When I had been listening to the Auzen X-Fi Prelude, I had not expected any card to surpass it. Later on, the ASUS Xonar D2 showed the weak aspects of the Prelude. And now, the Xonar Essence STX sounds better than the Xonar D2 and Prelude, and better than the X-Fi Elite Pro, and perhaps even better...

Based on my long term testing with the STX card, from engineering sample to final production version I have been highly impressed with the Xonar Essence STX. ASUS set out to build a new flagship card for stereo and headphone use and definitely pushed the bar much higher for other companies who want...

Crave high-end audio, but use Linux? The situation surrounding this has been bad in the past, but that's not so much the case now, especially where ASUS' Xonar family of cards are concerned, including the headphone-specific Essence STX.

In accordance with ASUS philosophy of presenting new devices in short periods of time, not long after the first Fonepad, new models, Fonepad Note 6 and Fonepad 7, have been announced. Unfortunately, f...

The Xonar Essence STX is a PCIe 1x card, with an EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) shield, optical/coaxial output, RCA output L/R and two 6.3mm headphone jacks - that are powered by an onboard amplifier.

Asus' Xonar Essence STX may be pricey, but for audiophiles or those with the money to spend on an excellent sound card, this is the one to get. It looks good and performs even better.