deepthaw wrote on 2023-05-20, 08:16:

Hooked x2gs up to my main pc and used an X68000 emulator to capture this track from Castlevania X68000.

https://youtu.be/Zorreq9Xk-0

sounds good !

Is there a way (modding?) to boost the volume of the X2GS? My other sound devices (ESS, Turtle Beach, Gravis) have these louder type line outputs. Amp setting on max. isn't enough. It would make it a bit easier to mix and match the volume settings.

Rawit wrote on 2023-09-13, 20:49:

Is there a way (modding?) to boost the volume of the X2GS? My other sound devices (ESS, Turtle Beach, Gravis) have these louder type line outputs. Amp setting on max. isn't enough. It would make it a bit easier to mix and match the volume settings.

pretty sure the X2PresetEditor in the X2_SoftwarePack1.02.zip can do exactly that
it is found in the serdashop downloads: https://serdaco.com/downloads/X2/?dir=X2_SoftwarePack

You mean the Amp setting? It's already on max. but that doesn't make much difference. The X2GS has a lower volume output compared to a DB50XG or a Turtle Beach Rio. I want to tweak it to get it to that level if possible.

I had to turn the amp on mine down quite a bit because it was too loud, but in saying that I wasn't comparing it to a DB50XG, which is brutally loud too.

Manufacturers all used different kind of line output levels it seems. My ESS cards have the same output as my Gravis but the Aztech's, ALS's and Crystals behave a bit different. The ESS cards also easily handle a Yucatan FX (which has high bass, but isn't that loud otherwise) and a DB50XG (loud). The other cards clip with those.

The X2GS with the Roland bank selected is the only daughterboard I have that handles all the GS stuff correctly and I would love to turn the volume up a notch so that it integrates better.

I got recently released X2GS Second Edition version. Almost everything seems to be shrunk down.
It appears SE version uses ESS DAC instead of AKM. So is it better or perhaps it's down to component availability. It's bigger more expensive brother X16 uses also ESS DAC.

I have SC-55K to compare. DreamBlaster implementation sports clearly richer sound signature with slightly more emphasis on lower frequency band. I like it. OG SC-55 sounds dry next to it.

Note: New PCB design has usb port inside. So make sure you have sound card components clearance. In my case with original Orpheus card X2 usb port makes slight contact with Orpheus electrolytic capacitor. So I treated X2GS usb port with Kapton tape for isolation. Looks also better on dark pcb

Very interesting. I've compared the datasheets of the DACs and it looks like the AKM has a reference diagram using 1.13Vrms output while the ESS includes a 2Vrms Op-Amp driver. I'm a complete n00b in this department but does this mean the ESS has more power in the output if the datasheet setups were used?