Asus Xonar Essence STX PCI-Express x1 Sound Card
$ 178.95
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ASUS PCI-Express x1 Sound Card XONAR ESSENCE STX/90-YAA0C0-0UAN00Z
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3 thoughts on “ASUS PCI-Express x1 Sound Card XONAR ESSENCE STX/90-YAA0C0-0UAN00Z”
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Audiophile sound card,
I bought this sound card to drive my 2ch stereo system via the RCA connectors. I’m very pleased with the sound. Setup was done in 3 minutes or so and there was nothing tricky about it at all. It’s got a bit of “audio jewelry” to make it look nice which some people are into, but I could care less. The sound is on par with what I would expect from a card of this price range. The SNR is the best I’ve seen from any other sound card (asus or otherwise). Not that SNR is the holy grail of quality measurements but it’s clear the designers worked hard to make a very clean sounding device. I use my computer as my main source now (CD’s, BluRay, Flac, MP3 all rolled into one!) and having a nice sound card is essential if you want good quality sound from your PC.
One note, and it’s not a “con” but something to consider. It’s *just* a sound card. Unless you’re using some very high quality output devices (amp, speakers and/or headphones) you should probably spend your money on speakers/amp before you throw money down on a sound card because it will offer the least improvement for your dollar. If you’ve already got speakers/headphones and an amp that you’re very happy with, this sound card will make a noticeable improvement in your system.
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|Not as good as I hoped, but definitely better than sound blaster,
I bought this because I use a nice pair of Sennheiser headphones on my PC and wanted something better than my sound blaster Audigy 2 ZS which had a buggy user-interface and seemed to have weak bass response. I also wanted to be able to switch between headphones and powered speakers without unplugging anything.
Pros: First, and most importantly, this does sound much better than the Audigy 2 ZS. Plus, the user interface is nice and doesn’t crash like the SB used to (I use WinXP Pro SP3). It’s easy to switch from headphones to speakers without much hassle or unplugging anything, so that’s nice. It can be adjusted for even high-end low-impedance headphones. I also has a real 1/4″ headphone connector so you don’t need an adapter for your expensive headphones. It comes with an RCA-to-headphone plug so you can connect your PC speakers.
Cons: You can’t have the RCA connection and the headphone connection active at the same time. It’s not a big deal, but it would have been nice. It needs an extra power connection. It doesn’t draw crazy power like a video card, but keep it in mind if you are already pushing the limits of your power supply. The configuration app that runs in the background uses more ram than the SB app did, but it doesn’t crash, so I guess it’s worth it.
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|Great input section too,
I bought this card after first considering the another brand for a similar price. I chose the Essence STX mainly on the strength of the quality of the Line-In components. All of the reviews of this card I have seen are focused on playback performance and, by inference, the DAC section of the card, which is excellent. Since I do a lot of 2-channel recording, mainly vinyl conversion and other analog sources, I wanted a card with top notch analog/digital converters. This card fits the bill. The sound quality on the recordings is even better than I expected–great depth, clarity, dynamics and very quiet. Note: I do not record live with this card.
If you are looking for a sound card to mate with either a good pair of headphones, or a high-end stereo system, this one is just the ticket. Or if you want to transfer your lp collection to digital format and you have a good front end setup, this is a great tool for the job. You can also use the wave input to record material streamed off the internet.
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