ASUS Xonar Essence STX, nice sound card with SNR up to 124dB
ASUS just released an audio precision report of its latest product Xonar Essence STX. (read Page 2 for report details)
According to ASUS, the yet-to-be-release audio product Xonar Essence STX is “world’s first onboard headphone amp 600ohms headphone with <100dB THD+N”. What’s more, Xonar Essence STX isolated power sources for headphone output and normal audio output. The whole card is using Nichicon capacitors which is called “fine gold”. We don’t know the release date of the card, but it will become another expensive enthusiast audio product.
Craving for the clearest audio source to support your precious headphone and speakers? Then let Xonar Essence STX amaze you. Being the world’s first audio card to achieve 124dB in signal-to-noise ratio, and capable of driving headphone with highest impedance under lowest 100dB distortion, your only concern will be hard to stop the heavenly music playback from Xonar Essence STX.
Designed in Essence
Perfectly sealed by improved EMI shield, Xonar Essence STX’s analog output path generates the purest audio ever from a sound card -124dB signal-to-noise ratio and 0.0003% distortion.
Fine-selected Components
With premium-quality digital-to-audio converter and audio-specific capacitors selected, Xonar Essence STX provides <10~90kHZ frequency response and 124dB dynamic range for your unlimited pleasure.
Shines your beloved headphones
Drives up to 600ohms headphones with less than 100dB distortion, the built-in headphone amp supports every available headphone in the market with unbelievable audio quality.
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October 20th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Creative X-FI 2 everyone?
October 26th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
the Most Beautiful PC Audio Piece Ever. The degree of dissapointment of purchasing the X-FI elite pro is Unbelievable… Although I don’t know if the music of such quality exhist))
October 27th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Well, the specifications are amazingly good but… does anyone really need such good ones? I don’t think that I lose something in terms of enjoyment from music if I don’t change my Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 for Asus
Dynamic range of 124dB compared to 112dB of HD2 and 0.0003% THD+N distortion compared to 0.0054% of hand-made headphone amplifier is an achievement, but as Vl-r said here comes the problem in quality of recordings, that will totally depreciate this achievement.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:33 am
My 24bit/192khz flacs disagree with you.
October 29th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
lol hififag
November 7th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
@ Kenshin, 24/192Khz Flacs made from what source?
November 7th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
As for the music quality, 24/192 audio is indeed hard to come by. That doesn’t meant those high quality files are the only ones this card will make sound good.
It will still have a very high SNR and Dynamic range in both 16/44.1 and 16/48 audio formats which are used all the time. The higher the SNR and dynamic range and less distortion the better.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
300 buks & shes yours
March 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
How about timing? I’m interested in the quality of those DACs, that is where a big gain can be had!
March 6th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@Mark:
The DACs are Burr-Brown’s PCM 1792A, you can google that and you’ll find the spec sheet.
If you want the short version, they’re unbelieavably good and unless you got some silly expensive speakers, amps and room treatment (I’m talking over 100.000 dollars investments), they will not be a limit for the sound quality.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:15 am
actually the ipod needs some headphone amplifier if you really want some great bass’;*
November 8th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
some headphone amplifiers use negative feedback to reduce the noise levels ..