Asus Xonar Essence STX or Asus Xonar Phoebus?

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zoog18

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Mar 29, 2014
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Hello, I have decided to go with either the Asus Xonar Essence STX or the Asus Xonar Phoebus, but I'm not very familiar with sound cards and audio and am not sure which one is better and which one I should get, I game exclusively with Astro A40's, with the MixAmp and I DO use Dolby 7.1 with it and I also game with Sennhiser HD 598's, which one if these two sound cards should I get?
 
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gamerk316
The main differences are that the STX supports native Stereo out as opposed to native 7.1, and is slightly higher quality then the Phoebus. Phoebus does have a newer SW package though. Unless you are a crazy headphone user, the Phoebus is probably the way to go.

In any case, both can simulate 7.1 via Dolby Headphone, which is essentially what the MixAmp does.
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The Xonar Phoebus is a lot for gaming, like really good for gaming. The Xonar Essense STX is good overall. Phoebus has a slight edge, but it's up to you if you think it's worth the extra cost.

I should mention that if you're using the ASTRO A40, then both sound cards won't do it justice because the A40 is just not that good for the price you paid for it.
 
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astro a40 is one of best gaming headsets you can buy not sure what you are talking about.

As for the question get the xonar essence stx phoebus has a lot of issues as far as reviews i read its just not a good product.

Also what is your budget ? there might be better options that are more expensive that are better anything in audio world that is " gaming" is usually not very good as far as quality is concerned. i personally use http://schiit.com/products/bifrost for my DAC but one of best options you can buy is http://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo/ that is very good value/price
read the reviews about the ODAC

 
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I only said it after you argued against me. All I said in my original post is that it was not very good for the price paid for it. Which still stands. In any case, both sound cards won't do much for that headset if it's already using the MixAmp.
 
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My budget is enought to allow either of these cards and it's one or the other that I will buy, I have heavily researched others and both of these fit my needs I just don't know which of the two is better, and the cards are more for the Senhheiser HD 598 than the Astro's so if anybody could help me in terms of something's like a pros and cons list that would be great, because as I said I'm not that familiar with audio, the research I've done is based upon reviews that I've read, so I'm not sure about specs and which of the two is better. Also, I couldn't find a definitive answer about wether these two cards support surround sound which I get through the mixamp, not sure if that makes a difference, also where I purchase from the Essence STX is cheaper, still not sure which to get.
 
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I think there's a misconception on what you actually get with Surround Sound with Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 when it comes to gaming. The main thing you want is a good soundstage. You don't need headphones with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 for that because you won't notice a difference between the two. And a good soundstage plays out better than virtual surround sound in 5.1 or 7.1.

The Sennheiser HD 598 is a good set of headphones. It has good soundstage. Pairing them up with either sound card will work well. As I said, the Phoebus one will do much better in gaming than the Essence STX. But whether you want to pay the premium or not is up to you.

The Essence STX does support 7.1. Phoebus does not support either. But as I've said, you don't need it.
 
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Ok, so from what I understand if I plug my astro amp into either and set it to 7.1 I will get 7.1? Also, what makes the Phoebus better for gaming, and I noticed that the STX has no mic port, how will I be able to plug my desktop analog mic into it? And the STX also uses large headphone ports, which is fine for the HD 598 but the astro uses smaller jacks, how do I plug it in?
 
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The main differences are that the STX supports native Stereo out as opposed to native 7.1, and is slightly higher quality then the Phoebus. Phoebus does have a newer SW package though. Unless you are a crazy headphone user, the Phoebus is probably the way to go.

In any case, both can simulate 7.1 via Dolby Headphone, which is essentially what the MixAmp does.
 
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