Is "Asus Essence STX II" overkill for me?

Juusuhako

New member
Hi,
I have a pair of Astro A40 (1st gen) thats connected to a poor X-Fi Xtreme Audio.

I would like a new soundcard and would like to try Asus, and from what I can read the Essence STX II is pretty much one of the best ...but is it overkill for my headset? Its pricey which is why I ask, but if some of you believe the difference in sound quality would be night and day vs. a budget soundcard, I would not hesitate buying it.

My headset: http://www.astrogaming.com/a40-headset---gen-1/A40-HEADSET-ASTRO-PC.html
 
your headset wont benefit at all, I had the same cans connected to a external DAC the Fiio E10K and it wouldnt make a difference if I had it plugged in there or into my onboard sound card.
 
your headset wont benefit at all, I had the same cans connected to a external DAC the Fiio E10K and it wouldnt make a difference if I had it plugged in there or into my onboard sound card.

What I really feel I lack is bass. I've only ever had closed-headsets, and this is semi-open. While I know bass isnt everything, I know that some soundcards has a sort of bass-boost-feature that I would really like (or just some pre-set EQs really).

So what soundcard can you recommend? I can get the Asus Xonar D2X for £50, but from I can read its made for surround sound and not headsets, and does not have a headset amp (although im not sure what a "headphone amp" exactly does).
 
I dont know anything about internal soundcards sorry. But I know that the Astro will always have sloppy bass and will sound "muffled" thats why I finally made the move and hooked up my music headphones onto my PC.
 
Okay, I'll try get a new soundcard and see how it sounds (right now im not loving the semi-open sound). :)

Still looking for suggestions.
 
Instead of looking for a new soundcard you could invest that money and buy the HyperX Cloud headphones.. Somenone from this forum has them (I think that's Shaun...) and I've read a ton of reviews and they are really well reviewed. However if you want the bass that it knocking your head you could go with the Razer Kraken Pro. Those things are all about the bass
 
Instead of looking for a new soundcard you could invest that money and buy the HyperX Cloud headphones.. Somenone from this forum has them (I think that's Shaun...) and I've read a ton of reviews and they are really well reviewed. However if you want the bass that it knocking your head you could go with the Razer Kraken Pro. Those things are all about the bass

I bought these half off on sale (they're like £140 full price here), probs overpriced to begin with, but they're not even one month old so im gonna give them a chance with a soundcard. They're semi-open which is why they lack bass.

New headset is out of the question, I just want soundcard. :)
 
Very well you could get Essence STX II (or the STX I I don't think it would make that much of a difference)

Then in a couple of years from now you could get some serious headphones like the Sennheiser HD558 or the DT770 and you'll be like "Oh dear Lord, I didn't know that sound could be like this"
 
I can come whit some information on this, i have the HyperX Cloud headset, Astro A40 Gen 2. But i also have some Denon headphones to my music, but all this is par up whit a STX II :)

The Astro is dog shit whit the STX II, but the HyperX is working good whit it. But the best place is to use the STX II whit some good headphones and get a Mic to your desk or a Modmic. But i only use my Denon to my music.
 
Very well you could get Essence STX II (or the STX I I don't think it would make that much of a difference)

Then in a couple of years from now you could get some serious headphones like the Sennheiser HD558 or the DT770 and you'll be like "Oh dear Lord, I didn't know that sound could be like this"

I can come whit some information on this, i have the HyperX Cloud headset, Astro A40 Gen 2. But i also have some Denon headphones to my music, but all this is par up whit a STX II :)

The Astro is dog shit whit the STX II, but the HyperX is working good whit it. But the best place is to use the STX II whit some good headphones and get a Mic to your desk or a Modmic. But i only use my Denon to my music.

I'll have to keep this is mind FOR NOW. Right now I cannot simply go out and get a new headset when I got this just a month ago.

Im just looking for some help picking up a decent soundcard, since STX II seems to be overkill in my case.
 
Since you are on the low end I think that there are three options.
The Creative sound-blaster Audigy RX
ASUS XONAR DX
Creative soundblaster Z

The Soundblaster Z was Creative's flagship some years ago. I believe it's a "good" card.
Same goes for the ASUS (which some people say that they make better sound than creative some think the opposite.
 
Since you are on the low end I think that there are three options.
The Creative sound-blaster Audigy RX
ASUS XONAR DX
Creative soundblaster Z

The Soundblaster Z was Creative's flagship some years ago. I believe it's a "good" card.
Same goes for the ASUS (which some people say that they make better sound than creative some think the opposite.

Low end? Do you mean budget? Im not, just no need to spend too much if my headset "cant keep up". Im thinking £80ish. :D
 
Since you are on the low end I think that there are three options.
The Creative sound-blaster Audigy RX
ASUS XONAR DX
Creative soundblaster Z

The Soundblaster Z was Creative's flagship some years ago. I believe it's a "good" card.
Same goes for the ASUS (which some people say that they make better sound than creative some think the opposite.

The price on the 3 cards is from 50,85 £ to 56,50 £ here in Denmark, so that is not that bad. But only the "Creative Sound Blaster Audigy RX" is in one shop in Denmark.

Link is here: https://www.komplett.dk/creative-sound-blaster-audigy-rx/833255
 
the STX II surpasses the quality of all three cards you listed above. It is also future proof. Not sure you need the STX II though. Since it's big feature is a 7.1 channel daughter card.

I think the STX (I) which has dropped in price will be a good target for you. You won't regret it.
 
My headset just started making a "crackling" sound when volume gets too high. It also makes a similar sound when I move the volume-control to highest (with nothing playing you can hear it).

Guess I need to take contact to where I bought it, making all this abit irrelevant for now. I hope they'll give me a refund.
 
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