ASUS Launches Full Range of Audiophile Products in Singapore
Award-winning external USB DAC and headphone amplifier alongside with ASUS Xonar audio cards

Singapore (26 April, 2013) — ASUS collaborated with Sennheiser to announce the entire range of audiophile hardware from audio card to external USB-DAC. The event features innovative audio products such as the critically acclaimed ASUS Xonar Essence One series external USB DAC, ROG Phoebus gaming audio card and top of the line ASUS Xonar Essence STX audio card. With this collaboration, ASUS continue to lead the way in marrying audiophile-grade hardware to the market.

ASUS Essence One
The ASUS Xonar Essence One external digital-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier earned considerable critical acclaim, winning a 2012 CES Innovations Award in the audio component category with the industry’s only 8x symmetrical upsampling. With most modern audio signals stored in digital format, the ASUS Xonar team has catered to audiophiles’ needs and launched its first hi-fi USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the Xonar Essence One. It is an industry-leading high-end USB DAC with the world’s first 8x symmetrical upsampling technology, while also featuring a 120dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), audiophile-class headphone AMP and eleven operational amplifier (op-amp) design for distinct tonal customization. SRP: $699 SGD

ASUS Essence One Plus
The ASUS Xonar Essence One Plus Edition USB DAC adds an Op-Amp swap kit to the award-winning Xonar Essence One. The kit allows audiophiles to easily adjust sound characteristics based on personal listening preferences, with no complicated soldering required. It improves on the industry’s leading external USB DAC, combining the benefits of eleven swappable Op-Amps, 32-bit lossless 8x symmetrical upsampling, 120dB SNR, and a 600ohm-optimized headphone amplifier. ASUS Hyper Grounding technology, reinforced internal linear power delivery, a premium WIMA capacitor, and XLR outputs further enhance impact, clarity, balance, and compatibility. SRP: $1,199 SGD

ASUS Essence One MUSE
The ASUS Xonar Essence One MUSES Edition USB DAC continues the award-winning Xonar Essence tradition, following Xonar Essence One and Xonar Essence One Plus Edition products. Designed by Xonar audio experts, it employs premium MUSES 01 Op-Amps from New Japan Radio. It features German-made WIMA capacitors, stable linear power delivery, 8X symmetrical upsampling, 600ohm headphone amplification, and a swappable Op-Amp layout. Connectors include optical, S/PDIF, and USB inputs. With a 120dB SNR, Xonar Essence One MUSES Edition meets the needs of the most demanding audiophiles with lively and spacious sound. SRP: $1,399 SGD

ASUS Phoebus Gaming Audio card
The new ROG Xonar Phoebus audio card set represents the entry by ROG into gaming audio components. Drawing on ROG and Xonar expertise, it offers gamers up to 50% environmental noise cancelation via ROG Command technology, ensuring authoritative voice quality for in-game communication. With 118dB SNR and a powerful 600 ohm headphone amplifier, the new product out-performs competing models and onboard audio, integrating Dolby® Home Theater V4 and the exclusive ASUS GX 3.0 game audio engine. For added convenience, the attached control box helps gamers with easy-reach volume and mute controls. SRP: $279 SGD

ASUS Essence STX PCI-e Audio Card
The Xonar Essence STX is equipped with a built-in headphone amplifier capable of driving every available headphone with up to 600 ohms of impedance to their full extent and less than 0.001% of distortion—all without additional amplication. This ensures that only the most high density sounds can be heard from these headphones without the need to purchase an extra amplifier. Furthermore, the Xonar Essence STX also comes with the following features which include: Swappable OPamp sockets to help tune up unique sounds effortlessly, complete Dolby Home Theater technologies, and the latest DS3D GX2.5 3D gaming engine technology. SRP: $249 SGD

ASUS Xonar DX Affordable Audio Card
The Xonar DX is capable of delivering 35 times cleaner audio quality with 116dB SNR in comparison to most motherboard onboard audio with only 85dB SNR. While noise is unavoidable, the Xonar DX dramatically reduces the amount of background noise, and it is this distinction that allows the Xonar DX to produce as little as 1/32 (-105dB) of the total harmonics distortion versus traditional motherboard audio (-75dB). As most onboard audio only provide 80~86 dB SNR audio quality, background noises are easily heard while listening to music or playing games. By adopting the CirrusLogics CS4398 audio DAC (120dB SNR & 117dB THD+N) that is often used in Hi-Fi devices, the Xonar DX provides at least 30% better quality sounds than the average onboard audio. SRP: $129 SGD

By Harry