Asus Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Sound Card

Asus Xonar Essence STX Industry-leading 124dB SNR Built-in headphone amp drives every available headphone with <0.001% distortion. Nichicon "Fine Gold" capacitors offer great dynamic performance. Perfectly shielded EMI-free analog output path.Customize your sound color effortlessly via swappable OPAmp socket.

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.

System Requirements

• One PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card
• Microsoft® Windows® Vista(32/64bit)/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005
• Intel® Pentium®4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU
• >256 MB DRAM system memory
• >60 MB available HDD space for driver installation package
• CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive) for software installation
• High-quality headphones, powered analog speakers, or a Dolby Digital decoder, to enjoy the ultra-high fidelity sounds of the card.

Technical Details

Model

• Brand : ASUS
• Model : Xonar Essence STX

Audio Performance

• Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) : 124dB for Front-out,117dB for Headphone-out (600ohms) dB
• Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) : 118 dB
• Output THD+N at 1kHz : 0.0003% (-110dB) for Front-out, 0.001% (-100dB) for Headphone-out
• Input THD+N at 1kHz : 0.0002% (-113dB) for Line-in
• Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/192kHz input) : <10Hz to 90KHz
• Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage : 2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)

Bus Compatibility
PCI Express

• PCI Express Rev. specification compatible
• Compatible with X1, X4, X8, X16 PCI Express slots

Main Chipset

• Audio Processor : ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit)
• 24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources : Texas Instruments PCM1792A*1 for Front-Out (127dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
• 24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs : Cirrus-Logic CS5381* 1 (120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
• High Fidelity Headphone Amplifier : Texas Instruments 6120A2*1 (120dB SNR, 100dB THD+N @ Vcc±12V, RL=600Ω, f=1kHz)

Sample Rate and Resolution

• Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution : 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
• Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution : 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
• S/PDIF Digital Output : 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital
• ASIO 2.0 Driver Support : Supports 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @16/24bit with very low latency.

I/O Ports

• Analog Output Jack : RCA jack *2 (Front R / Front L), 6.30mm jack*1 (Headphone out)
• Analog Input Jack : 6.30mm jack *1 (Shared by Line-In/Mic-In)
• Other line-level analog input (for CD-IN/TV Tuner) : Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
• Digital S/PDIF Output : High-bandwidth Coaxial/TOS-Link combo port supports 192KHz/24bit
• Front-Panel Header : Shared by Headphone out / 2 channels out /
• Microphone in S/PDIF Header : Connects to compatiable graphic cards for HDMI output .