Asus Xonar Essence STX

Almost useless if already has his PRO card, but came to the Hi-Fi in parallel if the budget allows.

- Originally, it re-raises the level of quality of PC
- I used the board with analog Audiophile Stereo equipment.
- Compatible 7.1 via 2 type of digital output (optical and coaxial, it is for analog stereo.

Thanks to Windows, the original driver forced the Xonar to use Windows overlay, which adds a supposedly sound enhancement. This improvement is an abomination to the ear of the high fidelity. That's why I recommend the installation of a Non-Official Driver that allows to exploit the potential of this beast REAL race (Value / Price).

ps: The driver allows you to use this card in ASIO, as his PRO card. Besides, I can use the Xonar expendeur STx computer music with my software (Cubase, Pro Tools). No latency, unlike its integrated chipset motherboard.

It allows you to enjoy superb quality with old MP3 (encoded minimum 192). With Flac is osmosis.

I have compared the two pro sound card:

Xonar stx vs Hercules 16/12: Hercules the mat
Xonar stx vs Edirol SD-90: ... The sound is a little flattered in severe and acute. anything extremely accurate, that's what I research as music. I expected compared with the Motu MK3. The pro sound card, are supposed to be neutral to maximum. This is not the case for the hi-fi.

I bought it right out, and I can guarantee that it lays nicely all Xfi competing and more! Even DAC 400 € to take difficult elle.il be spent 450 € ~ 500 € some external DAC can claim to be better (source is from the net). but for 160 € for a Xonar and 300 + € ... the choice is quickly made. I have not talked about the equalizer, and other functions for the price.

This card is not an audio interface, but a tool for listening to music.
"The results are simply amazing for what is surely one of the best cards to use hi-fi stereo sound." Source HD Fever. You with this card enough "give" the best speakers or headphones to the best of what you enchant the spirit. The sound is of high purity, power and precision in all the bandwidth. A proper sound card has a S / N ratio of 100 db. The ASUS Xonar Essence STX has a SNR of 124 dB. The SNR is the best of all cards in this price, bandwidth, low total harmonic distortion, the beauty of the product, the overall quality of the ASUS Xonar Essence STX makes this map a connection bijou.la is simple: 6.35 headphone output, microphone input 6.35mm. For each channel, left and right RCA output, and finally an optical SPDIF Coaxial output. There are two adapters, one to go from 6.35 to 3.5 for the headphone output, and a cable connecting the two outputs doublettte CINCH hp in a 3.5mm socket. We must feed it with a molex plug. For drivers, an important point: We must go to the website to find the latest ASUS. I then struggled to install, because you must first disengage the bios in the audio device on the motherboard audio drivers and uninstall the Realtek present kind, those of the graphics card, or other driver before installing the ASUS .
The reward is that the Xonar Audio Center once installed provides a range of settings, interragissant them, making you an alchemist and a jeweler for the dissemination of music. Finally, in addition to very good broadcasters should be good sources, Flac or other, with the best samples.
We can no longer, once tried, listen to music without it.