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Beyond any applicable Newegg return policy, this item is warranted independently by the product's Manufacturer. Below is a summary provided for convenience only and may not be accurate or current.
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Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (parts): 3 years
Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (labor): 3 years
Pros: This is a very high quality audio card. I enjoy it, it makes my old sound blaster xi fi look weak. overall it's awesome.
Cons: None.
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Top audio card for headphones, audiophile range
Reviewed By: on 1/25/2010
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
Pros: This is it, one of the very best headphone audiophile cards in the market right now (period), if not the best. Can be used for speakers too, it have dedicated outputs for it.
1. Awesome warm and detailed audio quality. Make sure to use a very good headphone or speakers. Also, try to listen to lossless formats, however it works wonder for lossy formats too.
2. Very easy to setup, if you are using Windows 7, make sure to download the drivers from the official Asus site, instead of using the included CD.
3. Worked out of the box.
4. The high quality is very good, warm, detailed for near every type of audio (music genre, gaming, movies, etc...)
5. What more to say, the card looks awesome.
6. This is not only a headphone card, it have dedicated output for speakers and a digital output for 5.1 systems. However, this card is really focused for analog audio output, due to the dedicated high quality DAC for headphones and speakers.
7. Amp for those hungry power headphones.
Cons: ***These are NOT really cons, but these points can help on your research***:
1. The card needs power directly from the PSU, so it has a 4-pin molex connector.
2. The card may be somewhat big for just audio, I don't has any problems with it.
3. Make sure to set the correct "ohm" power in the Asus settings console software in the headphone output, this setting should match the requirement of your headphone, or it can damage it. There is no problem if you use lower power than you headphone needs, but don't do it the other way around.
Other Thoughts: I was previously using a Creative Audigy 2ZS Platinum since I think 2003 or 2004. While at that time the card sounded better than on-board audio, the same can't be said with boards from 2007 to present.
The card started giving me issues and I had to use on-board audio, but when I was thinking about it, I have the following: - Audio Technica A900 - Cowon S9 32GB for outside use - Clarion VX-709 audio system in my car - Logitech Z-5500 for console gaming
What I want to say is that I have some pretty good audio stuff, so why getting stuck with on-board audio, when I really enjoy music in the highest quality possible under my budget.
After a solid research that lasted several days, I was deciding between Asus Essence STX and HT Omega Claro Halo. Most people recommended the STX, so I decided by it. Very happy with it.
If you want a gaming dedicated card, don't get this one! Get one with the X-Fi chip, like Auzen X-Fi Forte 7.1
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Beyond belief
Reviewed By: Rebelranger on 1/22/2010
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
Pros: This card is without a doubt the best card out there. A close second would be the HT Omega products then the Auzentech all of which I have in one of the many rigs in my home/office. There is no comparison in terms of sound quality. EVEN IN GAMES this is a great card. I originally fell in love with the Auzentech Forte and its incredible for games but when I put this in my E760 Classified board which is overclocked to 4.6 with 6 gb Corsair dominator memory, I melted with delight! This is the perfect complement to a well tuned machine!
Cons: Price is steep.....but an investment!
Other Thoughts: I run Win 7 Ultimate 64bit.. If you do also, go to the Asus website ahead of time and download the new drivers/software which are more up to date.
Lastly be aware that this baby needs a standard power connector to work...........
Again it does work with games...
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Model
Brand
ASUS
Model
Xonar Essence STX
Audio core
Audio Chipset
ASUS AV100
Channels
Virtual 7.1
Sample Rate
192KHz
Digital Audio
24-bit
SNR
118 dB Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio
124dB for Front-out 110dB for Headphone-out dB
Ports
Line In
Yes
SPDIF Out
High-bandwidth Coaxial/TOS-Link combo port supports 192KHz/24bit
MIC In
Yes
Other Ports
Aux-In (4-pin header on the card) Front-Panel Header: Shared by Headphone out / 2 channels out / Microphone in S/PDIF Header: Connects to compatiable graphic cards for HDMI output
Spec
Interface
PCI Express x1
Operating Systems Supported
Windows Vista/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005
Features
Features
Dolby Digital Live: Dolby Digital Live encodes any audio signal on PC in real-time to Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sounds to your home theater environment through one single S/PDIF connection
Dolby Headphone: Dolby Headphone technology allows users to listen to music, watch movies, or play games with the dramatic 5.1-channel surround or realistic 3D spacious effects through any set of stereo headphones.
Dolby Virtual Speaker: Dolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a highly realistic 5.1-speaker surround sound listening environment from as few as two speakers.
Dolby Pro-Logic II: Dolby Pro-Logic II is the well-known technology to process any native stereo or 5.1-channel audio into up to 6.1 channel output, creating a seamless, natural surround soundfield.
Smart Volume Normalizer
Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a constant level and also enhances your 3D sound listening range and advantages in gaming
Xear 3D Virtual Speaker Shifter: Virtual 7.1 speaker positioning
Magic Voice: Xonar Essence STX provides VocalFX, the latest vocal effect technologies for gaming and VoIP, including: -VoiceEX: produces vivid environmental reverberation for your voice in EAX games -ChatEX: emulates different background environment effects when you chat online -Magic Voice: changes your voice pitch to different types (Monster/Cartoon…) for disguising your real voice or just for fun in online chatting
Karaoke Functions: Music Key-Shifting and Microphone Echo effects like professional Karaoke machine
FlexBass: Professional Bass Management/Enhancement system
Reviewed By: on 2/3/2010
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
