Sound card speakers and headphone advice

[jdelrio22]

I may have over done it on a build and placed an order for a Asus Xonar Essence STX.

I'm going from an X-Fi Fatality so I know that with this card it is strongly recommended to upgrade the speakers and headphone/headset.

I currently have an old set of Klipsh Promedia 2.1 speakers. A quick search has different recommendations going from Corsair SP2500 speakers to full blown monitor 2.0/2.1 setups. I'm not really interested in setting up a separate amp to drive that kind of setup though (again may have over done it picking this card).

I am curious if anyone has had experience with those Corsair speakers, perhaps that is not enough to get the most out of this sound card. I am going to listen to music, games, and watch movies. With this card the main emphasis is on its headphone outputs, anyone have experience with this set:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-.../dp/B0042A8CW2

Last item is the files themselves, I can listen to my old cds but I am curious about Itunes recordings and what kind of files I should be using for listening with this card.

Tl;dr: Looking for input on headphones and possibly speaker set for Asus Xonar STX without breaking the bank or flat out returning the card

 

[Cerb]

Wouldn't a 2 channel monitor set include the amp? A used set of monitors would probably be hard to go wrong with. After that, your next purchase would probably best be an EQ .

The STX by itself aught to be good enough as a HP amp.

 

[cantholdanymore]

I'll take a stab on this
STX main feature is the HP amp. HP amps are needed for high impedance cans. Usually top of the line cans tend to have high impedance (>100ohm). The senn you're linking area 50 ohms and will benefit somehow from the amp to produce their best sound but you won't be using the amp to its full potential. Ideally you need to select the HP first and later decide if you need an amp and select a sound card accordingly. On the cans itself, you'll find all kind of opinions. In my case I spend a fair amount of money on return shipping for all the cans I tried before settling (shure 940 if you care). Cans are tricky not only because of the sound but also because how the fit. If you really like the sound of a particular pair of cans, it won't matter if it is uncomfortable. Just food for thought

 

[vbuggy]

I may have over done it on a build and placed an order for a Asus Xonar Essence STX.

I'm going from an X-Fi Fatality so I know that with this card it is strongly recommended to upgrade the speakers and headphone/headset.

From my experiences with it, it's not an upgrade if you have a rig that is worthy of a decent gaming soundcard IMO. I had STX's in both single(but highly populated slot-wise) and SLI setups and it was quite often screech city. I ended up picking the Fatality as a superior gaming soundcard overall and less affected by in-case EMI, and especially given the STX's godawful Dolby Headphone modes (with anything - that's from my Triport to my Orpheus - plugged in, the positioning was night and day compared to the G35) it struck me as a poor choice.

I can only assume that the vast majority of people who list these as amazing soundcards either have incredibly basic rigs or don't have anything current to compare against.

I currently have an old set of Klipsh Promedia 2.1 speakers. A quick search has different recommendations going from Corsair SP2500 speakers to full blown monitor 2.0/2.1 setups. I'm not really interested in setting up a separate amp to drive that kind of setup though (again may have over done it picking this card).

I am curious if anyone has had experience with those Corsair speakers, perhaps that is not enough to get the most out of this sound card. I am going to listen to music, games, and watch movies. With this card the main emphasis is on its headphone outputs, anyone have experience with this set:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-.../dp/B0042A8CW2

Last item is the files themselves, I can listen to my old cds but I am curious about Itunes recordings and what kind of files I should be using for listening with this card.

Tl;dr: Looking for input on headphones and possibly speaker set for Asus Xonar STX without breaking the bank or flat out returning the card

Most people can't tell the difference between 256K and CD. If you're an iTunes guy, subscribe to Match and you're done.

Is that your ballpark budget?

 

[Remobz]

I may have over done it on a build and placed an order for a Asus Xonar Essence STX.

I'm going from an X-Fi Fatality so I know that with this card it is strongly recommended to upgrade the speakers and headphone/headset.

I currently have an old set of Klipsh Promedia 2.1 speakers. A quick search has different recommendations going from Corsair SP2500 speakers to full blown monitor 2.0/2.1 setups. I'm not really interested in setting up a separate amp to drive that kind of setup though (again may have over done it picking this card).

I am curious if anyone has had experience with those Corsair speakers, perhaps that is not enough to get the most out of this sound card. I am going to listen to music, games, and watch movies. With this card the main emphasis is on its headphone outputs, anyone have experience with this set:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-.../dp/B0042A8CW2

Last item is the files themselves, I can listen to my old cds but I am curious about Itunes recordings and what kind of files I should be using for listening with this card.

Tl;dr: Looking for input on headphones and possibly speaker set for Asus Xonar STX without breaking the bank or flat out returning the card

This is a better sound card and worth the money.

Comes in 3 flavors......just go to Creative website or youtube and do your research to see which one suits your needs.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ag=cupcre06-20

 

[cantholdanymore]

I can only assume that the vast majority of people who list these as amazing soundcards either have incredibly basic rigs or don't have anything current to compare against.

Or didn't use it for gaming
I'm guessing the OP undestands that the primary intend of this card is music and not gaming

 

[Anubis]

i use a xonar stx for music and gaming and TBH ive never had an issue with it and i ran crossfire for a long time with it and its connected to speakers that do not suck

 

[vbuggy]

Or didn't use it for gaming
I'm guessing the OP undestands that the primary intend of this card is music and not gaming

Then TBH I kind of understand it even less. You could go truly consistently decent outboard for not much more, not just chase numbers that don't always deliver IRL.

What I do usually is a double-decker system: I feed the outs of the gaming card into an outboard like the Fireface UFX.

 

[videogames101]

i have the hd598s and i quite like them, however if you're looking for punchy bass look elsewhere

 

[Remobz]

i have the hd598s and i quite like them, however if you're looking for punchy bass look elsewhere

The left ear died on me and I need to open it up and see what needs fixing.

Not pleased with my purchase of senn hd598 for other reasons as well.