Those were the days.
Talking about sound if your board and want some thing to read...
for me these really shine with a good pair of high Ohm headphone hd 600 /650 ect
Asus Xonar st stx / stx 2
Slap some opamp upgrades on the cheap
LME49720
Great thread too
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread.421890/
Or go for something a little more rich both money and sound both give a real true solid sound
https://www.bursonaudio.com/asus-xonar-essence-stx-upgraded-with-supreme-sound-v5-op-amps/
http://sparkoslabs.com/discrete-op-amps/
Even the Creative ZXR can really shine with a good opamp upgrade
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/asus-stx-ii-vs-creative-zxr.728124/
User using the V5's On a asus STX I quote
"
Pros - Authority, presentation and musicality
Cons - Size
So I've gone ahead and upgraded my STX using the Burson V5 Dual Opamps (x3), I've seen quite a few in this thread ask if upgrading opamps in general is really worth it so here are my impressions, YMMV of course.
Before I start it should be known that I've owned my Essence STX since 2009.. yeah, I had to look up how long. I only know this because I purchased it at the same time Windows 7 was released. This card has lasted through MANY computers and headphones, I don't think it'll ever stop working. It has sat above hot running GPUs (fermi) and been in poor airflow situations. I've rolled about half a dozen opamps before settling on signatures I liked. I have two different sets of opamps I prefer. One set which sounds best for headphone use, and another that is great for my speaker setup when using the card as a DAC. In short, I'm very familiar with what the STX brings to the table.
My headphones are currently Hifiman's HE-400i and DT770 Pro 250's from Beyer. My speaker setup consists of a Carver M200t amp, and Event 20/20 speakers. I also have a Bifrost/Asgard2 stack that I use for music listening which I purchased six months ago.
The following songs well known to me, I'll be sharing general impressions on my various setups.
First though, I'd like to note that the packaging for these opamps is top notch. They include risers (which I did not use, to help ease fitting in my case) and have quite the quality feel with solid non flexing gold pins. If you've rolled opamps before, you know how nice it is to have a quality rounded pin setup because those cheap ones bend like no tomorrow.
Songs: Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick, Atmosphere - Camera Thief, Metallica S&M - The Call of Ktulu
STX : Coming off of listening to the Schiit stack for a while these tracks sounded flat on the STX w/my 'upgraded opamps'. A black background with strong presence, clear soundstage and natural presentation is extremely important especially during the large drum solo, and this setup didn't have it. Breaking the Moby Dick track out early quickly showed me how much of a gap is between the STX and the Schiit Stack. Piano keys are not convincing, the worst culprit being the 400i's with obvious tonality issues on the upper end.
STX w/Burson V5's : Woah,,. wait a minute. I'm pretty sure I must mixed something up between my bench and computer desk. This doesn't sound like the same card I've owned for ages. Musicality has greatly improved, tones (especially bass/mid bass) are now presented clearly and with authority. I have been known to boost the lows on my STX since they've always lacked the impact and body. This is no longer the case. The thin and brittle sound is gone and in its place a very solid linear presentation. The tonality of the highs are vastly improved on the 400i, they are now enveloping and simply engaging. Where the heck were these things 9 years ago? I'm really into these, after jamming out I'm thinking I really need to test this vs my $650 dollar stack..
Schiit Bifrost 4490/Asgard2 : This is the part where I settle back into being spoiled and don't look back right? Well.. Yes, presentation, staging and authority are improved however there is some seemingly obvious diminishing returns. Especially as both setups do seem to be limited to the quality of audio you're feeding it. Before the V5 upgrade this was not the case. Honestly, both setups are quite engaging now. I couldn't vouch for engagement before the V5 upgrade and I've spent some dead serious ear time on the STX.. Honestly, if I was in my return period for the schiit setup I would be returning it simply for the fact that it is many, many times the cost of the V5 opamp upgrade.
Will I sell the schiit setup? No.. it's definitely on solid bedside duty, however, my plans to upgrade my gaming PC from the STX are definitely scrapped. Looks like it'll keep going for quite a few more years. How awesome for Asus to make this soundcard upgradable, and major cheers to Burson for pulling this V5 opamp off. I've learned that the STXs amp section is the weak link, and this opamp has really overcome the problem.
Carver m200T + Event 20/20 -- Bifrost 4490/Essence STX Burson V5 DAC : This is where things got real interesting, when comparing the DAC sections. The STX is well known to have a great DAC, and it also utilized the V5's in the link. When comparing these two DACs on this setup I was able to discern a difference between the two DACs, however, I was unable to decide on one that I hands down preferred over the other. I felt the STX was more engaging or musical, while the Bifrost was more detailed and clean. Each had its strength, this was not the case when I originally compared the 4490 to the STX with lower quality opamps.
When you consider the cost gap between these two setups, the V5's have enabled the ol' STX to punch well above its weight class. This is a very worthwhile upgrade, especially if you're considering anything mid-fi to replace it. Happy hunting all!
