ASUS Xonar Essence ST Sneak Preview | test -
Introduction
Hey there my fellow audio junkies. The PC audio market has been churning out some great new high fidelity soundcards lately. A good example here is the recent release of the new Essence STX headphone card, which stirred up the audio community and caught the attention of people who usually look for external headphone amplifiers. The specifications, component choices and overall sound quality of this card cannot be ignored. The Essence STX is one serious soundcard offering some amazing sound quality for the end users.
Quite a good amount of you audiophile guru's may know there were rumors of ASUS expanding the Essence Line-up with possibly a PCI model.
Well audio crazies we have the engineering sample of the Essence ST in ours audio lab today!
Ladies and Gentlemen and audio crazies alike allow us to present the new Xonar Essence ST. Let's take a look at this new sample straight from the ASUS labs, this baby is so fresh you can still smell the solder dampening off the card with fumes that could be seen as music notes ...

Whoa, now that is a nice looking piece of audio technology. The original Essence STX offered a lot of great sound quality and audio options for the price. However, the lack of analog surround was disappointing to some and some felt it made the STX more a niche card meant for a specific market then a full fledge flagship audio product meant for the masses.
ASUS Xonar U7 review test and benchmarks. The U7 offers 24-bit/192KHz recording and playback with 114dB SNR, S/PDIF output, 7.1 channel analog output, dedicated stereo headphone output, a volume knob, and it's all powered of a USB 2.0 port. The headphone output comes with its own DAC and adjustable gain settings, making the U7 capable of driving just about any pair of headphones to ear-splitting levels.
ASUS Xonar Phoebus soundcard review
We review the ASUS Xonar Phoebus 7.1 soundcard. Gamers are not quite as strict as the audiophile market place, we would still suggest they like to have great sound, after all a great game is just that much better with high quality surround sound or headphone based audio immersing you into the action. We have been following the development of this product since the beginning and today we have a brand spanking new Phoebus 7.1 bundle in the Guru3D Audio Lab. Without any further delay, lets pull this new audio card out and check it out.
Asus Xonar Xense 7.1 Soundcard review
Asus recently announced that they have teamed up with Sennheiser, a proverbial powerhouse in the audiophile headphone market to bring audio lovers the Xonar Xense 7.1 soundcard bundle.
ASUS Xonar Essence ST DeLuxe review
We test and review the Xonar Essence ST Deluxe 7.1 soundcard. Yes, you read it right, the full deluxe model! ASUS has been relentless with its R&D and soundcard releases, putting out one high end card after another. The Essence models are considered the current undisputed kings of the Xonar series of soundcards. We are quite excited to see what the Essence ST offers over the STX and in general. So, lets pull out the Xonar Essence ST Deluxe 7.1 and have a look and a listen.