Asus Xonar Essence STX on preorder!

[g0th2000]

RCA jack *2 (Front R / Front L), 6.30mm jack*1 (Headphone out)

The middle big 6.30mm is where you plug in your expensive headphones

The problem with front panel audio is you have to run a cable through all the EMI inside the case, this would very likely corrupt it immaculate audio quality you get by going straight in the back.

 

[clocka]

is this card made for a HIGHER quality stereo sound card then? as asus has the av1 which does hd audio codecs, 7.1 etc via hdmi but this appears to be using burr brown DAC's which leads me to suspect that they've made a higher quality stereo sound card.

I'd rather have 7.1 sound and hd audio codecs to be honest and the price tag is crazy! surely buying an onkyo stereo amplifier with burr brown DAC's would be a better option?

 

[Krobar]

is this card made for a HIGHER quality stereo sound card then? as asus has the av1 which does hd audio codecs, 7.1 etc via hdmi but this appears to be using burr brown DAC's which leads me to suspect that they've made a higher quality stereo sound card.

I'd rather have 7.1 sound and hd audio codecs to be honest and the price tag is crazy! surely buying an onkyo stereo amplifier with burr brown DAC's would be a better option?

Onkyo never used DACs as good as the 1792. They used at the best the 1796 or Wolfson DACs. Personally I own a top of the Onkyo Integra Research preamp and its output section is not as well specced as this sound card!

Anyone heard when the "ST" standard legacy PCI version will be released? I wonder if it needs the power connector.

Also is the pinout for that front panel header listed anywhere?

 

[silverlai3]

Perhaps we can invite ROBSCIX to join our Sound City...
He's the only one who's ever mentioned of the ST model that I'm aware of...

 

[silverlai3]

The middle big 6.30mm is where you plug in your expensive headphones

The problem with front panel audio is you have to run a cable through all the EMI inside the case, this would very likely corrupt it immaculate audio quality you get by going straight in the back.

If it's like D2 or D2X, the link to the front audio header doesn't require to remove the EMI shield... and I don't think it's designed that way, either...

 

[jack.mitchell]

I use two sound cards and you can't get them both to output the same audio at the same time, or I've not found the option yet!

I use this set-up so I can have game sounds and use Ventrilo at the same time without being deafened by the game in my headphones.

Could you not turn the game sounds down inside the game options, to save you running two cards?

 

[james.miller]

Onkyo never used DACs as good as the 1792. They used at the best the 1796 or Wolfson DACs. Personally I own a top of the Onkyo Integra Research preamp and its output section is not as well specced as this sound card!

Anyone heard when the "ST" standard legacy PCI version will be released? I wonder if it needs the power connector.

Also is the pinout for that front panel header listed anywhere?

id take 1796's in an onkyo over 1792's on a sound card though. even my d2 picked up noise on the analogue outputs which was completely absent on my onkyo 805.

 

[theforce]

id take 1796's in an onkyo over 1792's on a sound card though. even my d2 picked up noise on the analogue outputs which was completely absent on my onkyo 805.

Asus has made quite a claim about this sound card. Surely sound cards have come a long way and it would be nice if sound cards started replacing other devices needed to attain a high quality of sound quality.

 

[Greenlizard0]

So...who's got one of these bad boys?

I'm torn between this and the M-Audio Audiophile 192

 

[theforce]

I have read an 18 page review of this card on a respectable website.. I can't provide the link since it is against the rules, but from what l read this is one amazing card.

 

[mrk]

how much better than a Xonar D2X ?

I'd be interested in knowing !

 

[repton]

how much better than a Xonar D2X ?

I'd be interested in knowing !

me too!

unlikely to know unless someone took the plunge and bought one to replace their D2X.

 

[Greenlizard0]

You guys who have Xonar's already here - what did you upgrade from? By chance was it the Creative X-Fi range? If so - how much better were the Asus cards?

 

[mrk]

I had an XFi Gamer (same as XFi Music) and found the sound quality to be better out of the box. I used both cards without any software effects or EQ settings/presets as I have a dedicated AMP to manage the sound "colour".

I found the difference to be 70/50 in favour of the Xonar vs XFi.

Also the driver software is a lot less buggy than Creative's!

 

[theforce]

I went to a Xonar D2 from an M-Audio Revolution 5.1. My last Creative sound card was an Audigy 2ZS and the M-Audio offered better audio quality then my old Audigy 2.

I am getting one of these as soon as l get paid to power my HD 650. They sound very good on my D2 but with amplification and higher quality components found on the Essence STX l am hoping that l will be blown away. Well all overclockers can do is send me one for free so l can review it! This will only show how much they love their loyal customers and will lead many of you into buying the card aswell.

 

[repton]

You guys who have Xonar's already here - what did you upgrade from? By chance was it the Creative X-Fi range? If so - how much better were the Asus cards?

I went from X-Fi Extreme Audio to D2X, it was like tranmere rovers to manu.

 

[Greenlizard0]

After lots of milling about, I finally saved up and ordered one!
Woo...

I can write a review (will probably take a few pics) if there's interest.

 

[bledd]

please do.

what headphones do you have?
what is your current soundcard?

 

[Greenlizard0]

I have taken a few, but there's not really any new ones that I can take that aren't already easily available.

My previous sound card is a X-Fi Fata1ty.

I have to say this sounds a lot clearer, though I'm going to have to admit to turning off Dolby Headphones.

It's quite a loud sound card as well, and almost appears to output the same strength irrespective of destination which is quite weird. I have to turn the volume right down in order to change signal e.g. away from 2.0 speakers to headphones.

 

[HighlandeR]

My audio technic A900s are just eyeing me up as I read your review

As much as I want em wheres that Xfi 2 got too, maybe if I start a rumour on creative forums about the front panel inbuilt headphone amplifer producing sounds never yet heard off might get the ball rolling.