Sydney, Australia, December 2, 2008 – The new ASUS Xonar Essence STX range of audio cards are the pinnacle of pursuit for the soul of sound. Delivering perfectly pure sound quality, the Xonar Essence STX offers users the ultimate audio experience ever from a sound card.

Equipped with carefully selected components, the Xonar Essence STX is capable of achieving an industry-leading 124dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in signal clarity – 64 times clearer than most on-board audio solutions (85-88 SNR). Also including the EMI Shield design and the ASUS exclusive Hyper-grounding circuitry design that utilises PCB, the Xonar Essence STX can separate signal and noise ensuring that only the cleanest signals are passed on to ultra-sensitive components for decoding. Additionally, full-driving for any available headphone is provided through the built-in headphone amplifier – presenting unprecedented audio quality and under 0.001% of distortion to satisfy even the most demanding audiophile.

Most quality headphones usually require additional driving power; or else suffer from sounds that are dull and bland. The Xonar Essence STX is equipped with a built-in headphone amplifier capable of driving every available headphone with up to 600 ohms of impedance to their full extent and less than 0.001% of distortion—all without additional amplification. This ensures that only the highest density sounds can be heard from these headphones without the need to purchase an extra amplifier.

Interestingly, the design for the Xonar Essence STX is based on a forty century old paradigm. Ancestors in China 4000 years ago were also searching for instruments that were able to play ‘heavenly’ music – not just to pay homage to the gods, but also to signify the harmony between human and nature. This process of seeking melodious music between man and milieu resulted in the Tiger Chime, which not only represented the soul of sound, but also served as the highest level of audio pleasure. Like these ancestors, ASUS also searched for fitting components and used only the finest designs to reproduce the purest of sounds. As a symbol of respect for these ancient pioneers, the Xonar Essence STX adopts a gold-plated Tiger Chime totem on the EMI shield – infusing a mix of antiquated and advanced technologies.

With a top-of-the-line Burr-Brown PCM 1792A Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) to convert audio signals at 127dB signal-to-noise ratios, users will be able to enjoy minimum loss from the process of converting digital signals to analog sound. Nichicon “Fine Gold” capacitors deliver rich bass and crystal-clear high frequencies (like the sounds from a piano or violin) allowing the Xonar Essence STX to achieve an amazing <10 Hz–90 kHz frequency response and 124dB dynamic range. Furthermore, the Xonar Essence STX’s EMI shield protects all analog outputs perfectly from any exterior electronic magnetic interference. Finally, the Xonar Essence STX comes with the following features which include: Swappable OPamp sockets to help tune up unique sounds effortlessly, complete Dolby Home Theater technologies, and the latest DS3D GX2.5 3D gaming engine technology.

Specifications

Audio Performance
 
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
 – 124 dB for Front-out
– 110 dB for Headphone-out
 
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
 118 dB
 
Output total harmonic distortion + Noise at 1 kHz (-3 dB):
 – 0.0003% (-110 dB) for Front-out
– 0.001% (-100 dB) for Headphone-out
 
Input total harmonic distortion + Noise at 1 kHz (-3 dB):
 0.0002% (-113 dB) for Line-in
 
Frequency response (-3 dB, 24-bit / 96 kHz format):
 <10 Hz to 90 KHz
 
Output/Input full-scale voltage
 2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)
 
Headphone impedance
 Optimized for 32–600?
 
Bus compatibility
 
PCI Express
 Compatible with X1 to X16 PCI Express slots
 
Main Chipset
 
Audio Processor
 ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192 KHz / 24bit)
 
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources:
 Texas Instruments PCM * 1 for Front-Out (127 dB SNR, Max.192 kHz / 24bit)
 
High Fidelity Headphone Amplifier
 Instruments 2 * 1 (120 dB SNR, 100 dB THD+N @ Vcc±12 V, RL=600 ?, f =1 kHz)
 
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs:
 Cirrus-Logic CS5361 * 1 (114 dB SNR, Max. 192 kHz / 24bit)
 
Sample Rate and Resolution
 
Analog playback/ recording, sample sate and resolution
 44.1K / 48K / 96K / 192 KHz @ 16/24bit
 
S/PDIF digital output
 44.1K / 48K / 96K/ 192 KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital
 
I/O Ports
 
Analog output jack:
 RCA jack * 2 (Front R / Front L)
6.30 mm jack * 1 (Headphone out)
 
Analog input jack:
 6.30 mm jack * 1 (Shared by Line-In / Mic-In)
 
Digital S/PDIF output:
 High-bandwidth Coaxial / TOS-Link combo port supports 192 KHz / 24bit
 
Other line-level analog input (for TV Tuner or CD-ROM):
 Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
 
Front panel:
 Shared by Headphone out / 2 channels out / Microphone in
 
Driver Features
 
Operating system
 Windows Vista (32 / 64bit) / XP (32 / 64bit) / MCE2005
 
Dolby® technologies
 Dolby® Digital Live / Dolby® Headphone / Dolby® Virtual Speaker / Dolby® Pro-Logic II
 
ASIO 2.0 driver support
 Supports maximum 192 KHz @ 24bit with very low latency
 

The ASUS Xonar Essence STX is now available in Australia and New Zealand through selected electrical retailers and computer resellers. Recommended retail price (inc GST) AU$299, NZ$329.

About ASUS
ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than 8,000 and a world-class R&D design team, the company’s turnover for 2007 was 6.9 billion US dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek’s “InfoTech 100” and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years. ASUS was also selected by the Wall Street Journal Asia as No.1 in quality and service in Taiwan. For more information, visit www.asus.com.au.