ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 Sound Card

[The Von Matrices]

i have the dx 7.1 xonar and when i plugged it in years ago(was using the onboard x58a-gd65)

i thought wow wtf !

im using optic into yamaha cinema amp and 6 speakers, center, sub.. quality ones.. (linn,spendor,B&W,yam sub)

sounded way way way better.. playing music wavs

question for you audio buffs...

is the sound on-board the asus Z97 Maximus VII Hero better than my asus dx card ?
and also the Asus Z97 Deluxe (suppose it same as hero)

ta

Are you still using S/PDIF or analog outputs? If you're using S/PDIF then the sound card versus integrated audio makes no difference because all the DAC is being performed at the receiver. About the only thing the Xonar can do that the integrated sound cannot is expand a stereo audio file into Dolby Digital or DTS, but that is unnecessary because the receiver can apply those algorithms too.

That's why I don't quite understand the purpose of these high end PC audio cards. People who truly care about sound quality will not buy an expensive sound card but instead output a digital signal from their PC through USB, HDMI, or S/PDIF to an external DAC and avoid all the interference present in a PC case.

 

[Locksmith]

Are you still using S/PDIF or analog outputs? If you're using S/PDIF then the sound card versus integrated audio makes no difference because all the DAC is being performed at the receiver. About the only thing the Xonar can do that the integrated sound cannot is expand a stereo audio file into Dolby Digital or DTS, but that is unnecessary because the receiver can apply those algorithms too.

That's why I don't quite understand the purpose of these high end PC audio cards. People who truly care about sound quality will not buy an expensive sound card but instead output a digital signal from their PC through USB, HDMI, or S/PDIF to an external DAC and avoid all the interference present in a PC case.

yea i knew that about the DAC being done in the amp, which causes me to think then how did it sound so good when i upgraded, it defo did pal..

another thing, with onboard i only got stereo into amp which converted it "neo 6 cinema" which i beleave is simulated surround.

with the xonar, i get dolby digital out and it comes up on amp display not neo but dolby digital 7.1, all 7.1 channels display on amp as separate channels.
with neo 2 channels as stereo.

hope that makes sense been awake all night its 7:45am here..

 

[The Von Matrices]

another thing, with onboard i only got stereo into amp which converted it "neo 6 cinema" which i beleave is simulated surround.

with the xonar, i get dolby digital out and it comes up on amp display not neo but dolby digital 7.1, all 7.1 channels display on amp as separate channels.
with neo 2 channels as stereo.

hope that makes sense been awake all night its 7:45am here..

I actually own a Xonar DX (not in my main PC) with the 7.1 analog outputs connected to speakers, and I also have a HTPC steaming LPCM through HDMI to a home theater receiver. With both playing the same source, both with Pro Logic IIx processing, they sound identical.

I'm assuming you are listening to a stereo source? If so, then both scenarios are simulated surround and the difference comes down to which device is performing the expansion using what algorithm. The receiver is just showing the number of input channels, not the number of output channels; in both cases all your speakers are being used.

When you send out stereo over S/PDIF, the receiver is apparently using DTS Neo:6 processing to upconvert the stereo to 7.1. When you use the Xonar card, the Xonar card upconverts stereo using Dolby Pro Logic II and then encodes it using lossy Dolby Digital EX to be sent over S/PDIF to your receiver.

Theoretically, sending uncompressed stereo to the receiver and letting the receiver perform the upconversion is the better option because the entire chain is lossless. If you could set your receiver to upconvert the stereo using Pro Logic IIx instead of Neo:6, then you would have a similar listening experience to the Xonar card.

yea i knew that about the DAC being done in the amp, which causes me to think then how did it sound so good when i upgraded, it defo did pal..

I don't doubt it did, but I think the receiver could do just as well if you set it to Pro Logic IIx. You should also consider whether you are using "Music" or "Cinema/Movie" mode. The "Cinema/Movie" mode focuses audio towards the center channel to improve the clarity of dialogue and vocals at the expense of achieving room-filling sound. The "Music" mode expands the music to fill the room with sound (including reverberation) at the expense of some clarity in vocals and dialogue. If you're playing the same source using the "Music" mode with your Xonar DX and the "Cinema/Movie" mode of your receiver, then it's not a fair comparison.

 

[Mimo]

Hi.. I'm Noob of Sound Card. I thinking to buy this card for my AVR Pioneer VSX-922K but don't know how to connect the cables to my home Pioneer VSX-922K.
Anyone can teach me? My PC is HTPC, now i am using MSI R9 290X Lightning HDMI port output to my AVR to get "Dolby Digital, DTS Audio, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD" i thinking to get Best Sound so thinking to buy this card. But i really don't know how to connect the cable for my AVR so come here find some one help.

Here my AVR : http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/archive/VSX-922-K/page.html
My AVR Rear : http://www.areadvd.de/images/2012/Pioneer_VSX-922/Pioneer_VSX-922_RueckseiteSeitlich1.jpg
My AVR Rear2: http://postimg.org/image/gsl17dkx7/

 

[Ferrum Master]

If you are using SPDIF and receiver... you don't need this card. Calm down.

 

[Legacy-ZA]

I love the skin of this driver package, anyone know how I can go about getting it?

 

[Ferrum Master]

I love the skin of this driver package, anyone know how I can go about getting it?

Download the driver and swap the skin folder? Xonar UI is ugly and dated as medieval toilet.

Use UniXonar lowDPC anyways...