Asus Xonar Essence STX PCIE Sound Card

Story behind the Masterpiece Thousands of years ago our ancestors crystallised their knowledge of the materials and music into the Chime of Tiger one of the first audio masterpiece in human history. Gold-plated on the EMI shield the Chime of Tiger totem not only represents Xonar team’s new footnote in audio innovation but also mankind's endless pursuit of the Essence of Sound. Industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) Choosing only the best components and finest design Xonar Essence STX achieves unprecedented 124 dB SNR – 64 times clear than on-board solutions bringing top-o-the shelf audio experience for audiophiles. Built-in headphone amp A high-quality TI TPA6120A2 headphone driver supports headphones up to 600ohms of impendence with lower than 0.001% distortion. Drive your headphones as intended without additional amplification. Hyper-Grounding circuitry design This exclusive ASUS technique utilises multi-layer PCB design to separate signal and noise ensuring only the cleanest signals are passed to sensitive components. Perfectly sealed analog output path EMI and shielding seals all analog output signals perfectly from noise offering distortion-free audio enjoyment. High quality DAC The Burr-Brown PCM 1792A Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) converts signals at 127dB signal-to-noise ratio. Nichicon “Fine Gold” professional audio capacitors Using state-of-the-art etching technology Nichicon “Fine Gold” capacitors deliver rich bass and crystal-clear high frequencies. Swappable OPA Sockets Tune up your unique sound – OPAMP sockets allow simple solder-less alteration for user-preferred sound colour. System Requirements: One PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card Microsoft® Windows® Vista(32/64bit)­/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005 Intel® Pentium®4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU >256 MB DRAM system memory >60 MB available HDD space for driver installation package CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive) for software installation High-quality headphones powered analog speakers or a Dolby Digital decoder to enjoy the ultra-high fidelity sounds of the card Package Contents: Xonar™ Essence STX 2 Channel PCI Express Audio Card RCA to 3.5mm Y cable 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adaptors *1 Driver CD Quick Start Guide Audio Precision test report