Did you use the PSU1 with it?
Xonar Essence STX and Sennheiser HD650
- Thread starter ntemples1
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Did you use the PSU1 with it?
I imagine that there's not a lot in it. The drivers are very similar.
Yeah very similar. The hd650 are basically a different flavoured hd600. Hd600 are brighter.
I currently use an Essence STX with Denon D7000s, HD600s and Ultrasone Pro900s. The hd600 seems to be the hardest of the three to drive.
They all sound good to me amped by the STX, but I can't help wonder if they could sound better with a dedicated HP amp.
However, like with most audio gear I'm sure the law of diminishing returns will come into play. Will an expensive desktop HP amp really be such an improvement over the STX to justify the cost?
They all sound good to me amped by the STX, but I can't help wonder if they could sound better with a dedicated HP amp.
However, like with most audio gear I'm sure the law of diminishing returns will come into play. Will an expensive desktop HP amp really be such an improvement over the STX to justify the cost?
imo yes. I was sceptical at first, until i heard headphones amped the graham sleel srg.
On my main computer rig I have essence stx. The amp on that while decent, doesnt compare to a good dedicated amp. Just me experience and opinion though obviously.
I have the denon d7000 (awesome headphones), hd800 and hd650s. Currently amped lehman black cube linear. I have heard these phones on a "better" amp like the spl phonitor, and this amps really takes the sound to the next level.
I think you will notice a big difference with having a good amp with the hd600. Not as much with the other headphones.
The denons to me straight out of an ipod touch, sound good, out of the black cube linear sublime.
You should try and audition an amp and see what u think for yourself.
When the 600's were on offer, I was very tempted to buy a pair. I thought it would be great buy, seeing as I already had an Essence. I decided not to because, although £100 was a steal, I don't use headphones enough really, and I really wanted to replace my 5.1 system with a decent stereo amp and some bookshelf speakers. However, I realised the offer wasn't going to last long, and the chance to get the 600's at that price again was very slim. So I was torn between getting them, and deciding to get a stereo amp and speakers at a later date. Even if I wasn't going to use them a great deal, at £100 I thought they'd we be worth having. What I didn't realise, was that the 600's really would need a better amp than what the Essence has, to do them justice. Had I bought the 600's, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to spend another £200 on a dedicated HP amp, to improve them more to what they are capable of. As I had a pair of Goldring's already, I decided to get an amp and speakers instead, which for me, turned out to be the right decision. 
I will say, although the Essence is seen as a headphone sound card, it's also a great sound card to use with a decent budget stereo speaker setup. It knocks the spots off my X-Fi Xtreme Music, which I suppose is to be expected given that it's 2.5x the cost. Before Creative released their Titanium HD, the sound difference between their flagship card and the Xtreme Music/Gamer would have been little to nothing. FatRakoon already said in another thread, the sound difference between his Xtreme Gamer and the £200 Fatality was basically none. It's nice to pay more, and get a significant jump in sound quality, rather than pay for over priced features and marketing nonsense.
I will say, although the Essence is seen as a headphone sound card, it's also a great sound card to use with a decent budget stereo speaker setup. It knocks the spots off my X-Fi Xtreme Music, which I suppose is to be expected given that it's 2.5x the cost. Before Creative released their Titanium HD, the sound difference between their flagship card and the Xtreme Music/Gamer would have been little to nothing. FatRakoon already said in another thread, the sound difference between his Xtreme Gamer and the £200 Fatality was basically none. It's nice to pay more, and get a significant jump in sound quality, rather than pay for over priced features and marketing nonsense.
I note that Stereophile recently updated their review of the Essence cards to include performance as a headphone amp (using HD650s).
http://www.stereophile.com/content/asus-xonar-essence-ststx-soundcards-follow-september-2010
Regarding Creative X-Fis, the only one from the original lineup to feature significantly improved analogue components was the Elite Pro. Everything else down to the Xtreme Music and Xtreme Gamer (when it appeared later) was basically the same sound quality, with the differences being features, X-RAM or accessories.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/asus-xonar-essence-ststx-soundcards-follow-september-2010
Regarding Creative X-Fis, the only one from the original lineup to feature significantly improved analogue components was the Elite Pro. Everything else down to the Xtreme Music and Xtreme Gamer (when it appeared later) was basically the same sound quality, with the differences being features, X-RAM or accessories.
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I am really impressed with the essence with the 650's. I am a professional musician and consider myself to have a good ear. I am also curious to how it would sound with the Graham Slee Solo SRG II as I have no reference point at the moment just using the headphone amp of the essence.
Soldato
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yeah, you definitely need a reference that you can compare with. You'll start to notice things you may not have heard before. I'd also recommend playing around with an eq at 10-20kz, since the 650's are known to be dark and veiled and respond well to a bit of eq'ing.
I think the STX is good enough for the 650's to be honest. I have a Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear headphone amp which cost almost as much as my GPU's. There isn't what I'd call a huge difference using this amp compared to the asus with the HD650 or HD800 cans in my experience. At least with Rock music. The Asus is definitely up to the job. I've also tried both sets of cans with the headphone output on my Marantz PM6003 amp. And again not a lot of difference comparing this amp and the asus. Since then I've moved the headphone amp into my "sound" room for dedicated listening with the HD800's. I'm using the Asus/HD650 combo you have for gaming in dolby headphone mode, and the rca out's from the Asus goes into my marantz amp for when I uses speakers.
So personally I'd stick with the HD650/Asus combo. Also if you get a dedicated headphone amp, the only way you will be able to use dolby headphone mode for gaming with the HD650's is if you output the Asus's headphone output into your headphone amp rather then the more traditional rca outputs into the amp.
One recommendation I would make if you are sticking with the Asus is to change the OPAMPS. It takes all of 5 minutes and can improve the sound especially with headphones. Or at least it changes the sound. You can order sample opamps for just the cost of postage from National SemiConductor. I replaced the pair of JRC2114 chips in the I/IV section (that's responsible for the headphones) with a pair of LME49720's which reduced the slight harshness in treble when using headphones, and the LM4562 (which affects the RCA output) with an LM6172IN which provided more accurate directional cues when gaming and better imaging.
The 2nd last post in this thread explains how to replace them. I used a long noses pliars.
http://headphones.com.au/forums/vie...sid=19fee4a405760639d6119efd8c4c8dfd&start=75
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I have seen comments that the Elite Pro was a step up from the other X-Fi's. Problem is, AFAIK, you couldn't buy the card on it's own. Anyone wanting that step up, had to buy the external box as well. Not ideal if you didn't want the external box. :/
Well that's really good advice thanks, I think for the moment I am happy with the essence and the HD 650's, I have got loads of money at the moment so I'll stick with what I have, maybe when I am feeling a bit more flush I will try out and amp and see how it performs next to the essence for myself, until then I am really enoying the combination that i have.
My HD650s arrived on Monday.
I knew my HD580s would take some beating, but by the power of Greyskull these are so damn good to my ears. It's like the engineers at Sennheiser took the good bits of the HD580s/600s and multiplied them two fold!
I knew my HD580s would take some beating, but by the power of Greyskull these are so damn good to my ears. It's like the engineers at Sennheiser took the good bits of the HD580s/600s and multiplied them two fold!
Thread necro but HIGHLY relevant to my current interests.
A delayed cheers for the info posted here on HD650s with the STX card. I was considering tube amping up my HD650s with a LIttleDoT MKIII but was stuck on what DAC solution to use.
I might just get the STX and see how I find the headphone amp first then decide if I want to change to a dedicated external AMP afterwards.
I am very discerning about my audio (ever since getting my 650s) but I am not ultra hardcore audiophile that I can pass up on seeing what the STX can offer and hold fire on a new amp also!
Edit - Might be hard to find an STX though!
A delayed cheers for the info posted here on HD650s with the STX card. I was considering tube amping up my HD650s with a LIttleDoT MKIII but was stuck on what DAC solution to use.
I might just get the STX and see how I find the headphone amp first then decide if I want to change to a dedicated external AMP afterwards.
I am very discerning about my audio (ever since getting my 650s) but I am not ultra hardcore audiophile that I can pass up on seeing what the STX can offer and hold fire on a new amp also!
Edit - Might be hard to find an STX though!
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Just get a Little Dot 3, and something like one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIR9001-P...357?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5197f5403d
The STX is pretty expensive, not sure how much you'd be looking to spend though. If it's 100 quid plus, just try to find a used LD3 and don't waste your time. I have the above DAC, and whilst I'm sure it's not the best, it does a good job for my set up. I run mine straight from the mobos optical out, and have since given up on my sound card as to me it seems like just another unecessary link in the chain.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me I had a pair of 650s.
They've spent the last 6+ months in their box, as I prefered my D2000s. I was going to flog them on, but listening to them just now I'm not not sure I can.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIR9001-P...357?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5197f5403d
The STX is pretty expensive, not sure how much you'd be looking to spend though. If it's 100 quid plus, just try to find a used LD3 and don't waste your time. I have the above DAC, and whilst I'm sure it's not the best, it does a good job for my set up. I run mine straight from the mobos optical out, and have since given up on my sound card as to me it seems like just another unecessary link in the chain.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me I had a pair of 650s.
They've spent the last 6+ months in their box, as I prefered my D2000s. I was going to flog them on, but listening to them just now I'm not not sure I can.
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Soldato
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Been pondering about an external headphone amp for what seems like an eternity now, but I'm still digesting the £400 I spent on my HD650 + Essence ST. Still sounds amazing though!
I have HD595s but I' too am interested in replacing my STX OpAmps.
Are the 49720s in question these?
x2 of http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-LME49720NA-Dual-HiFi-OpAmp-AUTHENTIC-LME49720-DIP-/160582575653
Also for the RCA out:
x1 of http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LM6172IN-...865?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item230da7f6d1
They're both manufactured by National so are the genuine article. I'm mainly doing it for the RCA out but at this price I'll do the headphones out as well. I output to my NAD C325BEE amp btw and that drives my headphones as well. I have a view to upgrade the amp at some point but having owned various other stereo amps from CA/NAD and Rotel, I found myself returning to NAD because I just liked the way that these things output their music both through speakers and headphones.
Next to try will be a Marantz I guess.