Asus Xonar DX (or alternative??)

Do you ever intend on running higher end headphones that require amplification? Or connecting stuff via RCA?

If yes, get the Xonar Essence ST (PCI) or STX (PCI-E).

If no, get the DX.

'Nuff said. :)
 
What (onboard) sound card & speakers/earphones do you currently have / intend to get?

I have an Asus P6T Deluxe v2 motherboard with the Xonar DX in it and I can't really tell a difference in the audio quality between the Xonar DX and my onboard sound, using my Sennheiser HD 465 earphones.
 
Pada said:
What (onboard) sound card & speakers/earphones do you currently have / intend to get?

I have an Asus P6T Deluxe v2 motherboard with the Xonar DX in it and I can't really tell a difference in the audio quality between the Xonar DX and my onboard sound, using my Sennheiser HD 465 earphones.
Click to expand...

What onboard audio does it have?

The difference between cheaper mobo onboard and a decent sound card is night/day. With higher end mobos with SupremeFX etc. onboard audio/cards that have Dolby features will be less discernible.

Have you enabled the Dolby features on your DX? Namely Pro Logic IIx. When that is toggled off, it will basically be similar to what onboard is. When you toggle between them, you will see the night/day difference. Dolby standards are one of the main things you pay for in decent sound cards, besides latency/SNR etc. which means little to the average user.

Also, HD4xx are pretty much low - mid range. Can't wait to test my HD595. But the difference between my old mobo's P45 onboard audio and my Essence STX is incredible on my Logitech Z-2300.

He has the new Corsair 2.1 speakers, SP2500.
 
lol I had an ac97 and the difference between that and my D1 (PCI version of DX) was like night and day. Running it on a set of Logitech X-540's, so decent mid-low range 5.1 speakers.

It is also going to depend on the quality of your source. Listening to lossless was easily the biggest difference, while lossy MP3 audio did sound better, but not as much.

There are also some nice extra little things, like custom Bass Crossover frequency, Dolby Headphone/Pro Logic II, and the ability to switch between the FP connector and speakers (i.e. doesn't automatically mute speakers when headphones are plugged in).
 
The Asus P6T Deluxe v2 motherboard has 'ADI® AD2000B 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC', so it's not even an X-Fi or SupremeFX soundcard from Asus. I haven't looked for reviews on it yet, but it's definitely way better than AC'97 ones.

I really don't like the sound of those emulated surround sound features that the DX has. It was cool to play with, but I have them disabled normally.
 
Pada said:
The Asus P6T Deluxe v2 motherboard has 'ADI® AD2000B 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC', so it's not even an X-Fi or SupremeFX soundcard from Asus. I haven't looked for reviews on it yet, but it's definitely way better than AC'97 ones.

I really don't like the sound of those emulated surround sound features that the DX has. It was cool to play with, but I have them disabled normally.
Click to expand...

Well Pro Logic IIx makes music listening MUCH better. Maybe that's why you're not noticing a difference, because you don't use it. It's there to be used!
 
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