Asus Xonar Essence STX

Story behind the Masterpiece
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors crystallized their knowledge of the materials and music into the Chime of Tiger, one of the first audio masterpiece in human history. Gold-plated on the EMI shield, the Chime of Tiger totem not only represents Xonar team's new footnote in audio innovation, but also mankind's endless pursuit of the Essence of Sound.

Industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio)
Choosing only the best components and finest design, Xonar Essence STX achieves unprecedented 124 dB SNR - 64 times clear than on-board solutions, bringing top-o-the shelf audio experience for audiophiles.

Built-in headphone amp
A high-quality TI TPA6120A2 headphone driver supports headphones up to 600ohms of impendence with lower than 0.001% distortion. Drive your headphones as intended without additional amplification.

Hyper-Grounding circuitry design
This exclusive ASUS technique utilizes multi-layer PCB design to separate signal and noise, ensuring only the cleanest signals are passed to sensitive components.

Perfectly sealed analog output path
EMI and shielding seals all analog output signals perfectly from noise, offering distortion-free audio enjoyment.

High quality DAC
The Burr-Brown PCM 1792A Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) converts signals at 127dB signal-to-noise ratio.

Nichicon "Fine Gold" professional audio capacitors
Using state-of-the-art etching technology, Nichicon "Fine Gold" capacitors deliver rich bass and crystal-clear high frequencies.

Swappable OPA Sockets
Tune up your unique sound - OPAMP sockets allow simple, solder-less alteration for user-preferred sound color.

Feature	Detail
Technical details
Internal	Y
Frequency range	10 - 90000 Hz
Cables included	RCA/3.5mm Y
System requirements
Minimum RAM	256MB
Minimum processor	Intel Pentium4 1.4GHz / AMD Athlon 1400
Minimum hard disk space	60MB
Audio
Audio quality	16/24bit
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)	118/124dB
Audio channels	2.0
Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)	192kHz/24bit
Digital-to-Analog Conversion	192kHz/24bit
Connectivity
Interface type	PCI-E
Line out	Y
S/PDIF out port	Y
Line in	Y
Microphone in	Y
Speaker/ headphone/ line-out jack	1
Operating system/software
Compatible operating systems	Microsoft® Windows® Vista(32/64bit)/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005