Reviewers Liked
- Sound quality
- Swappable opamps
- Quality components
- Performs well with both hardand easy to drive headphones
- Functional driver suite
- 7.1 capability
Reviewers Didn't Like
- Costly
- Soundstage lacking some depth
Asus Xonar Essence STX 2 7.1 PCIe
There are likely to be two main audiences for the ASUS Essence STX II; Audiophiles, and those seeking only the best possible products in their system. Which category you fall into depends largely upon how much sense you made of the above.
-- As reviewed by Overclock3D
87
8.0
TechSpot is supported by its audience. We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Learn more.
Direct Competitors and Related Products
Expert reviews and ratings
By Play3r
on
ASUS have a solid reputation for quality and premium products and when it comes to sound cards, only 2 names really come to mind for general consumers; ASUS and Creative. There are of course alternative options to these 2 brands and with the emergence...
By techPowerUp!
on
It has been a while since ASUS's great debut into the world of high-end sound cards with their release of the first ST. Various versions have popped up since, including the well-performing PCIe-based STX for many audiophiles with newer motherboards. The...
By PC Authority
on
Asus has a new version of the wonderful Essence STX audio card out. It's essentially the same card, with only minor updates to some of the secondary components. That, we don't mind at all, because unchanged is Hi-Fi that's, technically at least,...
By reviewstudio.net
on
I have a feeling that if you're looking at the Essence II, you already know well enough what you're interested in. This is a dedicated piece of hardware, a clear step up above its predecessor. It's the best internal solution on the market, coming close...
By Overclock3D
on
There are likely to be two main audiences for the ASUS Essence STX II; Audiophiles, and those seeking only the best possible products in their system. Which category you fall into depends largely upon how much sense you made of the above.
By vortez.net
on
The Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 comes in as a very powerful audio unit that arguably provides the some of the highest quality audio you will get from a discrete sound card out-the-box. The daughter board expands the STX II to a top class multimedia device,...
By Guru of 3D
on
To our ears, using our gear, the Essence STX II, is an amazing sounding card for the price point. ASUS is definitely pushing the bar higher in the soundcard world with the release of the STX II. People we have our answer: Yes, the Essence STX II is a...
By DigitalReviews
on
Join us as we test and review the ASUS Essence STX II 7.1 sound card. Asus has some very big shoes to fill and a possibly a more impressive feat of surpassing such well known audio cards, the questio... Read more...
By OCinside
on
Damals Standard, heute überholt? Keineswegs. Die Asus Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 zeigt, was dedizierte Soundkarten im Vergleich zu onboard Lösungen leisten können. Da wäre der 7.1 Sound, den zwar weniger Gamer nutzen dürften, die bis zu 192 kHz...
By hardwareinside.de
on
Evolution statt Revolution ist das Motto der Asus Xonar Essence STX II. Die klanglichen Verbesserungen zu den Vorgängern ST und STX fallen eher marginal aus. Dafür vereint sie jetzt die zeitgemäße PCIe-x1-Schnittstelle der STX mit der...
By gameit.es
on
Creo firmemente que el apartado de experiencia de uso ha servido como conclusión en todo lo relacionado al análisis, por lo que solo me queda añadir que otorgamos un merecidísimo galardón de Platino de GameIt.es a la tarjeta Asus Essence STX II 7.1 y la...
By hw-journal.de
on
ASUS ist mit der Essence STX II 7.1 Soundkarte ein durchaus gutes Produkt gelungen, welche so gut wie keine Schwächen aufweist. Die saubere Verarbeitung und die hochwertigen Bauteile sprechen für sich und lassen mit Sicherheit viele Herzen audiophiler...
By chip.com.my
on
If you're looking for a dedicated sound card that's not a desktop USB DAC, the Essence STX II is definitely a great choice if you have the PCIe slot to spare. You could opt to buy it with or without the 7.1 daughterboard.(previously published in issue...
By hartware.de
on
Schon die erste Generation konnte uns überzeugen, die ASUS Xonar Essence STX II (7.1) macht einiges noch besser. Vor allem ihr vom Netzteil unabhängiger Klang und die Leistungsfähigkeit ist überzeugend. Zudem klingt die Soundkarte nun noch etwas...