Xonar STX Essence's build in headphone amp

832 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by audionewbieyao, Mar 17, 2009

Eek

Discussion Starter · Mar 14, 2009

Those of you with Xonar STX Essence card.. How good are the built-in headphone amps?

If for example i'm gonna upgrade my HD555 to a AKG701, Denon D2000/5000 (if i can get a hold of the cash) or Beyerdynamics DT880. Would i be able to power those cans from this card?

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The_Rocker

· #2 · Mar 14, 2009

Definately.

I use my ATH A700's without any boost. When I set the amp to +12dB it gets really punchy and loud

Theres also the extra high settings as well which is +18 I beleive.

I don't need to use either of those settings because it makes my cans go good and loud anyway

I use the normal +0dB gain setting.

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razr7

· #3 · Mar 14, 2009

my friends have one and it's amazing!

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audionewbieyao

· #4 · Mar 16, 2009

Yes, you can also refer to this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/xo...7/index73.html

or this latest user review post, it's prety detailed sharing:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/xo...ml#post5523843

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sting_rayz

· #5 · Mar 16, 2009

Get it already, this thing is awesome. Drives my DT 880's fine, will let you know about my K701's in a few days but I wouldn't expect any problems given the fact that it handles the DT 880's.

Newegg has been out of this card for about 2 weeks now, I had to get mine from the Canadian NCIX site. But even with 2 day shipping from Canada it was $10 less than what Newegg wants for the card not counting shipping.

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Aura

· #6 · Mar 16, 2009

Word to the wise - there is more to an amplifier than simply how well it drives a headphone/speaker. Getting an adequate volume level is fine, but a decent amplifier will bring out the nuances (along with primary characteristics) of the headphone as well.

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Aden Florian

· #7 · Mar 16, 2009

I have Essence > K702's, and they power them fine, but I can't comment on the quality, because it's the only amp I have ever used.

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audionewbieyao

· #8 · Mar 17, 2009

Well.. if it's just about the volume, there wouldn't be so much hype on ths card then..
especially not in Head-fi...

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