ASUS Xonar Essence STX, headphone amp with SNR up to 124dB

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hum.. this is interesting, indeed a great looking card with scary spec:
LM4562 --> Nice choice
Nichicon MUSE ---> Great capacitor
PCM1792 --> Violent
Xonar%20Essence%20STX_1.jpg

Xonar%20Essence%20STX_features.jpg



See here for original article:
http://en.expreview.com/2008/10/20/asus-xonar-essence-stx-nice-sound-card-with-snr-up-to-124db.html
 
I can't see anything like a connector for the front side of a PC. Does this mean a really long headphone cable would be required?

Good point. I can't see the cable length being a problem - any decent headphones that'd need the amp would have a long cable anyway. My Sennheisers have about 5m or so. The problem would surely just be the practicality of having the socket at the back of the PC.
 
Looks like an amazing sound card. I am very curious as of how this will compare with the external amps. Any information of when this is coming out and how much it will cost?
I guess i will have to put my Xonar D2 on my old PC.
 
That soundcard is mine ! I was thinking Asus Xonar would be great with a headphone amp!

Cant wait too plug some Audio Technic A900s into that beast :)

Yeah I too miss my front panel full headphone socket output.... it was perhaps the only reason I stuck with Xfi with breakout kit.... made life so much better + sounded good as well.

I think the Asus Xonar doesnt chance any sound quality loss at all and just a direct input/output all the way that way no chance of loss of soundquality.

This card might be extreme but its good to go for a life time frankly, lets hope it dont cost £200 !
 
I use my stereo to output my sound and use my motherboards onboard sound. To me the quality seems just fine. Can someone explain why one would need a sound card? I know sound will be somewhat better quality, but how much better? Will it change the experience I get from gaming or maybe watching a movie?

Or, do I really need a quality surround sound system to enjoy the benefits of such a card? Even at that, my mobo support surround sound, will such a sound card like this make a huge difference?

I just always wondered about sound cards. Anyone care to explain/convince me to buy one?

Cheers :)
 
Wow, very nice, lets see if it can top my modded emu.

I find you lack of faith disturbing.

As for you TNA, a dedicated soundcard offers much higher audio quality than on-board solutions. That though depends on the quality of speakers you are using.
 
I find you lack of faith disturbing.

As for you TNA, a dedicated soundcard offers much higher audio quality than on-board solutions. That though depends on the quality of speakers you are using.

I have little faith, I am a catholic after all :D

Want to test one of these to see how asus have done. It's all well and good to use fancy parts here and there, but will have to wait and see how they gel together. Will probably work very well indeed, I just hope people on here don't buy one of these cards to go into a cheap logitech/ creative, or even aego system.

The lm4562 is an excellnt op-amp and I currently use a pair in my cd-63 cd-player as they are renound as the best combination with the player. The muse caps are very nice as well, not too expensive, and plenty of people have used them with their millett MAX hybrid headphones amp.

Is it an emu 0404? What mods?

I'l try to remember it was my first audio mod project a few years ago. All mods to the analogue output section.

- Removed + bypassed buffer caps
- Removed + bypassed buffer chips
- sanyo oscon caps in certain areas and a few black gate FK caps
- Custom breakout cable -> stereo RCA connections (plug into Boutique Millett MAX headphone amp)
- LT 1364 op-amp

Speakers I use are some cheap logitech 2.1 system pluggged into onboard sound. Headphones for pc and gaming with some speaker use, and Hi-fi in living room. When I lived at home with parents last year my hi-fi was also attached to the emu, but now in separate rooms.
 
why not?!

I think the molex gets cleaner power direct from power supply than that from the noisy MB circuits. This is a way better solution for me than draining power direct from socket.

The best way, in my opinion, will be an external power directly from external power source into the card.
 
why not?!

I think the molex gets cleaner power direct from power supply than that from the noisy MB circuits. This is a way better solution for me than draining power direct from socket.

The best way, in my opinion, will be an external power directly from external power source into the card.
It's there for the pci to pci-e bridge chip, not to power the card.
 
Very nice. Looks very expensive.

Just trying to work out the connections, I've got the L and R coax and SPDIF coax but what's the two larger ones in between?
 
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