Explain the Difference Please

Marshall Blyth

Marshall Blyth

Marshall Blyth

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Joined
13 May 2004
Posts
270
Location
Gloucester
Hi guys,

Sorry if this is a n00b question, but I know there are lots of pros on here. :p

What are the main differences between thsee 2 cards, apart from the price:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-001-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

and:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-005-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=


I am a total audiophile and love messing about with the EQ and stuff to get my music (jazz mainly) to sound just right, nearly always through headphones connected to the PC via a pair of Creative Gigaworks T40 speakers. I also game using this setup as well.

I currently have an X-Fi Extreme Gamer, but don't want to have to flash my BIOS to get rid of the stupid 'snap-crackle-pop' issues again, which is what I had to do when I first built the computer that I am currently typing this from.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me... ;)
 
STX is the more suitalbe for headphone use, as it has a dedicated heapdhone amplifier circuit with variable gain. As far as analogue goes, it's a dedicated stereo card. Component quality is generally superior to the D2X and it's a better card for any stereo analogue connection.

Both cards will sound identical if a digital connection is used. Both support 5.1 over optical.

The D2X can be connected to a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system via analogue cables but the STX can't.
 
The Essence is a stereo card, which has a headphone amplifier. The D2X is aimed at home theatre builders really. The Essence can be connected to an AV receiver via SPDIF, so it can be used for 5.1, but the D2X can be connected to either an AV receiver, or analogue surround speakers.

If you like EQ stuff, the X-Fi is a better card to have. The EQ settings on Xonar's are awful, they really murder the music IMO. I have had a DS and now have an Essence.

Sorry, but you don't sound like an audiophile to me. Audiophiles are very critical of the music they listen to. They spend a fortune on getting the music to sound as close to the original recording as possible. An audiophile using PC speakers? Not likely. EQ settings on gaming sound cards will make most audiophiles cry.

Enthusiast would be a better description, but then an enthusiast would be using an amplifier and some decent bookshelf/floorstanding speakers. Frankly, I don't think an audiophile would touch a gaming sound card with a barge pole, they would more than likely use either a pro audio card or an external DAC.
 
Hmmm, okay. Although I understand what you are getting at, I still consider myself to be an 'enthusiast' if you like, able to get a pretty good sound out of the stuff I have, bearing in mind that I am using a 'cheaper' pair of headphones and the music and games still sound sweet to me! :cool:

As I said before, I really don't want to have to screw about getting rid of 'snap-crackle-pop' if I get it with another X-Fi card. I've also heard people saying that the Xonar cards tend to have a warmer sound.

I'm kind of out of my depth here when it comes to all the technical stuff. I've spent several hours tweaking my X-Fi EQ about to get a really sweet sound using the 'limited' equipment I have here.

Thanks for the imput anyway... ;)
 
I consider myself an audiophile but either can't afford to get the sort of setup Marsman is talking about, or wouldn't want to inflict it on the neighbours (i'm in a terraced house). Realistically I'm never going to spend a good proportion of a month's salary on a single piece of audio equipment. It's just priorities...

I do tend to avoid EQing though. That's the sound engineer's job as far as I'm concerned. I'm just after the best way to reproduce it for the money.
 
Marshall Blyth said:
Hmmm, okay. Although I understand what you are getting at, I still consider myself to be an 'enthusiast' if you like, able to get a pretty good sound out of the stuff I have, bearing in mind that I am using a 'cheaper' pair of headphones and the music and games still sound sweet to me! :cool:

As I said before, I really don't want to have to screw about getting rid of 'snap-crackle-pop' if I get it with another X-Fi card. I've also heard people saying that the Xonar cards tend to have a warmer sound.

I'm kind of out of my depth here when it comes to all the technical stuff. I've spent several hours tweaking my X-Fi EQ about to get a really sweet sound using the 'limited' equipment I have here.

Thanks for the imput anyway... ;)
Click to expand...

Xonar cards do have a warmer sound, which is not to everyone's taste, quite a few people prefer the sound Creative's X-Fi gives. Which is fair enough, to each his own. Xonar's are best with all the EQ stuff off, they don't have the bass and treble controls of the X-Fi. With the X-Fi it is far easier to add or take away bass/treble, and it works a lot better than messing about with the EQ settings on Xonar cards.

For me personally pairing some headphones that benefit from amplification with a Xonar Essence is great. I have Goldring DR150's, and although they sound great with normal amplification you would get from an MP3 player or a sound card that has no additional amplification, with the extra amplification that the headphone amp in the Essence gives to them, really does improve them.

I think unless you have a nice amplifier and hi-fi speakers, or a nice pair of phones that will benefit from the headphone amp, then you may not notice the extra quality an Essence can provide over the D2X.
 
The main reason I am asking about the difference between these two cards is indeed the headphone amp.

The headphones I am using now are Technics RP-F350 Stereo Headphones. They are so comfortable (I am on the computer an awful lot at the moment due to being out of work) that I went straight out and bought a second pair when the first ones died, due to a fault with the wiring after many years of constant use.

Not sure if they would benefit from the headphone amp or not. Need to make sure before I buy though, as my music and games have to sound decent... :p ;)
 
Hmmm, looks like I might go for a combination of the Essence STX and a pair of those Goldring DR150's. That'll set me back around £200, and should get me some pretty sweet results.

Many thanks for your imput guys... ;)
 
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