abhi_jollyguy
Active Member
I couldn't find even a .1% difference between Kernel Streaming and WASAPI in foobar output mode as both of them has a same job to do.
Asus Xonar Essence ST soundcard - experience
- Thread starter sonosphere
- Start date
Guess this forum is not enabling others to create an account...i tried the link to register but its not working...any other link solving the purpose wud be helpful...TIA
You can upload to some free Dropbox and provide the link here. Just ensure the software is legal and can be freely distributed. Should not have any agreements forms to fill, nor any ownership restrictions.
Cheers
spirovious
Well-Known Member
koushik
Well-Known Member
A silly question:
With same Amp and speakers and Interconnects, which will sound better (in terms of detailing, instrument separation, smoothness) - Asus Xonar ST(w/ analog out), CA 340C Azur CD Player or Marantz CD5004?
With same Amp and speakers and Interconnects, which will sound better (in terms of detailing, instrument separation, smoothness) - Asus Xonar ST(w/ analog out), CA 340C Azur CD Player or Marantz CD5004?
sonosphere
Well-Known Member
Hi Koushik,
I have heard the Xonar ST (with Final Media Player) and Marantz 5001. I can say that they are in the same league. I am hazarding a guess here that 5004 won't be dramatically improved than 5001, as they both belong to the budget range... so does the CA 340C. All of these sources have been appreciated for details in presentation.
...So you need to audition them to decide which sounds best to you. If possible audition with similar type of amp-spkr (SQ wise) that you have /intend to have.
regds,
koushik
Well-Known Member
Thanks Sonosphere.
Auditioning CA and Marantz will not be a problem but with Xonar things are different. Let me see if I can get to audition Xonar ST. As that will be the cheapest and most flexible solution (considering CD, FLAC, MP3 etc)
Auditioning CA and Marantz will not be a problem but with Xonar things are different. Let me see if I can get to audition Xonar ST. As that will be the cheapest and most flexible solution (considering CD, FLAC, MP3 etc)
tirthankar
Active Member
I have a question here.
In dedicated CD players like Marantz, CA etc, is the transport quality going to be noticeably better than the ones we have for PCs like the normal LG, Sony optical drives. Maybe that wont be noticeable with the analog out of an ST/STX/Julia, but what if I take the digital out and use a high quality dac (above 20k) ?
I also feel like I have seen posts which mention that dedicated CD players have the disc playback (I mean only the bit reading part, before it is sent to the DAC) is optimised for CD playback, and that cannot be achieved by DVD/Blu ray drives as all these discs have a different characteristic and the drive needs to have the ability to do it all. Is that applicable for the optical drives in PCs as well?
Is a PC based source advantageous only for playing ripped files from hard disk and falls behind in playing CDs?
In dedicated CD players like Marantz, CA etc, is the transport quality going to be noticeably better than the ones we have for PCs like the normal LG, Sony optical drives. Maybe that wont be noticeable with the analog out of an ST/STX/Julia, but what if I take the digital out and use a high quality dac (above 20k) ?
I also feel like I have seen posts which mention that dedicated CD players have the disc playback (I mean only the bit reading part, before it is sent to the DAC) is optimised for CD playback, and that cannot be achieved by DVD/Blu ray drives as all these discs have a different characteristic and the drive needs to have the ability to do it all. Is that applicable for the optical drives in PCs as well?
Is a PC based source advantageous only for playing ripped files from hard disk and falls behind in playing CDs?
I'd venture to say the PC is at a advantage only when playing files off the HDD. The PC CD/DVD/Blu-ray writers/re-writers spin faster and more times. While I cannot say sound will be better (will leave that to someone who has tested it) I will say there will be too much wear and tear for the CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives and they will not last as long as CD players. I speak only from experience because I ran through 2 DVD re-writers in a year using them excessively for playback and burning duties.
PS - From what I've heard the Asus Xonar compares favorably with DACs and CD Players even in the 30K range (considering it only costs 1/3rd). I'm yet to hear more expensive DACs though. An external DAC makes more sense if you don't want to add too much h/w to the PC.
If its foo_dsp_resampler_0.7.6 then correct... else I've uploaded it at foo_dsp_resampler_0.7.6.zip download - 2shared
The basic hardware and electronics of a drive is all the same, excepting for some very expensive varieties of players. CDP manufacturers just buy stock drives from Philips, Sony and others. Some companies such as CA have claimed to have redesigned their drive from bottom up.
The difference between players comes in the way the post-drive electronics is built. This includes the buffer, error correction, DAC, etc. The closer the DAC is to the drive, the better it is as the electronics can instruct a re-read into the buffer if it finds some error in the data that is received.
If you are using the PC as a CD Player, you will not be using the advantages it provides as a computer. At the end of the day, you don't use half the hardware/software of the PC at all.
As I said the drive is the same. Whatever is applicable for a regular CD/DVD/Blu-Ray player is applicable to the drive in a PC.
If you use a ripper such as EAC, it ensures that your ripped copy is a 100% duplicate of the original file. It reads the data from the CD, offsets for the drive when needed, tests the output, and re-reads it as many times as needed to ensure that the copy is bit perfect. And if you are connected to the Net, EAC also compares to 100s of other copies it has of the same song, and again does an offset for the song and the drive. On CD Players, you will have this kind of capabilities only in players costing $1000 or more. And that is the biggest advantage of a PC based system.
When you play such as bit perfect copy through the superior electronics of a card such as Asus STX, you are jumping to a level of expensive CDPs. You get larger soundstage, accurate timing, and whole set of details that a ordinary CD player cannot deliver.
Cheers
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koushik
Well-Known Member
One question:
Asus Essence ST or STX? Which one better?
I found ST to be 1.5-2K costlier than STX!
Asus Essence ST or STX? Which one better?
I found ST to be 1.5-2K costlier than STX!
In a Stereophile review, they found the two to have nearly identical sound signature. It might make sense to go with the STX as the PCI slots are being phased out. New chipsets wont have any support for PCI.
Cheers
Cheers
koushik
Well-Known Member
Thanks Venkatcr.
tirthankar
Active Member
Thanks a lot musicbee and venkat. Will I be correct to assume that pc is not a substitute for cd player if one is looking at disc playback only, because of the post drive electronics before the dac, which should be better in a cd player?
What a pc does best is the flexibility of bit perfect ripping and playback through a good dac like that in an st/stx or external dac and coupled with the versatility of playback tuning offered by softwares like foobar. Am I correct in saying that?
What a pc does best is the flexibility of bit perfect ripping and playback through a good dac like that in an st/stx or external dac and coupled with the versatility of playback tuning offered by softwares like foobar. Am I correct in saying that?
Yes in a word.
If you intend to use the CD/DVD/Blu-ray writer/reader then a CDP is better. But if you intend to rip CDs (into FLAC) then a PC makes for a good media player. You can have your entire CD collection on hand and using Foobar with the right configuration + a good DAC or soundcard the SQ is pretty good.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Mine is 231kb file & your's 230kb, don't know the version.(it may be same)
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sonosphere
Well-Known Member
Hi,
I came across Sagarvikram's post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/25068-cambridge-audio-650a-paradigm-monitor-9-v6.html I feel compelled to express my suggestion here, since this may help other Xonar owners (... and I don't want to clutter Sagar's sale thread with OT suggestion)
Asus STX card* as source + CA amp + Para 9 >>
______In my experience, stock STX + forward sounding gear can bleed your ears.
*(I am assuming the card is running with stock opamps)
I suggest following to Sagarvikram (considering my experience with Nad amp + Para Titan)
1. Speaker: Keep the Para 9
2. Source Xonar STX: Change the stock opamps (the I/V opamp pair) from the JRC2114D to LM4562 and the lone "Buffer" op-amp to OPA2107 AP (This will give slight laid-back SQ that will complement Para 9. If you want neutral SQ have another LM4562 in buffer too... you will loose a little bass but get more treble end details... some experimentation is in order)
3. Get NAD 326 amp: Keep Soundcard volume at 20% FIRST, and THEN feed its output DIRECTLY into the Power-amp input of NAD. (Use Xonar vol control rather than pre-section of NAD... I find this connection sounds better than Nad-Pre)
4. Software media player: Use Foobar with Direct Kernel streaming in Win XP /or Wasapi in Win 7. Or use Final media Player (refer my post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...ce-st-soundcard-experience-12.html#post347731) Again... a little experimentation is in order.
Regds,
I came across Sagarvikram's post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/25068-cambridge-audio-650a-paradigm-monitor-9-v6.html I feel compelled to express my suggestion here, since this may help other Xonar owners (... and I don't want to clutter Sagar's sale thread with OT suggestion)
Asus STX card* as source + CA amp + Para 9 >>
______In my experience, stock STX + forward sounding gear can bleed your ears.*(I am assuming the card is running with stock opamps)
I suggest following to Sagarvikram (considering my experience with Nad amp + Para Titan)
1. Speaker: Keep the Para 9
2. Source Xonar STX: Change the stock opamps (the I/V opamp pair) from the JRC2114D to LM4562 and the lone "Buffer" op-amp to OPA2107 AP (This will give slight laid-back SQ that will complement Para 9. If you want neutral SQ have another LM4562 in buffer too... you will loose a little bass but get more treble end details... some experimentation is in order)
3. Get NAD 326 amp: Keep Soundcard volume at 20% FIRST, and THEN feed its output DIRECTLY into the Power-amp input of NAD. (Use Xonar vol control rather than pre-section of NAD... I find this connection sounds better than Nad-Pre)
4. Software media player: Use Foobar with Direct Kernel streaming in Win XP /or Wasapi in Win 7. Or use Final media Player (refer my post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...ce-st-soundcard-experience-12.html#post347731) Again... a little experimentation is in order.
Regds,
Last edited:
corElement
Well-Known Member
Hi,
I came across Sagarvikram's post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/25068-cambridge-audio-650a-paradigm-monitor-9-v6.html I feel compelled to express my suggestion here, since this may help other Xonar owners (... and I don't want to clutter Sagar's sale thread with OT suggestion)
Asus STX card* as source + CA amp + Para 9 >>
*(I am assuming the card is running with stock opamps)
I suggest following to Sagarvikram (considering my experience with Nad amp + Para Titan)
1. Speaker: Keep the Para 9
2. Source Xonar STX: Change the stock opamps (the I/V opamp pair) from the JRC2114D to LM4562 and the lone "Buffer" op-amp to OPA2107 AP (This will give slight laid-back SQ that will complement Para 9. If you want neutral SQ have another LM4562 in buffer too... you will loose a little bass but get more treble end details... some experimentation is in order)
3. Get NAD 326 amp: Keep Soundcard volume at 20% FIRST, and THEN feed its output DIRECTLY into the Power-amp input of NAD. (Use Xonar vol control rather than pre-section of NAD... I find this connection sounds better than Nad-Pre)
4. Software media player: Use Foobar with Direct Kernel streaming in Win XP /or Wasapi in Win 7. Or use Final media Player (refer my post here >> http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...ce-st-soundcard-experience-12.html#post347731) Again... a little experimentation is in order.
Regds,
Sublime input...Best post I've seen this year so far!
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