ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card

Pros: Easy to install. PCI.

Cons: Well, it's simply not up to the task compared to my Ht Omega eClaro.
One way to describe it: the is a "veil", something obstructs the sound. It's just not the best card on the market for this price range.

Other Thoughts: Returned it. Happy with the eClaro (but the software sucks).

Pros: Brilliant design and sound quality.
Possibly the best consumer sound card there is.

Cons: Doesn't come with audiophile grade headphones.

Other Thoughts: I owned the HT Omega Claro Halo card a week before this, mostly for the headphone amp. I RMA'd it for this one and WOW am I glad I did. Even though they use the same hardware, the headphone amp on this one is at least twice as loud. It powers my cans almost as loud as I would want them too, it does a amazing job.

This is a extremely good choice for headphones and replaces the need for more expensive equipment!

Pros: nothing sounds as good as this card. it rocks the house. provided you use xp o.s. and included xp software.

Cons: built around your fathers operating system, namely xp. well xp and windows 7 dont like each other.and the driver download from asus website ie; pci st 7 12 8 1794 w7 well this driver is a patch job, cause its buggy as heck. keep getting no power connection at start ups,restart fixed this for a few days, now card is doa,computer store checked it and rma is in the works.this card is long in the tooth ,perfect for xp but . as for windows 7x64 it was not built up from the ground to have drive it. i dont think this can be resolved cause its a tiger masquerading as a leopard with the wrong software.its still a tiger, and dont really know what a leopard does. this analogy due to my own ignorance in technical terminology,point is it just dont take to the windows 7 op.system it wants xp, as it should due to its nature of being designed to run in that op.system.

Other Thoughts: not asuses fault that xp is now all but extinct, windows 7 is far superior to it and once you change over to it , you will never want to go back to xp. after a short while getting use to it anyways. too bad the card wasnt made later and based on the win 7 operating system with a download patch for xp that is glitchy. these two operating systems just dont get along at all ,win 7 primary,xp secondary would be a better choice for this card

Pros: beautiful card, it like a artificial tree on happy holiday morning

Cons: i cant tell you why , cause new egg wont let me. me =0 censors=1

Pros: Never stopped working
Great software and mixer options

Cons: Mixer lacks an export function (though you can google how to save them)
Asus support......good luck if you ever want a real answer to a question, better ask forum people instead

Other Thoughts: I've never had an issue with my card - and I've had a lot of components and cards that have been low quality garbage even wtih lots of reviews....no, you can't use the headphones and speakers at the same time...but if someone is looking at this card, they should already know that. I primarily use my headphones.

Pros: Doesn't overburden your cpu with its power cord input. Wonderful hassle-free setup. I was pleasantly surprised with the controlled crisp sound quality with both active bookshelf speakers and good headphones.

Cons: Sound has a little short pop sound that comes out of speakers or headphones when Win 7 64 boots up. I think it's due to my overclocking. However it's not that loud at all, and I'm used to it. It's not really a con to me, but may be for some that boot up everyday.

Other Thoughts: I really didn't expect it to be worthy to be herald in the "hifi" territory because for the price when compared to other options that I have tried I find this card to be a downright bargain.

Pros: Sound quality when it works, especially with upgraded opamps.

Cons: Worked beautifully on Windows XP. I had to move to Windows 7 because drivers for the latest hardware are not compatible with xp. This card had a host of problems with Windows 7 x64 ultimate. I would only get sound out of one channel and the drivers kept crashing the computer with BSOD. Surely ASUS can hire an extra programmer to work through the bugs in the driver???? From history, a company that ignores their customers is doomed for failure because others will take their place! Definitely no more ASUS products for me. The decline of a great company is at hand.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

I apologize for your experience with the Xonar Essence ST. Have you tried using older drivers? Can you tell me how/when are you crashing? Please contact me at cl-jeremy@asus.com (ref#1043-1496) so that I may help you troubleshoot. Thanks.

Regards,
Jeremy
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Im not a huge audiophile but I can say this card sounds noticeably better then the onboard on my CHV which has pretty good onboard from the get go. The setup was easy overall and there isn't anything worth deducting a egg for.

Cons: The only thing I could maybe consider a con is having to manually tell the card to switch between headphones and speakers which isn't a big deal but more so a lazy thing to complain about.

Other Thoughts: Would buy again

Pros: Positively gorgeous. As for actual sound quality, I have yet to experience it myself. (See cons)

Cons: System is not detecting the card, even though all cables are connected properly. There's a big problem when it comes to drivers for this thing. (see other thoughts)

Other Thoughts: Okay people, You've probably seen a lot of reviews stating the card is doa, and/or not working properly. They are only half correct. While it has given me nothing but difficulty so far, I don't think it is doa. I've researched the forums and many people are reporting the same issues. people are suggesting it's a driver issue in most cases. What the problem actually is in my case, i'm still not sure yet. Will continue to troubleshoot this and I will certainly come back and do another review after I get a final result for this thing... for better or worse.

Pros: Most definitely an upgrade over Realtek On-board.

Cons: Recessed highs, overall "bright response"
Did not like this sound signature at all. I bought this card to hook up to some HI-FI towers. (EMP Tek E55ti)

Cleary my cd player was better.

Other Thoughts: My Sony DVP-SR210P sounds better than this soundcard streaming (lossless cd/vs lossless audio)

In all my money spent on sound, I find that cd players. (regardless of price) will almost be the most accurate source and produce the most detail.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

I am sorry you were not satisfied with the Xonar Essence ST. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at cl-jeremy@asus.com (ref#1043-977). Thank you.

Regards,
Jeremy
ASUS Customer Loyalty