Need sound card

[sleepylilazn]

I'm currently eyeing the Xonar Essence stx and the Xonar dx. How much of a difference would there be between those two cards? What do you guys suggest I get? I'm open to suggestions. I live in the states.

 

[RedgyK]

Don't know about the difference between those two, but both are great sound cards!

I just recently bought the Corsair SP2500's as well, and I bought a Xonar DS with it, just because I haven't been bothered with having a sound card before. I was surprised by how much better the sound got compare to onboard audio! Both with the SP2500's (tried them with onboard once to test difference) and with my Sennheiser HD 555's

Can't really go wrong with either of them, but i'm not sure how much better the Essence is

Enjoy the SP2500's, they are really great!

 

[SkinToxicated]

the essence is more at the top end of soundcard market as the Dx is more the mid range but from what ive read is a cracking card (probably best in terms of bang for buck)

I have a D2X with my sp2500s and its sounds awesome

 

[fcb]

Yup, the Essence STX is aimed for the PC audiophile market. If you're unsure and would like something that's definitely worth your savings, the Xonar DX will be a very worthwhile investment.

 

[sleepylilazn]

Yea. I guess I going with the DX. I don't think I'll be able to justify putting in an extra $100 for the Essence stx. Unless someone can prove to me otherwise, the DX is my decision.

 

[fcb]

Yea. I guess I going with the DX. I don't think I'll be able to justify putting in an extra $100 for the Essence stx. Unless someone can prove to me otherwise, the DX is my decision.

This may be a bit conservative, but I really think the DX hits the sweetspot between price and performance for PC audio. It can hold its own among competition that range up to the $100 mark. I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

 

[sleepylilazn]

Just a little update.

Just got the xonar dx in the mail today and installed it right away. I didn't expect the difference in quality to be as much as this compared to the onboard. Music sounds slightly clearer and a lot more refined that's the best I can describe it =X

Overall I am very satisfied.

Can anyone recommend a good flac player? I'm currently using foobar2000.

 

[fcb]

I'm glad you're enjoying the new sound card. I usually just use the regular Windows Media Player and foobar2000 for my playlist and it seems to handle everything pretty well.