Asus Xonar DX or Phoebus

[Snowlynx]

Hi,

I want to invest in a soundcard and i wonder if the extra money you're puting down for the phoebus is worth it over the Xonar DX soundcard.

(also I have a Sennheiser PC360 headset)

 

[gopher1369]

I'd get the Asus Xonar DGX. It has a built in headphone amp and decent sound quality. I can't really see what the Phoebus offers over and above it other than the control box.

If it's better sound quality you're after then you would need to be looking at the Xonar Essence range, not the Phoebus.

 

[ksham]

For gaming, Phoebus > DX in my opinion.

 

[ttimberlak443]

I have the PC360 as well and a Xonar DGX driving them. The amp makes a world of difference for this headset. They get punchier, more noticeable low end, smoother mids, and clearer highs. Overall they are better sounding, although they didn't sound bad to begin with.

The spacial positioning is fine on this headset on stereo, but if you would like virtual surround, the DGX offers Dolby Headphone (5.1) or 7.1 virtual surround. It also has a 10-band EQ that you can mess with if you choose to.

 

[gopher1369]

I have an Asus Xonar U7 (the usb version, also had an amp + Dolby Headphone) driving a Corsair Vengeance 1400 headset and I concur, a headphone amp really does make a difference.

 

[Snowlynx]

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone. I think I will go with the DX. Thanks again

 

[gopher1369]

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone. I think I will go with the DX. Thanks again

Note we're refering to the DGX, not the DX. I don't think the DX contains a headphone amp, the DGX does.

 

[Snowlynx]

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone. I think I will go with the DX. Thanks again

Note we're refering to the DGX, not the DX. I don't think the DX contains a headphone amp, the DGX does.

Well that might be true, but if I understand correctly (say it if I do not) the PC360 headset does not need an amp.

 

[ttimberlak443]

To answer that, the PC360's don't NEED an amp to function, but they prefer an amp. At 50 ohms you won't require an amp for the headphones to make noise, but they want a little extra juice to function at their full potential.

I have played with it on my DGX. If I have the out on the DGX set to 32 ohms (which is probably what your on-board audio is doing) the PC360's don't sound much different than they did with on-board audio. When I bumped it up to 50 ohms, it made a huge difference. I don't even feel the need to EQ them at all when they are getting their recommended amount of power.

 

[Snowlynx]

To answer that, the PC360's don't NEED an amp to function, but they prefer an amp. At 50 ohms you won't require an amp for the headphones to make noise, but they want a little extra juice to function at their full potential.

I have played with it on my DGX. If I have the out on the DGX set to 32 ohms (which is probably what your on-board audio is doing) the PC360's don't sound much different than they did with on-board audio. When I bumped it up to 50 ohms, it made a huge difference. I don't even feel the need to EQ them at all when they are getting their recommended amount of power.

Ok, so I should get a DGX for the better audio. Though i want 7.1 functionality. So will the Creative Soundblaster Z be an option? Or is the sound on that not that good. I can do with 5.1 i guess the difference isn't that big and it is virual anyways. Please help me on this one.

 

[ttimberlak443]

The Xonar DGX can do virtual 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. It just doesn't have the physical outputs for 7.1, it only has the outputs for an external 5.1 setup.

I have found that I prefer just normal stereo for the PC360's, but I guess that is all up to the preference of the user. The spacial positioning on this headset is great to begin with.

 

[Snowlynx]

The Xonar DGX can do virtual 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. It just doesn't have the physical outputs for 7.1, it only has the outputs for an external 5.1 setup.

I have found that I prefer just normal stereo for the PC360's, but I guess that is all up to the preference of the user. The spacial positioning on this headset is great to begin with.

I agree about the spacial positioning part. But I don' t quite understand that the DX is more expensive the DGX seems to be the better choice for the PC360's. Do I understand this correctly or am I off track?

 

[ttimberlak443]

That seems to be my experience. Don't get me wrong, the DX will still sound better than on-board audio, but doesn't provide the headphone amp that the PC360's really benefit from.

My understanding is that the DX is designed to be used more for external speaker systems, while the DGX is designed for headphone use. Someone, please, correct me if I'm wrong here, but that seems like the case to me.

 

[gopher1369]

My understanding is that the DX is designed to be used more for external speaker systems, while the DGX is designed for headphone use. Someone, please, correct me if I'm wrong here, but that seems like the case to me.

That's how I read it too. Asus have literally about 50 different models on their website which all have almost identical features and model numbers, the differences are so subtle it's really very confusing. But I agree with you, that seems to be the case.