Audio Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impressions

Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

ST has a better clock circuit. Both of them use a PCI audio controller chip (AV100), STX uses a PCI Bridge chip which ST does not need (found in the same page linked below). Would this produce an audible difference in SQ between the two?

I found this - here

We have tested this card with a few sets of headphones, speakers systems and studio reference monitors. This card has some serious sound quality for headphones and speakers systems. The card has a similar sonic flavor presented by the Essence STX however, there is something a little different about the response. The ST has a crystal clear ultra detailed sound combined with warmth and articulation for bass, mids and high frequencies alike.

This card was auditioned for those who came around and all were impressed with the sonic prowess of the upcoming Essence ST.
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Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Ive actually heard both. The difference is not very vast, infact very less and non noticeable with the mx-5021 plugged in.

With headsets there was a difference. The st was a bit more aggressive which i kinda like.

I do believe that 1 being a pci and another a pci-e connector would or should largely influence ones decision too based on the Motherboard design. I never did find a through head to head comparison in terms of performance, so no links to share mate.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Does it make a difference to the SQ, PCI and PCI-E??
I just checked my motherboard manual and I have 4x PCI-E and 2x PCI slots.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

FaH33m said:
^ You also need to add the Lawton modded & recabled D5000 to this comparisons :p
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Great ! Ill pick it up from you and add it to the mix. :D

My amp is now fixed. So I can safely drive the Lawtons. :)
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Sure no issues. Let me know whenever you want to collect it from me :).
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

bennysachdev said:
Does it make a difference to the SQ, PCI and PCI-E??

I just checked my motherboard manual and I have 4x PCI-E and 2x PCI slots.
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I dont think so, but if 10 on 10 people r recommending the ST, y not just play it safe and go for it.. And mate its not the no of available slots thats imp, check the layout design.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Lol, I agree with you dude, problem is ST ain't available, STX is. Question is should I wait for the ST or try sourcing it or just go for the STX.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

My xi-fi broke down. I went to a creative service center he tells me he has never received this card and very few of 2k+ cards are sold. Anyways he keeps the card and calls me 2 days later.

I was told 2 transistors are blown and the specific part required for this card will have to be shipped from abroad. Time for it to be shipped would be 1 month and cost of the part and device was more or less equivalent to a new card.

My card was purchased from Denmark and no intl warranty applies.

If the card was under warranty i would have received a new card, since its not, i have a dead card on me. Now the local card repair fella tells me that the cost of the part of a SB-live is like 200 bucks but since this card aint in warranty and very few spares, nothing can really be done.. He said, same is the case with asus and azuntech cards.

Lesson learned, no buying cards(sound or graphic) without local warranty...
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

I think most of you already know this but the main difference in ST and STX is the jitter reduction circuitry added in ST which is not there in STX apart from interface.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

^^^

Forget the jitter thing. There is a difference in SQ. ST is sharper and brighter. Every note is very clearly presented(not sure if im using the right words).
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Brendon has his hands on the re cabled and Lawton modded D5000 now .Hope he updates this review with his impressions :p .
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

^^ Thanks for loaning them to me. :)

Comparisons updated in the first post.

Now if someone else doesn't mind loaning their top tier cans to me for a week I will be most obliged. :D
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

^Great ! Just went through it . Your views perfectly match mine though I feel the bass decay isn't very slow as such .its just not as fast as the balanced armature of TF10 !

Anyways glad to see the Lawton D5000s pretty much standing with the HD650s at the top :D Also another thing you forgot to mention that some of the changes in sound are also due to the recabling and not just the Lawton mods. I personally found the overall detailing and treble(less sibilant) to be slightly better after the recable.
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

^^ Thanks ! :)

Its not very slow but the HD650 (amped) manages to upstage it quite comfortably. Amping really speeds up the HD650. However the Lawtons do a lot of things better than the HD650s so its down to a matter of preference. :)

Well I am not a big believer in cables so I was a little reluctant to give credit to the cable upgrade. :p

Your silver cable for the TF10 made me a half believer but I did not have a stock TF10 to AB them. Maybe an AB test will make me a full believer !
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Well so I finally got the Xonar STx for the headphones, so far they are nothing short of amazing. The sound is extremely clean, no noise, no hiss, the bass goes really low, the treble is neither bright nor recessed, neutral would be the right word for it. There is an improvement in headstage with all my headphones.

The bass is amazingly tight and punchy. And the details are definately more than what I got with the Maverick D1. Somehow I am expecting a better separation though.

Currently i'm listening to these with my new HD25-1 II and they sound very much like the best DJ headphones as they're said to be. Deadmau5 and A&B FTW!!!
 
Re: Denon D5000 vs Grado SR225 vs Audio Technica M50 vs Sennheiser HD650 - Impression

Congrats for STX & HD25-1 II.....how much did HD25-1 II cost....??
 
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