Asus Xonar STX Help!

[OneFiveTwo]

I recently upgraded the sound on my computer and bought the corsair sp2500 gaming speakers. Those sound great, replacing some $20 Logitech speakers! I received these a week before my sound card.

I bought the Asus Xonar Essence STX and when I received it and installed it, it was a little less than stellar. At first, I thought that I just needed to adjust the driver settings and the speaker settings to get the best clarity. Apparently this wasn't the case because as I changed the settings, I only got a minimal increase in the sound clarity.

I tried everything, from moving the sliders on the environmental and eq effects page of the drivers and changing the speaker's modes and eq's. Pressing the treble eq on the Asus Control Center thing would give it the clarity I like, but without the bass. I turned up the bass manually and the sound would return to more bass but less clarity.

Another problem also arose.... When I finally got to playing a game, there was an obvious echo. I looked up online to see what I can do to get rid of it, and turned on the Hi-Fi button but to no avail, still am experiencing both of these problems.

I really would like to believe that these problems I am experiencing are fixable or that I received a faulty one, because as of right now it seems that my Corsair speakers sound much better with the onboard sound instead of a dedicated sound card. Please help, all advice and suggestions are much appreciated![strike][/strike]

 

[Zaza101]

I think "sound clarity" is a very subjective term, its different for everyone. However your explanation seem that you want a sound that is high in treble without overwhelming bass. Have you tried leaving the STX on the default eq and turning down the sub-woofer levels on your corsair sp2500?

I think you should play around with the levels and find the sound you like. it doesn't look like you were the only one who wasn't happy with the sound of the corsair sp2500: http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=98759

As for the echo, in the effects tab of the xonar audio center, is the environment set to 'Generic'?

Also depending on what your previous sound solution was it might take a few days to get used to the new 'better' sound. I noticed this when upgrading my headphones, but barely noticed when when i went to the Xonar St from on-board audio, the main difference i noticed was the ST had no static noises in the background and doesn't distort at high volumes.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

your onboard sound sounds better than the xonar, i think you have found the problem. I think you are overlooking the fact that a soundcard has little impact on sound quality compared to the speakers. Another thing is the Xonar has a headphone amp, make sure your speakers are not connected to it. Personally, i preferred the soundblaster z when listening to both that and the xonar. the xonar has a very flat sound (which some prefer). The sbz also has a great eq that doesnt distort.

 

[thee_prisoner]

What I would do is return the overpriced sound card and maybe the speakers and spend the money on better speakers and use the on board sound. Speakers are the most important element to reproduce sound!

Of course if your on board sound has problems a sound card maybe needed. A Sound Blaster Z is a good choice, especially if you need a good mic.

Some regular stereo speakers will out perform those speakers, especially if you can get them used.

 

[gbakmars]

Have you tried downloading the driver for the HDAV which is basically a Xonar Essence PCIe card with a different hood on the engine? It is 50 MB compared to the 11 MB for the STX driver. The bottom line is; Asus should be ashamed that they continue to sell this sound card for $187 and have not improved any of the software/drivers since 2010.

Seriously, I have worked "inside" the walls where large corporations have to communicate with one another and plans are basically finished 2 to 4 years ahead of a major product release. If not, who could build anything that wasn't thrown together at the last minute?

Long ago it became known that sound cards would be unable to compete with CPU sound, chipset sound, MB sound, USB sound.... and companies like Creative which were slowly dying in the increasing temp of the water in the beaker, finally got wise (or hot enough!) and jumped out before they died.

Asus jumped out long ago but tried to look like they were "all in". They purchased a "Google Bone", and simultaneously tossed out a poorly made sound card that was nothing more than a Xonar STX, named "Feebie" instead of "Essence". When they hit their profit goal Asus quickly abandoned ship.

The problem is; the boat is still floating around, and whenever an "MB-sound-only user" sees the "Loch-Ness" the excitement level bounces back just enough to keep people buying!

To say it is all speakers doesn't quite do justice to all that is involved in taking a "physical" phenomenon and turning it into an electrical signal in a variety of forms, and then bring it full circle so that it physically pushes the eardrum; otherwise Marantz and others have been duping people for 50 years with these giant heavy receivers!!

I hate to see it happen but the "smaller is better" foolishness is going to suck the sound card along with the video card into the CPU of Moore's Law.

You have to laugh, especially when you are reading an article describing the Surface? All the hype with its amazing graphics and such a small weight; while you are holding a 6 pound EVGA780 6GB in your hand getting ready to install it!

Somebody is not telling the whole story and that is why the Intel Map has always had to versions; one for the public and one for the treasure hunters!