Sound Card help

[cobretti]

Does anyone have an experience with these sound cards?


I am looking for the sound card I can use for measuring audio equipment, especially with Arta software. I know about Lynx Studio sound cards they have very good specifications for this purpose but they are on the expensive side. Can someone give me a suggestion for a good sound card around $250 max that has good specifications? Please share your experience.
Thank all of you.

[Speedskater]

The pictures are small!
Do you have brand and model numbers?

[cobretti]

The first one is HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT and the second one is ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz

[jonedd]

That second one is the Xonar Essence STX, not the ST.

[VictoriaGuy]

There's been LOTS of discussion online about the Xonar cards...a search will turn up plenty...
From what I read, they are pretty good....especially in the 'bang for the buck' category...

[5th element]

I've got an ST, the PCI version of the ST and can attest to it's quality. I have no problem giving it a firm recommendation.

The only limitation is the bandwidth, it goes up to around 50k, but no higher, regardless of if you're using 192khz, this does, as you can see with the 192khz distortion plot, limit how far the harmonics will extend. This however is it's only real flaw.

[cobretti]

Thank you, this is helpful. Do you have any picture with closed loop?

[cobretti]

The only thing I don't like about this card are cheap OpAmps. But I would change them in the worst case. I wonder what the improvement would be like if I put high quality OpAmps from Analog Devices for example.

[theresa]

I have the Asus Xonar Essence STX you have pictured. Wonderful sound but I am having trouble with a great deal of noise when trying to use a phantom powered measurement microphone. Of course I have a separate power supply for the mic.

[5th element]

Originally Posted by cobretti

Thank you, this is helpful. Do you have any picture with closed loop?

I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking here.

Originally Posted by cobretti

The only thing I don't like about this card are cheap OpAmps. But I would change them in the worst case. I wonder what the improvement would be like if I put high quality OpAmps from Analog Devices for example.

The only opamp which you might want to possibly replace is the NJM2114 that the ASUS uses for I/V conversion after the DAC. Do be careful though as the opamp you choose for this job has to be capable of driving a capacitive load, the NJM is also a very quiet opamp. The AD797 isn't suitable for this role as it does not like capacitive loads, neither does the THS4031/2. I haven't investigated to see if the ASUS card has a series resistor to isolate it from the output of the I/V opamp - I doubt it.

The differential opamp is a highly regarded one from national semiconductor, the LM4562. This opamp has been designed from the outset to be used specifically with audio, I wouldn't recommend replacing it, not because of compatibility or anything like that, simply because you won't be able to hear a difference.

Also, as you want the card for measurements, you should always measure the card itself, after any opamp changes, to check that nothing has degraded.