ASUS Xonar Essence STU DAC/Amp Review

ASUS is expanding its Essence line with a brand-new DAC/amp design which, like the Essence One, focuses on headphone and DAC performance. As with the recently reviewed ASUS U7, the Essence STU has a wealth of connectivity options, but only two channel analogue outs. The STU slots in between the STX and the Essence One, a very interesting DAC/amp combo.

The STU is priced at €250, which is €200 less than the Essence One, or approximately €100 above that of a normal PCI-E STX sound card. We put it through its paces to see if it is a worthy upgrade over the Xonar STX card which has for some time now held the top position in our bang-for-the-buck category… at techPowerUp!