something more power hungry further down the line, should the fancy take you - and it probably will, this hobby is incredibly insidious.

The DX and D2X are both aimed squarely at speaker users and are not really suitable for headphones.

Depending on your intended use, for music an external DAC and headphone amp is another option. The Epiphany O2Di or the Schiit Modi (optical) + Schiit Magni 2 (or Vali) or even the Aune T1 can be had for under £200.

Juusuhako · 5 Feb 2015 at 18:55

rids57 said:
You thought about an external such as the Xonar U7?

It has a very good DAC, a passable headphone amp, all of the features you get with an internal card and a physical volume control on the desktop. It would also be a good choice if you intend running SLI or Crossfire graphics cards at some point.

As for the STX, it does have more power than you need for an Aurvana Live 2 but it's not all about power, it also puts out the cleanest audio signal thanks to an excellent DAC and very high quality components. It would also give you the ability to upgrade your headphones to something more power hungry further down the line, should the fancy take you - and it probably will, this hobby is incredibly insidious.

The DX and D2X are both aimed squarely at speaker users and are not really suitable for headphones.

Depending on your intended use, for music an external DAC and headphone amp is another option. The Epiphany O2Di or the Schiit Modi (optical) + Schiit Magni 2 (or Vali) or even the Aune T1 can be had for under £200.

Considering I litteraly just got these headphones they wont be exchanged for another 2 years LEAST, by then there might be better sound card options?

I have not considered a DAC because the few places that does sell them (in Denmark, online), seem VERY expensive. Mind you I only paid £60 for the SB-Z, which is what I intend to also spend on the replacement (+/- abit if it has to be).

So what are my options if both DX/D2X are suited for speakers? I appreciate good music quality a lot, but I do play more games than I listen to music (they are .flac mostly though).

edit: forgot you mentioned Asus U7. Isnt that basically a USB-soundcard? Are they really better than internals?

rids57 · 5 Feb 2015 at 20:56

No need to SHOUT, I only suggested it as a way of future proofing and saving money in the long term. As for there being better sound cards available a couple of years down the line, I doubt it. Computer audio evolves at a snail's pace compared to video and cards don't tend to change much year by year. The STX was released six years ago and only recently was upgraded to the STX II. There is very little difference between the old and new versions except for a low gain switch for sub 32ohm headphones and earphones and the main difference is that you can buy a version that has an extra card for multi channel speaker setups.

Sonically a USB sound card is neither better nor worse than an internal sound card, it just connects outside the case rather than through PCI / PCIe.

The reason I suggested it was that it is of decent quality, fairly good headphone support (only recommended up to 150ohm headphones) and is a good alternative to the Sound Blaster Z

Juusuhako · 5 Feb 2015 at 22:42

rids57 said:
No need to SHOUT, I only suggested it as a way of future proofing and saving money in the long term. As for there being better sound cards available a couple of years down the line, I doubt it. Computer audio evolves at a snail's pace compared to video and cards don't tend to change much year by year. The STX was released six years ago and only recently was upgraded to the STX II. There is very little difference between the old and new versions except for a low gain switch for sub 32ohm headphones and earphones and the main difference is that you can buy a version that has an extra card for multi channel speaker setups.

Sonically a USB sound card is neither better nor worse than an internal sound card, it just connects outside the case rather than through PCI / PCIe.

The reason I suggested it was that it is of decent quality, fairly good headphone support (only recommended up to 150ohm headphones) and is a good alternative to the Sound Blaster Z

Doesnt the 1st gen. STX have the ability for changing amp. gain?

rids57 · 5 Feb 2015 at 23:50

yes but not below 32ohms, it has three settings...

1) 0db for less than 64 ohms
2) 12db for 64 ohms to 300 ohms
3) 18db for 300 ohms to 600 ohms

Juusuhako · 6 Feb 2015 at 01:56

rids57 said:
yes but not below 32ohms, it has three settings...

1) 0db for less than 64 ohms
2) 12db for 64 ohms to 300 ohms
3) 18db for 300 ohms to 600 ohms

I believe Aurvana Live 2 has exactly 32ohms. And surely if 0db is for less than 64ohms, that would include 32ohms aswell? But with 0db does it even gain/use anything from the amp?

rids57 · 6 Feb 2015 at 02:16

The STX II has the following gain settings:

1) IEM for 16 ohm to 32 ohm
2) Normal for 32 ohm to 64 ohm
3) High Gain for 64 ohm to 300 ohm
4) Extra High Gain for 300 ohm to 600 ohm

They no longer appear to state what the gain is for each category - probably done this way so that the IEM setting isn't going to blow drivers if the volume is maxed.

Marsman · 6 Feb 2015 at 11:27

Juusuhako said:
I believe Aurvana Live 2 has exactly 32ohms. And surely if 0db is for less than 64ohms, that would include 32ohms aswell? But with 0db does it even gain/use anything from the amp?

All settings will be using the amp, as the amp is part of the circuitry to which the headphones are connected. You can look at the gain setting as a way to increase the signal power. 0dB just means that the signal does not need to be increased for headphones that are considered easy to drive.

You could up the gain if you wished, but you would be increasing the power of the signal beyond what the headphones need in order to perform at their optimum. All you would be doing would be increasing the volume higher and higher to the point where 10% of the volume would be ridiculously loud.

Marine-RX179 · 6 Feb 2015 at 12:06

If it's purely for headphone and not for speaker, the DacMagic XS is worth looking at as well.

I have the DacMagic XS, and IMO it is on par with my STX II if not better for sound quality. The STX/STX II however have more powerful headphone amp, whereas DacMagic XS's headphone amp should be at least good enough for 32/80Ohms headphones.

The con of a internal soundsound is that it is tied to the specific PC, whereas the DacMagic XS is extremely portable around the size of a matchbox...I take it to work in my pocket to use on my laptop everyday! Can only use IEM at work, but it still sound million times better on the XS connected to the USB than the rubbish audio jack out on the laptop.

Juusuhako · 6 Feb 2015 at 12:34

rids57 said:
The STX II has the following gain settings:

1) IEM for 16 ohm to 32 ohm
2) Normal for 32 ohm to 64 ohm
3) High Gain for 64 ohm to 300 ohm
4) Extra High Gain for 300 ohm to 600 ohm

They no longer appear to state what the gain is for each category - probably done this way so that the IEM setting isn't going to blow drivers if the volume is maxed.

Marsman said:
All settings will be using the amp, as the amp is part of the circuitry to which the headphones are connected. You can look at the gain setting as a way to increase the signal power. 0dB just means that the signal does not need to be increased for headphones that are considered easy to drive.

You could up the gain if you wished, but you would be increasing the power of the signal beyond what the headphones need in order to perform at their optimum. All you would be doing would be increasing the volume higher and higher to the point where 10% of the volume would be ridiculously loud.

I did mean the STX I, not II.

But yea, thats what happened with the SB-Z. Since you cant change the gain, and it had a fit and sent out a loud constant beeping at max. volume, it blew the headphones a new one.

But I assume you can change the gain the same way on STX I?

Marine-RX179 said:
If it's purely for headphone and not for speaker, the DacMagic XS is worth looking at as well.

I have the DacMagic XS, and IMO it is on par with my STX II if not better for sound quality. The STX/STX II however have more powerful headphone amp, whereas DacMagic XS's headphone amp should be at least good enough for 32/80Ohms headphones.

The con of a internal soundsound is that it is tied to the specific PC, whereas the DacMagic XS is extremely portable around the size of a matchbox...I take it to work in my pocket to use on my laptop everyday! Can only use IEM at work, but it still sound million times better on the XS connected to the USB than the rubbish audio jack out on the laptop.

Seems a little expensive for what you're getting. I certainly dont need the transportability, but I'll keep it in mind.

Seems like the best Asus option - with amp. - is a STX I/II. Maybe I can find one used for a good price...

Marsman · 6 Feb 2015 at 13:13

Yeah, both STX and STX II have gain settings, as posted by rids previously. It's that just the II has an extra setting for IEMs..

The SB Z though, has no gain setting at all, which you have discovered.

Full high gain setting for low impedance headphones = loud with the volume only at a low percentage.

Creative just used the magic words '600 Ohm headphone amp!', to grab attention it would seem without any thought into how lower impedance headphones would perform. It's just numbers though as it's questionable whether it would power for example, the 300 Ohm Sennheiser HD600/650, well enough.

It's certainly worth keeping an eye out for used Essence cards. Someone else in another thread picked up an STX for £70. Unlikely you'll find many used STX II cards, and then I'd imagine they would go for more being a newer product. The difference is not enough to justify the extra cost really. The extra gain setting for IEMs is only really of value if you use IEMs, otherwise the gain settings the STX has is fine for the majority of headphones.

Marine-RX179 · 6 Feb 2015 at 14:00

Juusuhako said:
Seems a little expensive for what you're getting. I certainly dont need the transportability, but I'll keep it in mind.

Seems like the best Asus option - with amp. - is a STX I/II. Maybe I can find one used for a good price...

I picked up my DacMagic XS for half-price at under £49.95 during the Black Friday sales...well-chuffed

Juusuhako · 7 Feb 2015 at 18:09

Marine-RX179 said:
I picked up my DacMagic XS for half-price at under £49.95 during the Black Friday sales...well-chuffed

Hah, lucky you. Its £100 here im afraid. :rolleyes:

Marine-RX179 · 7 Feb 2015 at 20:53

Juusuhako said:
Hah, lucky you. Its £100 here im afraid.

The XS has always been £99.95...to be frank I was quite shock to see RicherSounds knocked 50% off the price during Black Friday!

Since they allow 30 days money back guarantee for the XS if you are not happy with it, so buying it was a no-brainer...but I must say I certainly didn't disappoint, and I think they well worth it even for the original price.

If I have money to spare in the future and the DAC Magic Plus's price drop below £200, I might get that as well to play with. The AFT2 24 bit/384 kHz up-sampling feature sounds quite interesting and tempting

Juusuhako · 7 Feb 2015 at 21:23

Marine-RX179 said:
The XS has always been £99.95...to be frank I was quite shock to see RicherSounds knocked 50% off the price during Black Friday!

Since they allow 30 days money back guarantee for the XS if you are not happy with it, so buying it was a no-brainer...but I must say I certainly didn't disappoint, and I think they well worth it even for the original price.

If I have money to spare in the future and the DAC Magic Plus's price drop below £200, I might get that as well to play with. The AFT2 24 bit/384 kHz up-sampling feature sounds quite interesting and tempting

My alternative (for a reasonable price) would be the FiiO E10K, but I do like sound cards because of equalizers, and software in general to play around with. Basically I either get lucky and find an STX, or try out the E10K and see if its to my taste.