From left to right, we find that the Essence STX carries analogue outputs for left and right speakers via RCA outputs (with an RCA to 3.5mm jack adapter provided with the board) - If you're using analogue speakers, that means you'll only be able to produce two-channel audio from the Essence STX. Moving on, we then find the card's headphone output and line-in jacks, both of which use 6.3mm jacks (with one gold-plated 6.3mm-3.5mm adapter provided as part of the STX's bundle), and an SPDIF output with support for both coaxial and TOSlink connectivity, and allowing for multi-channel audio via Dolby Digital encoding.

http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/ind...96&Item id=27

Those reviews are totally n00b. At the moment I saw them speaking of the "additional juice" the card needed through the external power connector (heck, more than 75W for a sound card? Where's the fan than?), I realized this isn't serious. Besides, RMAA tests don't tell the whole truth and there's great variance between runs. A recent review @spcr revealed some interesting details about these tests to me which are worth reading.

got any linkage for that? I must have missed that one, thanks!

Yeah, these cards don't require an external power connector due to power draw. They require it because ASUS believes a dedicated rail from the PSU will supply cleaner power than the motherboard itself.