Sound card for music

[NeilCroe]

Building new media PC, for brother, will just run latest openelec... Have a Xonar Essence STX in my current set up, works a beaut, running the a yamaha set up... Got it a few years back, wanted to know if anyone knows of anything newer and or better... Main function just for CD playback and FLAC files, odd TV show or movie on occasion

 

[Rickster]

Building new media PC, for brother, will just run latest openelec... Have a Xonar Essence STX in my current set up, works a beaut, running the a yamaha set up... Got it a few years back, wanted to know if anyone knows of anything newer and or better... Main function just for CD playback and FLAC files, odd TV show or movie on occasion

The STX is high-end, why upgrade?

 

[NeilCroe]

Not upgrade, building separate system, was wondering if anything better around

 

[Rickster]

Not upgrade, building separate system, was wondering if anything better around

I completely missed the beginning of your post, I have the Xonar D2X, and i love it. But you must also take into account the headphones, you must couple a good soundcard with good speakers/headphones otherwise you are defeating the purpose.

 

[NeilCroe]

Agreed! Got an old Bang and olufsen setup from my ballie, still sounds better than anything else I heard

 

[Pada]

I'd reckon that for listening to music, the Xonar STX is still one of the best sound cards! I have one myself, which I'm using in conjunction with my Sennheiser HD555 headphones & Corsair SP2500 speakers.

With my next rig, I'll probably buy a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 (USB) audio interface, just because I'm now into live music mixing at the church

The thing is, you do get better sound cards for studio purposes, where they have a neutral output, lower latencies, etc.
The Asus Xonar Essence STX does have a warmer (non-neutral) output, which you can easily change by swapping out its op-amps.

The only downside to the Xonar STX is that its only meant for stereo out, unless you're using S/PDIF.

About 10 days ago Asus did a press release about their new STX II and STX II 7.1
Unfortunately we still have to wait for reviews and its not available yet.
Here is a discussion about it: http://www.head-fi.org/t/708756/asus-xonar-essence-stx-ii

 

[garyc]

Agree with Pada here. I also have a Xonar STX and the Scarlet 2i2. My preference is for the more neutral sound of the 2i2 – it handles a wider range of music without losing it. Being an external USB interface it is also possible to use it together with a laptop when out of the house.

That said both are very good solutions and he is likely to be happy with either. Even the modern on-board sound is getting good enough to at least consider it for normal listening. The main drawback with the current on-board audio is that it does not have a very linear response across the frequency range if this matters to you.

 

[NeilCroe]

Si2 come in pci card though? Not looking for any mobility as just for a media Pc running openelec...

 

[Pada]

Focusright does not have PCI/PCI-E cards as far as I know. The Scarlett 2i2 only comes in USB. They also have Firewire products, but they have more inputs & outputs.

 

[xera]

About 10 days ago Asus did a press release about their new STX II and STX II 7.1
Unfortunately we still have to wait for reviews and its not available yet.
Here is a discussion about it: http://www.head-fi.org/t/708756/asus-xonar-essence-stx-ii

Lekka find thanks, this part in particular is of interest to me, as per my previous thread about in-ear-monitors:

ASUS engineers have also furnished the new cards with an additional gain control designed especially for high-sensitivity IEM headphones, allowing musicians, audio purists and everyday listeners to use snug-fitting earpieces that channel audio output straight to the ear canal — isolating ambient noise for clear sound and undisturbed listening experience.

 

[Rudimental]

Lekka find thanks, this part in particular is of interest to me, as per my previous thread about in-ear-monitors:

Output impedance remains relatively high at 10ohm, so still less than ideal for IEMs.