Con il comunicato stampa di seguito allegato, ASUS ha annunciato la scheda audio Xonar Essence ST. La card utilizza il bus PCI per assicurare una riproduzione con un rapporto segnale rumore, o SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), pari a 124dB che, in quanto tale, si distingue dalle prestazioni della concorrenza per una impressionante pulizia e limpidezza del suono.

Tra le tecnologie supportate dalla Xonar Essence ST, che è basata sul processore AV100 High-Definition di ASUS, il produttore ha citato la "Precision Clock Tuning" che permette di stabilizzare il campionamento del segnale audio e di ridurre in ultima analisi la problematica dello jitter, che determina il fenomeno macroscopico della distorsione.

Dolby Digital Live, Dolby Headphone, Dolby Virtual Speaker e Dolby Pro-Logic II sono le tecnologie Dolby incluse nella Xonar Essence ST, che può vantare inoltre la compatibilità con DS3D GX 2.5, la tecnologia ASUS per il 3D Gaming.

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Taipei, Taiwan, May 15, 2009 – In its search for the purest essence of sound, ASUS have broken the boundaries with the newest soundcard on the market, the Xonar Essence ST. This PCI card is the world’s first audio card to incorporate precision clock tuning to minimize audio jitter, bringing the user a clearer, crisper listening experience. The Xonar Essence ST card can also be upgraded to 7.1 channel output with the use of the Xonar H6 multi-channel extension board, which will be sold separately in the near future.

The Xonar Essence ST is capable of achieving an industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) in signal clarity and offers a built-in headphone amplifier to obtain the best performance out of any available pair of headphones. Thanks to ASUS’ exclusive Hyper-grounding and EMI Shield design, even the most demanding audiophile will be satisfied with the unprecedented sound quality.

Xonar Essence ST is the first soundcard in the world to focus on precise audio clock tuning. Using a technique that was once only seen on top-tier living room equipment, PC users can now experience 31% less audio jitter interference and enjoy ultimate sound quality that frees the audio signal from unsynchronized input streams and results in extensive music details and lively sound image for the ultimate listening experience. The improvement is most significant during general audio CD playback where the sample rate is 44.1kHz.

Utilizing only the finest components and design, ASUS has delivered a soundcard that is able to reproduce truly pure sounds at an industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio). This is 64 times clearer the most onboard audio solutions (85–88 SNR). It also features the ASUS exclusive Hyper-grounding circuitry design that utilizes a PCB design to separate signal and noise—ensuring that only the cleanest signals are passed on to ultra-sensitive components for decoding.

With a top-of-the-line Burr-Brown PCM 1792A Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) to convert audio signals at 127dB SNR, users will be able to enjoy minimum loss from the process of converting digital signals to analog sound. Additionally, Nichicon “Fine Gold” capacitors deliver rich bass and crystal-clear high frequencies (like the sounds from a piano or violin), allowing the Xonar Essence ST to achieve an amazing <10 Hz–90 kHz frequency response and 124dB dynamic range. Furthermore, The Xonar Essence ST’s EMI shield protects all analog outputs perfectly from any exterior electronic magnetic interference—resulting in the cleanest sound generation and delivery for the user's enjoyment.

Most quality headphones usually require additional driving power. Without it, the sound quality becomes bland. The Xonar Essence ST is equipped with a built-in headphone amplifier capable of driving every available headphone with up to 600ohms of impedance to their full extent and less than 0.001% of distortion—all without additional amplification. This ensures that only the highest density sounds can be heard from these headphones without the need to purchase an extra amplifier. Furthermore, the Xonar Essence ST also comes with swappable OPamp sockets to help tune up unique sounds effortlessly, complete with Dolby Home Theater technologies and the latest DS3D GX2.5 3D gaming engine technology.

The Xonar Essence ST is not a stand-alone product that will become obsolete with time. In fact, it is designed to be scalable so that users can enjoy fuller sound. With the high fidelity Xonar H6 multi-channel extension board, users can enjoy full 7.1 surround sound. The Xonar H6 is sold separately from the Xonar Essence ST.

Whether it is about wanting that full home theater experience, enjoying the thrills of gaming, or even just listening to music, audio quality has become a defining feature for PC users. So why should you settle for anything less than the crispest, clearest audio to ever come out of a PC?

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