ASUS Xonar Essence STX

beepover

New Head-Fier
Pros: Excellent Sound...no noise in quiet parts of songs, no cracks of music,
Cons: Wish had more extension out of box, but thats what opamps are for
Wish I had something to compare to. Had an audigy 2 for years and thought extension was better in treble. But Audigy 2 does not have a headphone amp and cannot push the HD650 properly. Not even sure it can push the AKG Q701. The HD600 with the audigy 2 are fantastic since HD600 does not need a headphone amp. I am a pretend to be audiophile since I have a limited budget.
 
Althought I do have tons of headphones: I ripped all music to wav file using EAC. I feel at times I need a headphone tube amp to improve sound. When I tested my STX against a Sony 400 disc CDplayer to receiver, both sounded exactly the same. So I stuck with the STX and ripped the CD collection to WAV.
bcschmerker4
bcschmerker4
As it turns out, the Audigy2 headphone amplifier is actually part of the Creative Laboratories® SB0250 I/O Drive (a 5-1/4" half-height accessory with Mic2/Line2 In, Aux2 In, TOSLINK and RCA coax digital I/O, and mini-DIN5's for MIDI In and Out), rather than on the SB0240 or SB0350 main card. The XONAR ST/X/II's Texas Instruments® TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier is on-card.

comfortablejon

New Head-Fier
Pros: Makes good headphones even better, great sound quality, more than doubles my volume.
Cons: initial driver problems, installation tricky.
Bought Sony MDR XB1000s almost a year ago and they've been great. A mate of mine bought a soundcard and reckons it made a big difference and convinced me to buy one. I read into reviews, and they said that this was a good card for headphones, and they are bang on. It always felt like there was something missing when i first listened to my MDRs, and i kinda felt ripped off after upgrading from MDR XB700s but this card truly justifies the upgrade. I have a modern motherboard ( MSI GD65 8D) and the audio quality increase this card gives over my mobo soundcard is staggering. Max volume increase this card gives is just crazy. HQ audio is completely flawless; no signs of clipping even at max volumes. First impressions were amazing, and it still continues to amaze me.

Installation for me was a hassle; power supply really has to be jammed in there for it to work and when it eventually did, the drivers gave me the ****s (I am running windows 8, maybe compatibility issues) and telling me to make sure the card is properly installed etc etc. but after trying a few downloaded versions from asus website, it finally worked.

However, the better the audio equipment you have, the more difference you will notice. I use my Astro A40s for teamspeak/skype and my Sonys for me-time, and the difference I find is MUCH greater on the Sonys than it is on the A40s

To sum this up, best $170 I have spent on this computer. 100% reccommend it for people who truly appreciate music and have a good pair of headphones.

leksasd

New Head-Fier
Pros: Dac, ease of installation, connections, overall build quality, accessories, price, software
Cons: headphone amplifiers performance on lower impedance headphones
I don't really have anything to compare this to, since this is my first non-board soundcard (some might say I took quite a leap) To be honest, I wasn't even expecting that much of a difference on the price, since I'm used to seeing components paying way more, but the quality of the STX really blows me away! The headphone amp is something that could be better, my only other amp is a measly Pro-Ject headbox S, which performs pretty close to the xonar, although being slightly warmer and not as detailed, also I don't really like how it sounds on your general every day 32 ohm gaming headsets, or my 55 ohm akg k121's. The Xonar is a great sound processor though, in fact it's so detailed that it made me realize that I need a better speaker amplifier to keep up with it :p
 
TL;DR Great (value) DAC, decent head amp for 250ohm or above headphones
dkshifat
dkshifat
hi, want to use 47 ohm headphone with this amp, please tell me what problems with the sound quality with the low impedance headphone?  

bcschmerker4

That's bcschmerker4® to you!
Pros: Excellent shielding, upgradeable op amps
Cons: Drivers brickwalled by MS-Windows 6+ audio stack (still a problem in Win 10)
I originally purchased this audio card for an Asus® CM1630-06 previously upgraded with the same vendor's EAH6850DC/2DIS/1GD5 PCI-Express x16 video card plus an Antec® TruePower™ 750 Blue for sufficient video performance for podcasts and similar live over-the-Web activities at UStream® Television. Even with the bone-stock Japan Radio Corporation JRC2114D dual operational amplifiers in the I-V and National Semiconductor®/Texas Instruments® LM4562N in the line-level buffer position, this card is plenty accurate and has room for further tuning. I found that the Essence™ has one of the lowest noise floors of any card on the market, almost certainly due to its conservative, radio-grade shielding approach; the EAH6850DC in the next slot (literally) added negligible noise. The main outputs are two RCA jacks (2 Speakers) and one 1/4" (6.3mm) jack (Headphone); the internal headphone amplifier, a Texas Instruments® TPA6120A2 dual power amp, has three four gain settings for different headphone impedances and sensitivities. The on-board digital-audio output, which can handle RCA coaxial and 3.5mm optical, can transmit PCM or Dolby® Digital Live to an external DAC, receiver, &c. The Unified XONAR® Software by Brainbit, Release 1.53 (C-Media CMI-8788 Driver 7.12.8.1795), runs stably on most Windows boxes.

The one downside I encountered is apparently due to a core software issue inside Microsoft® Windows® 6.1 and 7.0 with Service Pack 1, viz., an issue with the resampling DLL in the audio stack that affects other audio chips besides the AV-100 and related C-Media® chipsets (see "Xonar Essense stx Random LOUD high pitched Ringing Noise?"); an updated set of Audio Drivers C:\Windows\Sys*\WDMAud.drv has been released as part of a hotfix for Windows® Se7en™ 7.0.8001 and Windows® Server 2008 Release 2 6.1.7601. (This was a fail for addressing the 6 kHz scream problem, see Thread cited.)

Update: Due to the 6 kHz scream rearing its ugly head again, I transferred the STX to the Hot Rod gPC™, and it is happier than a hog in slop under ubuntu® 16.04.6-LTS. The Advanced LinUX Sound Architecture Project has an optimized driver in snd-virtuoso; ALSA Mixer can access not only gains for Mic/Line In and Aux In, but also Record Ons as well as Monitor Mutes for Mic/Line In, S/P-DIF In, and Aux In - a software counterpart of a full-on recording console. C-Media® CMI-8788 Driver 8.3.1.1825 (included in MaxedTech® UNi™ XONAR® Audio Software™ 1.81a Rev. 2), a long time coming to Microsoft® Windows® 10 Build 1607 10.0.14393.576 and later, is a fix committed for the 6 kHz scream that defied ASUSTeK's engineers for nigh onto a decade, but it has the same restrictions as earlier versions in terms of controls.
Last edited:

IfIonlyknew

New Head-Fier
Pros: The sounds produced are Excellent.
Cons: Drivers that come in the package suck
Once I got this running, It was like listing to my fat JVC receiver....Sounds are very clean.
Crazy*Carl
Crazy*Carl
Useless. Sounds no different than onboard sound.
firev1
firev1
^Proof? STX has proved to be a very competent soundcard in measured performance. My uncle owns one and indeed it sounds very clean.
ViralRazor
ViralRazor
LOL carl. Its only cause you're more subjected to sight bias. Herp derp. The STX objectively, key word, OBJECTIVELY, performs better than most external DACs to something like $400...

rroseperry

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: great neutral sound, easy installation
Cons: not the cheapest, needs a good power source
I wanted to upgrade my computer sound card in preparation for higher impedance phones and eventually a desktop amp. This more than does the trick and improved onboard sound more than I'd expected.
 
The con about it needing a good power source isn't an argument against it. It turned out that my computer (Vostro 420, 2009) didn't have an extra power connection for the card so I ended up upgrading my power source as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: av15

jacrider

New Head-Fier
Pros: Great sound!
Cons: None ... a bit pricey
Best sounding music on a computer ever.  Both headphones and speakers (I am using AudioEngine's) sound full and clear.
 
Great upgrade and certainly one that will move to the next computer and likely the one after that!
 
  • Like
Reactions: bazmo46
dubbang
dubbang
i am considering to buy the audioengine p4. Do you think i need the n22 desktop amp or does it run fine through this soundcard?
Toni77
Toni77
Hello, this model you can enable stereo mix mix? or also called Stereo Mix Recording?

Thank you very much


 

Joe007

Head-Fier
Pros: good potential to mod
Cons: none
Mod it into Burson Opamp and Elena Cap. Sounds Great and huge improve!!!

Marlene

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: absolutely neutral, decent headphone amp, built quality, design
Cons: crappy driver, line-in lags & applies compression
I needed a lot of time to make the decision to purchase this card. During January 2010 I pondered if it actually would be an update simply because I already owned two interfaces: Creative X-FI ExtremeMusic and an E-MU 0202 USB. Furthermore, for my Sennheiser HD-600 I already had a headphone amp, a Corda Arietta, connected to the E-MU with the very good Audioquest King Cobra.
 
But then I heard the X-Fi with my headphones for the first time and was so appalled that I ordered the ASUS Xonar Essence. When it arrived I marveled at the design and the built quality. It looks nice, it feels nice. I subsequently ran into some installation problems (having chosen the wrong slot on my motherboard) but after sorting them out I could enjoy this little beauty.
 
What can I say? One word only: invisible. I don´t know how people come up with description like "it´s warm" or "it´s on the cold side" because in my opinion both are untrue. This card simply is invisible which is exactly what it´s supposed to be. Before I heard the Essence I was perfectly allright with using the combination of my E-MU and the Corda Arietta. I thought that they were neutral and dynamic. Well, I was wrong because the E-MU sounds a bit muddy with a slightly instable soundstage and the Corda Arietta steals away the lowest (below 50 Hz) and the highest frequencies (above 15 kHz - yes I can still hear them) and does some funny tiny erros in between.
 
The ASUS Xonar Essence sounds different because it has no own sound. It just seems to pass the music along to the integrated headphone amp and on its way the music is neither coloured nor changed. Result: some recordings I formerly perceived as good sounding now sounded like crap while for example some muffled TELARC recordings now had sparkle and detail. The Xonar Essence will point out every error in the music, it for sure is not on the forgiving side. BUT: if a recording sounds warm & cozy the ASUS will sound the same, warm & cozy. Room, soundstage, dynamic - everything is flawless. It´s as if the card is stepping into the background only to reveal the true face of the music it plays.
 
In comparison the combination of E-MU 0202 USB & Corda Arietta sounds awfully unbalanced and coloured. It smears away the differences between recordings, replacing them with its own sound signature - something the ASUS never does.
 
But oh... here comes the problem with its driver. In short, it´s crap. ASIO doesn´t work properly and ASUS doesn´t seem to be capable to produce a functioning driver. It had to come up to an ASUS forum user to provide a functioning driver. Thank God, now it can even play 88.200 and 176.000 material without resampling.
 
Another problem: the input applies some soft dynamic compression in order to prevent the A/D converter from clipping. Strange, isn´t the ASUS aimed at audiophiles? Because they would use a compressor after the recording process (only if they know how to operate something like that of course) and only if they choose so. But no, the ASUS has a built-in permanent compressor for the line-in which kicks in at -3dB (don´t try to lower the recording volume, the compressor sits on the hardware side).
 
A third problem: the card is sometimes presented by ASUS as a music production tool when in fact it isn´t capable of that. Reason: the input (besides applying compression) lags for roughly one second. Connect a keyboard to the input and press a key, the sound will arrive one second later on the headphone or line-out of the card. It doesn´t matter if you use ASIO, DirectSound, Dolby Headphone etc., the lag is always there. However, the audio quality of the input mirrors the quality of the output - it´s perfect.
 
Back to the sound... before I forget, I connected my Corda Arietta to the ASUS. Now the invisible sound was gone, the Corda amplifies with its own sound signature - and I don´t mean something like "more bass" or so. No, the Corda simply presents music differently with less resolution, less dynamic, less soundstage, less everything. I therefore conclude that the headphone amp inside the card is fairly good.
 
So what do you get? You´ll get a soundcard that´ll sound perfect at its line-out and with headphones but you´ll also get an awfully bad driver and a lagging & compressing input. You have to choose if you can live with the obstacles. If you can, you will have a tool that beats everything at its price range, something that reaches sonically towards unexpected territory: Studio Quality High End.
  • Like
Reactions: maxpain12
bcschmerker4
bcschmerker4
I found the delay in the Mic In/Line In and Aux In, as heard at the headphones or speakers, to be consistent with professional analog-tape machines, e.g. the TASCAM®/TEAC® 122MkII, 88, 488, &c., in Tape Monitor mode during a recording pass. The XONAR® appears engineered with serious recording, at least from the Mic In, in mind, and Local Monitoring for Mic In/Line In and Aux In can be disabled in the Mixer subpanel panel of the XONAR® Audio Center to prevent feedback loops when recording or streaming from an external mixing console.
stv014
stv014
Both the compression (if there is any) and latency on the input are or were technically the fault of the Windows drivers, rather than the hardware. According to my tests on Linux, the total latency for playback and recording at the same time is 7-8 ms with a buffer size that still avoids buffer over/underruns, and not using realtime scheduling and/or a modified kernel. Also, there is no hardware dynamic compression on the input or outputs. Once the input level is increased above 2.0 Vrms (0 dBFS), it simply clips the signal.

Dalamar

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: great specs, quality line in
Cons: GARBAGE drivers, line in only handles 2 vrms, large
I love this card, but since it's taking cmedia years to make properly functioning Windows 7 drivers, and and ASUS is failing at making proper asio drivers, I'm going to have to part with it.
 
The card still picked up some noise from my gpu (less than onboard did) during gaming - all internals probably will - if you're not going Auzen x-fi, stick to external DACs.
Janus7
Janus7
I certainly agree. The Window 7 driver is junk! First, while running the enclosed install disk and pressing the install command in the wizard, the program cannot find its own setup file on disk. During installation, it continuously reports the card needs power although I have confirmed it has power directly from the PSU. Then the driver would not install but fail before completion. Finally, after several attempts, the driver installed after setting Windows 7 into clean boot mode.
threedeenut
threedeenut
Something to consider with your GPU noise..... it may not be your gpu's fault. I had a similar problem where my sound always had a sort of low level buzzing comming though my audio. I learned that using a quality battery backup would possibly help. I ran out and bough a UPS Backup and the problems immediately dissapeared. Apparently the power in some homes contain a lot of noise and computers have a tendancy to amplify that between componnts. By putting a backup system in, you get top quality lin filtering as well as a power backup (good for obvious reasons) and much better surge protection than from a cheapo (or even quality) surge protector. Just something to give some thought to.

shane55

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Great output sound from either line-out or Head-out
Cons: Zeeeero
I didn't realize when I bought this card how much better it would be than any of the past cards I had (mostly Creative). The S/N is great, especially for recording.
 
The sound from this card suits my tastes more than the sound from my DAC1-Pre.
 
It's simple, not a lot of bells and whistles. It seems to be geared to the audiophile, and I appreciate that.
 
No regrets, only joy.

gurubhai

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: Excellent SQ, upgadable opamps, versatile headphone out
Cons: The drivers don't do justice to the quality of this product.
its been over an year since I got this sound card & I have never regretted the decision. It has played game with everything I have thrown at it- D1001, HD580, DT880 600 ohm & even my orthos. The DAC section is superior to my Marantz AVR & so is the headphone out.
Tough to believe you can get something better for the price.

Mr_Owlow

New Head-Fier
Pros: Very good for the price, easily upgradeable sound, runs on power directly from PSU
Cons: Has problems with low impedance phones, a bit tricky mounting discreet Op-Amps
Note: I'm from Sweden so if the wording or sentence structure is a bit off, I blame the Swedish educational system!! 
 
Introduction
The ASUS Xonar Essence STX is a two channel soundcard with a built in amplifier and it is a great entry into hi-fi and head-fi, it has a good set of features and handles most games very well, at least with the newer drivers. The card has a good DAC-chip that leads into two I/V stage Op-Amps and then on to either the headphone amplifier chip, called a Hi-Z amplifier, or to the buffer stage Op-Amp. There is also a decent mic/line in for recording. The card takes its power directly from the PSU and therefore gets a very clean and strong power supply, at least if the PSU is good. The software has pretty good features and the interface is pretty self-explanatory for the most part.
 
Op-Amps
After getting this card I started reading the already massive thread started by ROBSCIX on this site, and soon enough I wanted to try to see what this card really could do. The sound with original chip Op-Amps was somewhat on the warm side and lacks a little something in detail but it is a good sound non the less. After reading 70+ pages of the gargantuan thread I came to the decision that the greatest improvement would come from upgrading to discreet Op-Amps from Audio-GD. After consulting some reviews and exchanging a few PMs with ROBSCIX I decided on OPA Earth for I/V and OPA Sun for buffer. This improved the sound through my loudspeakers with better positioning, better bass quality and clearer transients. The sound through the headphone-out became slightly more neutral, and the level of detail improved but not to the same extent as through the line-out.
 
The Headphone Amp
I do not have much experience with headphones, and my purchase of the K701s was a bit poorly researched, I just read some very positive reviews and comparisons but I failed to realize that it needs a good amp to sound as it should. Now I've never heard the from anything other than my amplifiers head-out and through the STX, and in that comparison the sound-card wins hands down. From what I've read about the K701 my impressions with the STX as source echoes what most people say: big soundstage, crystal clear highs, great midrange and weak bass on some types of music, especially rock/pop. The volume level is no problem achieving, with Replay-Gain on in Foobar, regular listening volume is at 60% on the low gain setting. 
I've tried some of my other headphones through the head-out on the front of my computer, and it is very difficult to use IEMs such as my JVC-FX500 as the volume has to be set to 2-4% and at that level the cable leading from the soundcard to the front picks up some interference from hard drives and fans. Amping my vintage 600 ohm AKG K140 is no problem at all, the soundcard drives them loud and clear on medium gain.
 
Conclusion
This is a very good DAC and a pretty good entry-level headphone amplifier that costs as much as either would if they were external. The fact that it is from a big company such as ASUS means that the cost is cut by their ability to buy in bulk.
I can certainly recommend this card as a great entry to the world of hi-fi if you are using the line out from your stationary computer or when building a new one. The possibility to tinker with Op-Amps should also interest those who can't leave well enough alone...
enthusiast
enthusiast
DAC is not only "Good" it is the current Top-Of-The-Line from Burr Brown. Doesn't get any better than this.
enthusiast
enthusiast
btw. it can drive 600 Ohm headphones. You need to switch Amp Section to other Ohm-Impedance. I had no problem driving very difficult to drive 600 Ohms Headphones, goes pretty loud too.
mowglycdb
mowglycdb
It's not made for hungry headphones, only to the middle. It can power hungry headphones but the THD+N goes way past 1.
 
If you increase the gain it also increases the power, clipping happens at a higher volume.

rx7_fan

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: Excellent built quality, sound, and clarity
Cons: Hard to find

fxsm
fxsm
thi card with 1p2 uber cable is awful... i want a pmp with this circuit...
Back
Top