Asus Essence STX V/S Creative Sound Blaster ZxR

[techboy]

Hi

I want to know if the new offering by Creative is better, and if so, then by how much? And would it help with my use and setup.

Setup
Audioengine A5 with DS2 stands
connected to Swan M50W through Belkin Rockstar
So basically 4.1 and I use 2 speaker output (the splitter ensures that 4 speakers and sub play just fine) and for movies Dolby Virtual Speaker. Movies and Music have equal weightage.

Sennheiser RS 170 and again I use it to watch movies with Dolby Headphone

Current sound card Asus Essence STX

I will upgrade to Aktimate Mini+ sooner or later, so keep that in mind.

The headphone amp/dac is as important as the speakers.

Use:
Movies 40-60% with Virtual Surround
Music Rest, sometimes with Virtual, else 2ch output through all sources.

I would like to compare Creative to Asus in terms of:

Headphone amp
Virtual surround headphone
Virtual surround speakers
And overall quality/clarity/bass etc

Can you please help?

Aakshey

 

[spirovious]

For music,asus has edge & creative SC are mostly for games.If you check some online comparison,asus cards are ahead in music performance.Try some different drivers for better results.
UNi Xonar Drivers official page

 

[techboy]

Ya, that was valid before Creative released the Z series. Z series is equipped with amp/dac to power 600 ohm headphones, and it is 124db as well. You haven't been up to date bro.

Even I know the situation as it was 2 years ago, but things might be different now. I want people who have tried both to chime in

 

[spirovious]

Ya, that was valid before Creative released the Z series. Z series is equipped with amp/dac to power 600 ohm headphones, and it is 124db as well. You haven't been up to date bro.

Creative had tried similar way to take lead before,but it could score only on specification point & not on actual sound quality.I mean musical way(subjective).
Creative Soundblaster Zx or Asus Xonar STX - www.hardwarezone.com.sg
Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card Review | Custom PC Review

 

[techboy]

That review doesn't say a word about the asus card.

And nobody in that thread actually comments on how the creative card compares with the asus card. Not one person in that thread owns/has heard both, they are mostly trolls if you actually go through the thread properly.

 

[spirovious]

That review doesn't say a word about the asus card.

Yes,but they also did not admire sound quality as best.Also in forum discussion, someone found the sound ad metallic/digital. Asus cards are tuned mostly for audiophile purpose.Also then creative card belongs to game zone.Basically Asus used reputed DAC chip & may it be the cause.

 

[techboy]

Stx uses the same dac in zxr. And the only few replies I have read claim that zxr might be a bit better than stx. And I haven't heard a single complaint about sound quality either way.

 

[spirovious]

Its said that PCM1792 & 1794 have similar analog performance & if it is,then not sure that ZX can be much better than xonar.

 

[mathewsyriac]

Hi!
Even I am using Asus Xonar Essence ST..
Music listening in stereo is mind blowing. But when it comes to movies (multi-channel) and gaming, I feel that something is missing. Especially, bass redirection..

DSP features, plays an important role in movies, for example, some movies needs dialog lift.
Previously I had a X-Fi platinum, It had a good DSP and is THX certified.. But the sound output stage is very bad.. It used to clip off punchy bass and is very annoying.

In the ZxR, i believe that they have improved the sound output stage a lot...

Would love to hear from owners (ZxR)

 

[Vulcan]

Used Essence ST then tried a Titanium HD & then back to ST. Looks like Creative finally came up with a competitive card. Keeping fingers crossed for side by side comparison.

 

[reignofchaos]

There's pretty much no reason to get creative now. The primary reason earlier was hardware acceleration in games. The new core3d or whatever chip that is present in the zxr no longer features hardware acceleration. So there's basically no point getting it.