Had a cloud II headset that was being complicated, and the 5.1 sound wasn't working. I had to enable the type of sound my headset was supposed to be in the asus xonar settings for the card to adjust to my headset properly.

Gets the job done; Interface that helps with a lot of sound problems

Doesn't sit in the PCI slot efficiently; If I plug anything into the audio or mic ports directly, the card moves out of the slot; Will not work when I screw in the card; I have to sit it diagonal in the PCI, and leave it alone; 2 weeks so far without touching it and I have had no problems

This card has been one of my most frustrating tech purchases. I needed a card to output 5.1 through an optical digital connection for playing back movies. I was leery of this card after the negative comments, but the advertising said it does it.

Card works great and sounds great. Much improved over the "Headphone Virtualization" from my onboard Realtek and the MIc quality might be even better (it was very good with my onboard). Front Jacks work perfectly though you have to make sure you set it properly (i.e. AC97 or HD).

Dolby Headphone is great for those wanting good surround positional audio on their stereo headphones - Headphone Amp is a nice touch - Good sound quality

- For $30 its hard to really complain about anything

BUY.com sent me a used card (all of the packaging was opened) but I decided to install anyway. Used the included drivers as well as the Win7 drivers from the ASUS website. Two bluescreens later I am returning the product.

Great little upgrade to the audio quality of the system. I'm not making use of the virtual surround sound or anything, I really don't have any interest in it. Primary reason for purchasing this is my on-board audio had issues with static on the microphone and a buzzing sound (in-ear) when my video...

+ Completely eliminated static sound for audio recording; + Much more balanced sound output

- Really gross software interface; and for some reason the Xonar software files aren't digitally signed by Asus so you have to give the software permission to run since Windows sees it as a potentially harmful file

After reading some very good reviews of dedicated sound card online, I decided to ditch my mobo integrated sound for this. Unfortunately, I've noticed a much higher noise floor with this card.

Added features

Poor Sound Quality

BUY.com sent me a used card (all of the packaging was opened) but I decided to install anyway. Used the included drivers as well as the Win7 drivers from the ASUS website. Two bluescreens later I am returning the product.

Do not hesitate to upgrade your on-board audio to this ASUS Xonar DG. Even with a $300+ mother boards, you are still stuck with Realtek or Cirrus Logic audio chipsets which can not outdo a good quality ASUS Xonar or Creative X-Fi card.

Quality and Price

Interface and digital out

The inclusion of integrated audio solutions on every motherboard pushed discrete audio solutions into the luxury purchase market. So why do...

Clear; Full Body Audio on All Channels; Built-in Headphone AMP Supports Headphones with up to 150 Ohms of impedance; Includes Low Profile Brace for low profile HTPC cases; Well written User's Manual

Included Quick Start Guide is almost useless; Audio Quality not Noticeable with Low Bit-rate Audio Sources

Good quality card, so much better than on board sound. I've always been a fan of Creative Cards, but after trying this one I am mildly impressed. One thing that lets this card down is the Software bundled with it. Creative's software seems just more grown up and sophisticated.