





The ASUS Xonar Essence STX is a PCI-e audio card that is designed for the music enthusiast. Equipping the Xonar Essence STX with the best components and the finest design, the STX delivers a top-of-the-line audio experience with a 124 dB SNR rating. With a built-in headphone amp that can power headphones up to 600 ohms and 6.3 mm headphone jacks, the STX makes a perfect pair with high-end headphones.
Pros: The best sound, both in music and games. Positional audio is also very good. I love Dolby Headphone. I like having changeable op-amps also.
Cons: -
Overall Review: I have owned this card for over 3 years now. I recently bought the Soundblaster ZX to see if the hype Creative always gets in games is true. After spending a LOT of time comparing the two cards, the Essences STX is the better card in my opinion, and the STX does do just as good of positional audio as the Creative card does despite what some claim. The Creative card has a different sound in games. The sound is kind of like your in a cardboard box when someone speaks. The Essence STX card has more of a clear open sound that makes games more realistic in my opinion. I do use Dolby Headphone using the middle DH-2 setting. But this is all personal perference. The STX card is much better for music than the Z card is. I haven't tried changing the opamp yet, but plan too soon. I have also had no problems with buggy software whatsoever, and right now I am using Windows 8. Asus rarely puts out software updates, but so does Creative., thats the only negative I have with Asus.