Asus Xonar Essence STX
As with most products, I was slightly apprehensive about the Xonar Essence STX before I heard it. I asked myself, how could a small, simple amplifier on a soundcard perform anywhere near as well as a standalone headphone amplifier?
The DAC; capacitors; and op-amps on the card produce an extremely pure and transparent sound; Hugely dynamic and accurate sound on any headphones using the onboard headphone amplifier; Headphone amplification works for the front panel (case) audio sockets; Flawless driver compatibility in Vista...
The GX mode isn't a 100% exact emulation of EAX