Quote:
While JA's review of the Asus Xonar Essence ST/STX suggests that both are identical,except that the ST is made for PCI slots while the STX is for PCI-E...

That was what I was told by ASUS's technical staff in Taiwan.

Quote:
...discussions in the thread at http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=295839
suggest that the ST has a superior clocking circuit & is therefore the better card.
Could Stereophile enlighten me on this aspect?

The ST measured slightly worse than the STX, but as I had the cards installed in 2 different computers, I felt that might be the source of the difference. So far I am not having success running the card in the Shuttle PC under Windows 7, even using the latest version of the STX driver. Unfortunately, I haven't yet had the time to troubleshoot the set-up. :-(

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Thanks for the clarification, John.
Its the STX for me, both the avatars being virtually the same.
Kamal

Another query John, if I may.
Your review compares the Asus X E ST/STX unfavourably to Ayre's QB9 DAC which costs $2500 i.e, 12 times the cost of the Asus soundcard-slightly unfair, perhaps?
How would you rate the Asus to DACs like CA Dacmagic MkII or the Beresford Caiman which are nearer in price?
I hope you're able to take the time out to give a considered response.
Thanks,
Kamal