Xonar Essence STX

    Product Image

    124 dB SNR / Headphone Amp card for Audiophiles!

    - 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
    Product Image

    124 dB SNR / Headphone Amp card for Audiophiles


    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.

    Package Contents
    Xonar™ Essence STX 2 Channel PCI Express Audio Card
    RCA to 3.5mm Y cable
    6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor
    S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adaptors *1
    Driver CD
    Quick Start Guide
    Audio Precision test report

    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

    Model Number : N50 >
    • Audio Performance
      Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) (Front-out) :
      124 dB
      Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) (Headphone-out) :
      117 dB
      Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) :
      118 dB
      Output THD+N at 1kHz (Front-out) :
      >0.0003 %(-110 dB)
      Output THD+N at 1kHz (Headphone-out) :
      >0.001 %(-100 dB)
      Frequency Response (-3dB, 16bit/44.1KHz input) :
      10 Hz to 90 KHz
      Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage :
      Unbalanced Output : 2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)
    • Bus Compatibility
      PCI Express
    • Chipset
      Audio Processor :ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit)
    • Sample Rate and Resolution
      Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution :
      44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
      Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution :
      44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
      S/PDIF Digital Output :
      44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
      ASIO Driver Support :
      44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
    • Connectivity
      Analog Output
      1 x 6.3 mm jack (1/4") Headphone out
      2 x RCA (Un-Balanced)
      Analog Input
      1 x 6.3 mm jack (1/4") (Line-in/ Mic-in combo)
      Digital
      1 x S/PDIF out (1 x Optical / Coaxial combo)
      1 x Front-Panel Header
      1 x Aux-in (4-pin header)
    • Special Features
      Dolby® Technologies : Dolby® Digital Live/Dolby® Headphone /Dolby® Virtual Speaker /Dolby® Pro-Logic II
      Karaoke Functions
      FlexBass™
      GX 2.5 Game Audio Engine
      VocalFX™
    • Accessories
      S/PDIF adaptor x 1
      3.5mm-to-RCA adaptor cable (8-ch) x 1
      6.3mm to 3.5mm stereo adapter x 0