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ASUS Essence One Series
Philosophy
We at ASUS, recognizing that computers and digital devices are the major platforms
for audio entertainment, started out with consumer-sound cards in 2007 to build the
ASUS brand in the audio industry. This gives our ASUS brand a more stable foundation
through gradual growth, making it possible to move into the Hi-Fi/audiophile market.
In 2009, we launched Essence ST/STX, one of our mid-range products that covered a
wide variety of applications, from high-end music applications to games. Essence ST/STX
was very popular in forums and user communities, leading us to conclude that the time
was right for more upscale audiophile products.
We then started work on a prototype which eventually became the Essence One Series,
with its greater flexibility, more spacious PCB and higher power delivery – all attributed
to Essence One Series being an external device rather than an internal card.
ASUS now has a large team dedicated to designing and engineering audio products.
We have been able to expand our audio product range into more diverse categories in
recent years, and have met considerable success. In 2010 we partnered with Sennheiser
on a headset-soundcard set, which confirmed our level of expertise as partners of one of
the world’s leading audiophile brands.
Design Story
ASUS has an eclectic group of visionaries and acoustic engineers coming from the
art, user experience, and the entertainment industry with a shared passion for music.
Knowing that digital media constantly changes and evolves based on our personal
experience, the ASUS team constantly evaluates the design segments with different
outlook and perspective, striving to provide new and better experience for music lovers
and audiophiles.
Being Present
Instead of defining hard-stoned desired results, we believe that sound is about
appreciating the present. Top-grade component is just one tiny part of the puzzle
that we mold and build to bring you the “essence of sound”. Through our meticulous
testing and product performance checks, we examine our design rules and layout
with excruciating detail because any misstep could lead to a misrepresentation of the
originality of sound.
Made for You
Across all our products, you will find that the Essence of Sound is sublime rather than
overdominating, composed yet powerful. The Essence series follow the Confucius
thinking of “Respect” and “Harmony” – we respect that personal taste for music may
vary and hence we’ve included swappable op-amps for further customization. We
recognize that beautiful sound is about being in harmony with the surrounding and the
environment. Hence having an independent volume control for audiophiles’ smooth
volume switching experience becomes crucial.
