New Xonar Essence "One"

[Callsign_Vega]

Ya the whole point of being USB is to get the audio signal digitally out of the computer and away from the interference before being converted into analog.

[mattkosem]

Ya the whole point of being USB is to get the audio signal digitally out of the computer and away from the interference before being converted into analog.

QFT

--Matt

[Halk]

Ooh, so it's worthwhile me snagging one of these. I'm using Shure SE535s, I even have custom moulded sleeves for them they're quite good, so they do pick up any noise.

For Sale : Xonar Essence STX!

[vab206]

im not sure why everyone is raving over this unless it is substancially better then their xonar essence STX, i have one and i absoloutley LOVE it and has built in-shielded headphone amp to drive up to 600ohm headphones as well. you can even upgrade the opamps on it as well. to me this is just something else that would clutter my desk. /shrug

[SabreWulf69]

Ya the whole point of being USB is to get the audio signal digitally out of the computer and away from the interference before being converted into analog.

Nasty comment after this. This is exactly right. As an 'Audiophile Reference' card, then having it external to the computer would be even more 'Audiophile Reference'. A good audio product is the sum of many small things and not so small things all added together I can't remember where I read, but this guy that was a sound engineer / electronics guru tried an experiment and tried building himself a media PC with much difficulty. He said the real big challenge was a lot of compromise, and customization as the internal PC environment is very less than ideal for high-end sound source equipment. The shield on the original ST/STX is a testament to this.

[cyberspyder]

Ummm yeah, no thanks. I will be taking my $300 to some place else. I'm sure many other DACs will beat this Asus. It looks like crap TBH and I'm always a bit hesitant when a company randomly branches off into audio products...

[AmTGMan]

So if I'm reading this correctly, this is effectively an external sound card?

[EniGmA1987]

Ummm yeah, no thanks. I will be taking my $300 to some place else. I'm sure many other DACs will beat this Asus.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphon.../NFB11.1EN.htm
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphon.../SparrowEN.htm
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/FUN/FUNEN.htm

[Andrew LB]

Auzentech prelude:
SNIP... (long rant)

You sure had some bad luck with those creative cards. But it sounds to me like your systems didn't have drivers installed in proper order, causing components to be misidentified, thus installing drivers which may have said "Creative X-Fi", but could have been for one of many other creative cards that are distinctly different. (xtreme music, platinum, fatality, and even the brand new Titanium HD all say "Creative X-Fi in device manager even though they are about as similar as a Pentium 4 D and an i7.

I had pretty much zero issues with my former X-Fi platinum on XP, Vista, and 7... as well as AMD, Intel, and nVidia chipset based motherboards.

My current X-Fi Titanium HD is without question the best sounding card I've heard in a PC. Even better than my a system I just built for a Dj friend of mine who has an M-Audio Delta 1010LT for his recording/remixing and midi-production work. And i'm not knocking the M-Audio card one bit. The thing is amazing.

And lastly, the only delay i've had with either X-Fi card i've owned was a quck stall for about a second while switching mods. I've had studio monitors hooked up to a mixer w/turntables and they were perfectly in sync with the recorded AND converted to DTS 5.1 optical output playing through a home theater system. I was quite amazed.

[Andrew LB]

Ya the whole point of being USB is to get the audio signal digitally out of the computer and away from the interference before being converted into analog.

Then you still have to contest with the massive amount of noise a PC puts into the electrical circuit it is plugged into as well as the same pollution that just as easily travels right up a USB cable and into the breakout box. You'd do just as well by saving the money and buying a proper power conditioner like a Panamax 4300 and by keeping your DAC/headphone amp on a separate circuit and send it ONLY a digital signal via Toslink, etc.

[oohms]

Ya the whole point of being USB is to get the audio signal digitally out of the computer and away from the interference before being converted into analog.

Thats one of those audiophile myths... look at the RMAA noise graphs for the X-Fi Titanium HD, you would struggle to get that with most top end external dacs

http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound-...um-hd-review/6

[SabreWulf69]

There's always something like this --> http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/specif...Specifications

[Raja@ASUS]

Thats one of those audiophile myths... look at the RMAA noise graphs for the X-Fi Titanium HD, you would struggle to get that with most top end external dacs

http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound-...um-hd-review/6

The SNR with an external DAC is no more difficult than it is with an internal sound card. If anything the internal soundcard requires more copius attention to layout and shielding due to the high levels of emi and rfi in computer cases. Put simply if a SNR of -120db~-130db is possible in a case it is certainly possible in an external solution if attention is paid to detail

The noise transmission from the USB bus to the DAC can be broken by a transformer at the DAC USB input side (doubt ASUS have done that here, though).

[Bobsama]

The SNR with an external DAC is no more difficult than it is with an internal sound card. If anything the internal soundcard requires more copius attention to layout and shielding due to the high levels of emi and rfi in computer cases. Put simply if a SNR of -120db~-130db is possible in a case it is certainly possible in an external solution if attention is paid to detail

The noise transmission from the USB bus to the DAC can be broken by a transformer at the DAC USB input side (doubt ASUS have done that here, though).

Alternative to minimize interference is to use a different connection; Toslink is the best at isolation.It'd make far more sense to do one test on "best case" and another on "worst case" scenarios. I'm still wanting for 3rd party testing to compare this DAC/HPAmp combo to others. External DACs done properly should be head-and-shoulders better than internal sound cards.

[MattiasNYC]

The noise transmission from the USB bus to the DAC can be broken by a transformer at the DAC USB input side (doubt ASUS have done that here, though).

But surely this would only be a problem if the "noise" is somehow transmitted electrically to the output, right? It doesn't follow the actual content of the signal, and I'm wondering if it's possible for it to go through the actual DAC....

[Callsign_Vega]

But surely this would only be a problem if the "noise" is somehow transmitted electrically to the output, right? It doesn't follow the actual content of the signal, and I'm wondering if it's possible for it to go through the actual DAC....

I believe they are referring more to interference over the grounding of the USB cable between the components and dealing with the ever annoying ground loops etc.

[oohms]

The SNR with an external DAC is no more difficult than it is with an internal sound card. If anything the internal soundcard requires more copius attention to layout and shielding due to the high levels of emi and rfi in computer cases. Put simply if a SNR of -120db~-130db is possible in a case it is certainly possible in an external solution if attention is paid to detail

The noise transmission from the USB bus to the DAC can be broken by a transformer at the DAC USB input side (doubt ASUS have done that here, though).

There really isn't much emi/rfi in a computer case at audible frequencies. You can quite easily run unshielded audio cable through the inside of the case, and do an RMAA test and you won't see the difference.

The wierd sounds you get with some onboard soundcards (squealing when the mouse is moving etc) is caused by bad power supply decoupling and sometimes ground loops. (eg some of the antec front panel sound headers were also grounded causing a ground loop) It is quite easy to design audio equipment which does not do this.

[SabreWulf69]

In ancient computers, I used to get squeeling sounds from the speakers every time the hard drive would access or sometimes even when I would move the mouse, what was this caused from?

[Raja@ASUS]

There really isn't much emi/rfi in a computer case at audible frequencies. You can quite easily run unshielded audio cable through the inside of the case, and do an RMAA test and you won't see the difference.

The wierd sounds you get with some onboard soundcards (squealing when the mouse is moving etc) is caused by bad power supply decoupling and sometimes ground loops. (eg some of the antec front panel sound headers were also grounded causing a ground loop) It is quite easy to design audio equipment which does not do this.

The point was it easier to get lower noise levels outside a case rather than inside one. Read what I said again properly - the external environment makes it easier - it's not impossible to do quiet inside a case but its easier doing it outside. Noise anywhere around digital sampling frequency will have an impact on jitter and can also cause issues with high bandwidth opamps - well outside 20KHz, you have to shield to get the best out of them, going the external route gives you more layout and freedom period.

[Raja@ASUS]

But surely this would only be a problem if the "noise" is somehow transmitted electrically to the output, right? It doesn't follow the actual content of the signal, and I'm wondering if it's possible for it to go through the actual DAC....

It's transmitted along the ground, the transformer provides galvanic isolation at the receiving end. The USB signals are differential so CMRR comes into play.

[SabreWulf69]

So I'm guessing noise introduced via the ground in the USB affects the analog circuitry which unless correctly eliminated with transformers would be no better than having a card inside the PC. Too bad there isn't some sort of XLR USB crossbreed that eliminates noise in the ground.

[Raja@ASUS]

So I'm guessing noise introduced via the ground in the USB affects the analog circuitry which unless correctly eliminated with transformers would be no better than having a card inside the PC. Too bad there isn't some sort of XLR USB crossbreed that eliminates noise in the ground.

Depends, the external solution isn't going to be competing to the same extent against the hf noise in a PC case (depends on a case by case basis). Without seeing the circuitry and what kind of filtering and regulation has been employed it's a difficult call. It's just that some things are easier to do than others depending upon which route is taken.

[SabreWulf69]

True, seems we'll have to wait and keep an eye out for any more news on this then.

[STEvil]

So I'm guessing noise introduced via the ground in the USB affects the analog circuitry which unless correctly eliminated with transformers would be no better than having a card inside the PC. Too bad there isn't some sort of XLR USB crossbreed that eliminates noise in the ground.

solder a shielded wire to the ground leg of the onboard audio device (or usb controller) and string it out along the usb cable to your external sound device and solder it in the appropriate location to eliminate the antenna/ground loop effect

[Raja@ASUS]

solder a shielded wire to the ground leg of the onboard audio device (or usb controller) and string it out along the usb cable to your external sound device and solder it in the appropriate location to eliminate the antenna/ground loop effect

Shields should only be grounded at one end