Buy used:
Used: Like New | Details
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Manufacturer Factory Refurbished. Plain Box.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.

ASUS Sound Card Essence STX II

3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 375 ratings

To see product details, add this item to your cart. You can always remove it later.
Brand ASUS
Hardware Interface PCIE x 1
Audio Output Mode 7.1
Platform Not Machine Specific
Hardware Platform Headphones

About this item

  • Keeping the audiophile spirit and philosophy alive
  • Legendary audio quality that just got better
  • Celebrated muses op-amps
  • Industry-leading 124dB SNR
Bites for your bracket
Get ready for March Madness Find a Fresh store

What's in the box

  • Sound card
  • Compare with similar items

    This Item
    ASUS Sound Card Essence STX II
    ASUS Sound Card Essence STX II
    Recommendations
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX PCIe 5.1 Internal Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp for PCs
    dummy
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Fx V2 Upgradable Hi-res PCI-e Sound Card with 5.1 Discrete and Virtual Surround, Scout Mode, SmartComms Kit for PC
    dummy
    Creative Sound Blaster Z SE Internal PCI-e Gaming Sound Card and DAC, 24-bit / 192 kHz, 116 dB SNR, ASIO, 600Ω Headphones Amp, Mic EQ, Discrete 5.1 / Virtual 7.1, Supports Dolby Digital Live, DTS
    dummy
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy PCIe RX 7.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp
    dummy
    Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 Hi-Res Internal PCIe Sound Card, Quad-Core Processor, 127dB DNR ESS SABRE-class 9018 DAC, Xamp Discrete Custom Bi-amp, Discrete 5.1/Virtual 7.1, Dolby, DTS Encoding (Black)
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Details
    Added to Cart
    Price$99.99-11% $40.06
    List:$44.99
    -17% $49.99
    List:$59.99
    -18% $89.99
    List:$109.99
    -14% $59.99
    List:$69.99
    -11% $203.99
    List:$229.99
    Delivery
    Get it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
    Get it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
    Get it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
    Get it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
    Get it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
    Customer Ratings
    Sound quality
    4.0
    4.2
    4.2
    4.2
    4.1
    4.3
    For gaming
    3.5
    4.0
    4.0
    4.1
    4.0
    4.2
    Easy to install
    4.4
    4.4
    4.3
    4.6
    4.3
    Volume control
    5.0
    5.0
    4.2
    4.3
    Easy to use
    4.4
    4.4
    4.1
    4.0
    Sold By
    Computer Headquarters, Inc
    Amazon.com
    Creative Labs, Inc.
    Creative Labs, Inc.
    Amazon.com
    Amazon.com
    hardware interface
    pci x 1, pci x 1, pci x 1, pci x 1
    pci express x1
    headphone
    pci express x1
    pci express x1, pci x 1, pci x 1, pci x 1
    pci express x4
    audio output mode
    7.1
    Surround
    Stereo Surround
    Surround
    7.1
    Surround, Dolby Digital
    surround channels
    5 1
    5.1
    7.1
    7.1
    7.1
    7.1
    hardware platform
    Headphones
    PC
    Speakers, Headphones, PC
    Speakers, Headphones
    Speakers, Headphones, PC
    Headphones
    192 KHz
    192 KHz
    192 KHz
    192 KHz
    192 KHz
    384 KHz
    signal-to-noise ratio
    124 decibels
    120 decibels
    116 decibels
    106 decibels
    127 decibels

    Product Description

    Four years after the debut of Essence STX - the long-term holder of the number-one position in Head-Fi's Sound Cards segment, as voted by highly-satisfied users globally - ASUS remains committed to delivering ever better high-end sound cards to delight the most demanding audiophiles. Drawing on years of experience in developing Essence One, Essence STU and Essence III, Essence STX II delivers meticulous design, quintessential performance and profound musicality - elements that shape the spirit of the whole Essence Hi-Fi series.

    Product guides and documents

    Looking for specific info?

    Product information

    Technical Details

    Collapse all

    Additional Information

    Warranty & Support

    Amazon.com Return Policy:You may return any new computer purchased from Amazon.com that is "dead on arrival," arrives in damaged condition, or is still in unopened boxes, for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. Amazon.com reserves the right to test "dead on arrival" returns and impose a customer fee equal to 15 percent of the product sales price if the customer misrepresents the condition of the product. Any returned computer that is damaged through customer misuse, is missing parts, or is in unsellable condition due to customer tampering will result in the customer being charged a higher restocking fee based on the condition of the product. Amazon.com will not accept returns of any desktop or notebook computer more than 30 days after you receive the shipment. New, used, and refurbished products purchased from Marketplace vendors are subject to the returns policy of the individual vendor.
    Product Warranty: For warranty information about this product, please click here. [PDF ]

    Feedback

    ASUS

    ASUS Sound Card Essence STX II


    Found a lower price? Let us know. Although we can't match every price reported, we'll use your feedback to ensure that our prices remain competitive.

    Where did you see a lower price?

    /
    /
    /
    /
    Please sign in to provide feedback.

    From the manufacturer

    Keeping the audiophile spirit and philosophy alive

    Four years after the debut of Essence STX — the long-term holder of the number-one position in Head-Fi's Sound Cards segment, as voted by highly-satisfied users globally — ASUS remains committed to delivering ever better high-end sound cards to delight the most demanding audiophiles. Drawing on years of experience in developing Essence One, Essence STU and Essence III, Essence STX II delivers meticulous design, quintessential performance and profound musicality — elements that shape the spirit of the whole Essence Hi-Fi series.

    Easily adjust the sound for your ears

    Three swappable op-amp sockets.

    Essence STX II benefits from swappable op-amp sockets that allow users to create different timbres and tonal combinations.

    Additional op-amp swap kit

    Essence STX II even comes with a swap kit that includes three additional op-amps — two Texas Instruments LME49720s and one MUSES 8820 — and a clamp tool that makes it easy to remove the op-amp microchips.

    Customer reviews

    3.7 out of 5 stars
    3.7 out of 5
    375 global ratings

    Customers say

    Customers like the value of the sound card. They say it's a good product that lives up to its specs. However, some customers have reported compatibility issues and issues with the adapter. Opinions are mixed on sound quality, performance, ease of installation, quality, and software.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    21 customers mention16 positive5 negative

    Customers like the value of the sound card. They say it's an awesome product, good, and lives up to its specs. Customers also say it delivers astounding quality, rich, detailed sound, and is worth every penny. They mention that the software is exceptional and is especially good in mid-range.

    "As far as the sound goes, it's pretty great. Headphone amp is very useful and is the biggest reason I needed external soundcard...." Read more

    "...The Good:1. SOUND: Impeccable sound. This card delivers simply astounding quality2...." Read more

    "All the sound is there, every bit of it. It is especially good in mid-range.The software is exceptional also...." Read more

    "Pricey for a computer audio card. It's about $100 more than the STX...." Read more

    76 customers mention52 positive24 negative

    Customers are mixed about the sound quality of the sound card. For example some mention it has high quality audiophile level sound, and works flawlessly. They also appreciate the beautiful soundscape and the fact that it has very few distortions in sound. That said, some complain that there're not many high quality sound cards available, and that sound cards are becoming obsolete.

    "...Why a 5 star because the card sounds awesome with my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System (Black) which I..." Read more

    "...It makes my headset and my mid-range monitors sound absolutely incredible. Definitely consider picking some up for yourself...." Read more

    "...audio output quality: my Bravo Audio headphone amp died a few months ago and I decided to try the direct output from the card...." Read more

    "...the extra headroom you obtain from this brings out much more depth, sound-stage, detail, and bass extension even played at normal volume...." Read more

    22 customers mention11 positive11 negative

    Customers are mixed about the performance of the sound card. Some mention that it works great with their old Windows 7 PC, while others say that it didn't work in their PC. The sound quality is good, and it runs perfectly right out of the box. However, some customers report issues with the drivers and the microphone working sporadically.

    "...So I downloaded the Asus Xonar Drivers from Asus website. Ran perfectly except when I tried to use my headphone in the back headphone jack...." Read more

    "...A review on here said that this card is not compatible with AM4 AMD CPUs which isn't true...." Read more

    "...It now works flawlessly and I love the beautiful soundscape paired with my DT 990 Pro 250ohm...." Read more

    "...part down to PSU, none of which made difference - card simply would not work with AM4.After MSI's response I contacted ASUS...." Read more

    14 customers mention9 positive5 negative

    Customers are mixed about the ease of installation. Some mention that it was very simple to install, with seamless software integration. However, others say that it took them a while to install and that the UI is not really user friendly.

    "...Flawless easy install. Linux recognized the card and installed all the drivers automatically...." Read more

    "...Other than that installation was pretty basic. I had to move some cables around to get the card to fit in a good PCI express port...." Read more

    "...CONs: This isn't the easiest sound card to install since it requires a MOLEX 4-pin connector, yet the Amazon sales advertisement didn't mention this..." Read more

    "...My PC is custom built running Windows 8.1 and this was a simple plug & play...." Read more

    14 customers mention5 positive9 negative

    Customers are mixed about the quality of the sound card. Some mention that the build quality is excellent, and the card has been pretty solid so far. However, others say that the driver quality is lacking, lacking, and rough.

    "...Drivers are rough...." Read more

    "...using an MSI B450-A Pro Max board with a Ryzen 3 2200G. The card has been pretty solid so far, a few glitches with audio cutting out one day of..." Read more

    "...Apparently this card is very finicky about drivers...." Read more

    "...Yes the drivers are old and just twicked to work with Win 10, but they work...." Read more

    6 customers mention3 positive3 negative

    Customers are mixed about the software. Some mention that it's standard software that lets them customize the sound to a high level, while others say that it is convoluted, mediocre, and amateurish.

    "...Pulse Audio worked great with this card and is a great substitute for the included Software...." Read more

    "...but the head phone amp is okay for gaming and music, also the software is convoluted that requires to much toggling with settings...." Read more

    "...It is especially good in mid-range.The software is exceptional also...." Read more

    "...It produces muddy, flat sound. The software is very amateurish design...." Read more

    7 customers mention0 positive7 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the compatibility of the sound card. They mention that it is not compatible with their CPU, Windows 10, and other drivers. Some customers also report that their motherboards didn't recognize the cards.

    "...Next ran it under Windows 7 64 Bit Professional. The Card wasn't recognized. So I downloaded the Asus Xonar Drivers from Asus website...." Read more

    "While Asus' website says this card is not compatible with a B450 mb I am not yet suffering from the BSOD switching outputs...." Read more

    "It turned out to not be compatible with my CPU so I returned it with no problem." Read more

    "3 D.O.A.'s in a row from Amazon. 3 Motherboards didn't recognize these cards, in multiple PCI-e x1, x4, or x8 slots...." Read more

    4 customers mention0 positive4 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the adapter. They mention that it's difficult to install, requires a MOLEX 4-pin connector, and that there's no adapter included. Customers also say that the adaptor is needed for subwoofer and expansion, and there're no free molex cables to hook up to the sound card.

    "...AND... there's no adapter included. ASUS includes an adapter to go the other way, to convert the preamp phono connections to 3.5...." Read more

    "...: This isn't the easiest sound card to install since it requires a MOLEX 4-pin connector, yet the Amazon sales advertisement didn't mention this..." Read more

    "...because the envy was not designed for expansion, and there was no free molex cable to hook up to the sound card...." Read more

    "...Only problem, needs a connector for subwoofer." Read more

    Great shielding and nice signal to noise ratio.
    5 Stars
    Great shielding and nice signal to noise ratio.
    Very clean audio card. Good shielding. It is worth running a noise suppresser between the card and mixing board (between cables) if you are in an area with high RF.We are at the top of a high rise and there is quite a bit of RF from transmitters on other building tops in our area. Inside the Lab there is little RF penetration, but if you step outside with a meter...! Yikes!
    Thank you for your feedback
    Sorry, there was an error
    Sorry we couldn't load the review

    Top reviews from the United States

    Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2017
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2019
    13 people found this helpful
    Report

    Top reviews from other countries

    Translate all reviews to English
    Ron
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Audio Card I Could Find
    Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2020
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
    Luis Miguel Barrera Galicia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exelente para escuchar LPs ¡¡
    Reviewed in Mexico on September 15, 2019
    One person found this helpful
    Report
    EIglesia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Calidad extraordinaria
    Reviewed in Spain on June 23, 2019
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
    Denis aM
    5.0 out of 5 stars scheda top in qualsiasi ambito
    Reviewed in Italy on March 29, 2018
    Customer image
    Denis aM
    5.0 out of 5 stars scheda top in qualsiasi ambito
    Reviewed in Italy on March 29, 2018
    scheda audio top, poco da dire, molto da elogiare,
    la scheda audio per eccellenza, sia in ambito musicale, video o gaming che sia,
    ha una qualità, pulizia e precisione impressionante;
    è una scheda stereo, se intendete utilizzare audio multicanale 5.1/6.1 o 7.1 avrete bisogno della versione con scheda figlia aggiuntiva;
    nella scatola presente un adattatore riduttore da 6.3" a 3.5mm, utile per collegamento cuffie/microfono,
    e adattatore rca stereo a jack 3.5mm, la scheda ha i collegamenti rca,separati, destro e sinistro;
    collegamento al pc tipo PCI-EX ,si puo' installare sia nelle porte PCI-EX 1x (quelle piccole) che in quelle 4x,8x o 16x, quelle per le schede video (attenzione in questo caso che la scheda madre non scali a 8x+8x in caso di due perfiferiche collegate, altrimenti la vga andrà 8x)
    necessita di alimentazione aggiuntiva tipo Molex, qualsiasi alimentatore ne è provvisto;

    il DAC è l'ottimo TI Burr-Brown PCM 1792A, molto conosciuto e presente su DAC esterni di qualità;
    ottimo il ritorno del TCXO clock source,assente nella STX 1, era presente nella ST, la versione pci,
    si sente la precisione maggiore, venendo proprio dalla STX, decisamente fa la differenza, anche a livello di latenza e jitter;
    ottima la presenza dei capacitori WIMA e condensatori low-dropout (LDO), per stabilizzare l'alimentazione;
    amplificatore per cuffie sino a 600ohm, se collegate le headphones direttamente alla scheda è una feature che fa la differenza;
    scheda ultra consigliata se volete il massimo, ma bisogna anche supportarla con monitor o cuffie di qualià, altrimenti non puo' fare miracoli, ovvero bisogna collegarla ad apparecchiature di un certo livello per dare il massimo..

    monta opamp Muses (due 8920 su I/V stage e un 8820 nel buffer), nella scatola troveremo anche altri 3 di ricambio, due Texas Instrument LME49720 e un Muses 8820, comprensivi di pinze per effettuare l'operazione di sostituzione;
    consiglio di lasciare gli opamp presenti di default, se poi si volesse ulteriormente migliorare la resa, si puo' acquistare un Muses 02 da mettere nel buffer, oppure sperimentare con combinazioni di opamp in vendita;

    ottima anche in produzione audio, la migliore scelta entro i 200-250, non c'è dubbio, abbondantemente superiore a interfacce esterne mid-class come le Focusrite Scarlett, che al confronto perdono miseramente su tutti i fronti, neanche paragone; oltretutto la STX II è interna, con tutti i vantaggi del caso rispetto a schede usb..

    per quanto riguarda i drivers, consiglio di intallare Uni Xonar, che oltre ad essere piu' aggiornati, sono piu' bilanciati e neutrali, e possono essere installati in modalità "low latency" o "c-media panel", riducendo notevolmente la latenza DPC, molto utile sia in produzione che coi giochi; e consiglio anche di applicare il "disable speaker compensation" tweak, sempre di Uni xonar, potete trovare maggiori delucidazioni sul sito facilmente raggiungibile via google..

    ricapitolando, consigliata a scatola chiusa per qualunque ambito, e un occhio di riguardo anche in produzione, dove risulta una scelta azzeccata e completa, se non si vuole arrivare a schede come le UAD dal prezzo decisamente diverso..
    per il resto.. buon ascolto!
    Images in this review
    Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image
    Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
    12 people found this helpful
    Report
    Dalton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good sound card
    Reviewed in Singapore on October 2, 2020