[Mini Review] Asus ROG Xonar Phoebus

[GoNz0]

So it arrived this morning, I had to go to work and wonder how good this will be against my X-Fi Titanium.

Anyway, I arrive home, uninstall all the creative software, download the beta software as it contains the BF3 fix and swap over the cards, 1st thing to note is it's bigger, and heavier. It also comes with high quality caps compared to the poor X-Fi.

After i fish out the 3rd 2x6+2 pin PCI-e power cables for the Enermax PSU I am ready to flick the mains on and see if the PC is going to go up in smoke.

A reassuring click and the pumps fire up followed by the monitor turning on

15 seconds later I am installing the beta software, while that's happening i head round the back to plug in the speaker cables & breakout box. oooh the red and green lights also on the sound-card itself to find out what hole to pop into in the dark (insert pun about wife)

Back to the chair and i plug in the sennheiser PC-350's (modded for bass and in need of a decent sound card after replacing the pleather cups for velour and losing its airtight seal.)

Oh ffs, sound out the right side only, so I unplug the breakout box and go direct and the headsets fine!

fiddle a bit more and crunch time.

setup the amazon RMA for instant credit to get another here for morning or see if the rubber feet hide 4 screws and let the fact i'm an engineer get the better of me!

anyway, 4 rubber feet and 4 screws later along with the spudger to pop the clips and i'm inside the breakout box, no sooner have i lifted the cable stop t& the left channel clicks into life for a second, a few wiggles later and the offending cable removes itself from the connector, a quick bridge later and i have found the problem, out with the soldering iron to make a better repair than asus can do in manufacture & it's all back together.

anyway, my ears are still ringing after playing Champion Sound at full volume with the 2nd gain level selected. the headset was vibrating with the bass that can only be described as totally amazing, it puts to shame the headphone out on the Onkyo 609.

Worth £163, yes it is as it's more gamer orientated than the now dated essence series along with a breakout box with volume and mute I have to say I am happy, I will of course be playing some games later as the tinnitus is starting to wear off

[zoomee]

Just got myself a set of PC-350's brand new sealed for £60!

Currently got em rigged to my D2X but feel they need a bit more power so undecided between the Phoebus and the STX at the moment.
Primary use is for gaming as I don't really listen to music tbh, nor watch movies on my PC.

currently burning my PC-350's in - A month down the line how you getting on with this?

[GeorgeStorm]

If it just power you're after, the ST would be more than enough.

[zoomee]

If it just power you're after, the ST would be more than enough.

thanks bud, I was thinking the STX would work out better than the Pheobus as it has superior sound quality. My main purpose of upgrading is for a headphone amplifier which I dont think my D2X has.

However! - The Pheobus is a proper gaming soundcard (which is my main and probably only use on my PC) so not sure if it has any advantages over the STX which is more geared for hifi-geeks (lol, sez a PC geek!) due to things like GX2.5 v's GX3, Dolby surround v4 v's Dolby headphones etc....

Any further advice more than appreciated - not much between the two really - one is newer and gives better support for gaming (but costs slightly more), the other is better quality but suffers from older tech and drivers.......

can't decide!

[GoNz0]

the 350's have been bedded in for a while now, bass modded and connected to the phoebus they can give out a serious thump!

best track i have tested is derezzed from tron

my ears rang for 2 days