Sound Card Required.

[sastusbulbas]

Hi all,

 

For some time I have been happy with my old 2496 M-Audio card. But recent changes at home have relocated that PC to a spare room, I still use it for music via headphones, and me and my son play games on it.

 

Recently I required a headset with a mic, and decided to buy the Razer Carcharias model, as it had reasonable reviews and was stereo. My old headphones are Sennheiser HD-25-1 models.

 

Now I feel I need a better soundcard, with stereo music as it's 1st requirement but games a close second. With both headphones I find on board sound lacking volume and refinement.

 

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations? I need headphone and microphone, with digital out for possible use later if relocating.

I have read that the Asus Xonar Essence is a good choice, as it has a dedicated headphone amp?

But there are three versions? The STX. Then the ST version that has precision clock tuning and is slightly more expensive than the STX? And finally a Deluxe version which has a daughter board with analogue outs I think?

 

Can anyone tell me which is better?

 

Is a gaming card such as Creative X Fi Titanium a reasonable choice?

 

Many thanks all.

Steve

 

[audioxtremist]

I have used both of these cards in my Hi-Fi setup. I am currently using the Asus Xonar Essence STX. I can't speak for the headphone outputs, but in regards to the stereo outputs of these two cards the Asus is the winner. Feature wise, and for gaming, I would give the nod to the Creative, but when it comes to pure sound quality/fidelity the Asus is a nicer sounding card. If you are looking for more refinement the Asus is the better option, so long as it meets your needs feature wise.