I had owned previously the D1 (PCI variant) of the DX for over 2 years, and it ran without any faults. Got the DX in, and it was easy to install, and put in the front panel audio plug. The PCI-E DX needs power though, which it comes with an included adapter.

Hardware

Software

Asus have long been a leader in producing high quality, reliable hardware and components. Testament to this fact is that Asus are a ‘Tier 1' manufacturer for Intel's current chipset/motherboard offerings are also among the top manufacturers of both ATI and Nvidia based graphics cards along with...

• Fantastic overall sound; • Very good looking card; • Solid capacitors for durability; • Front panel connectivity; • PCIe functionality

• Lack of DTS encoding capabilities; • Requirement of additional floppy power cable; • Lack of prompt driver updates preventing some games (Bioshock) from working correctly

Last year Asus released the first model of its Xonar series or sound cards, the Xonar D2. The taiwanese company continued the line up last February with the introduction of the Xonar DX.

Not sure yet, as have not connected it up, however, awful packing, the item arrived in its own product box, no packing whatsoever, just a delivery address label stuck to it. Very shoddy regarding, WHATS INCLUDED IN THE BOX.

Amazing increase over on-board sound (and my old Audigy SE). My speakers (Z-5500) and headphones (Senn 595's) have far clearer sound and what seems to be more bass! Everything is just clear as day.

ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card Review Featuring Manufacturers Part#: XONAR DX Price: Click here to compare prices Availability: In Stores Now Product Page: XONAR DX Warranty: 1yr. Manufacturers The current soundcard landscape offers many options to the PC audio enthusiast.

Price point; Overall impressive sound; GX 2.0

Generic Opamps; Small bundle; No DTS features; Some minor sound issues

From my testing, it's clear to see that ASUS' Xonar DX pushes the performance envelope for a value-oriented card, offering most but not all of the performance of the audiophile-quality Xonar D2 and D2X cards – call it Xonar Lite, if you will.

Superb clarity and fidelity; Great performance for music and movies; Low-profile design provides flexibility; Affordable

Hit-or-miss gaming performance; Requires external power supply

I've had many sound cards in the past as I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to sound, but I must say that this card is top notch. The Dolby headphones setting is an excellent enhancement to the listening experience and the 3D software works great in high demand games (tested on BFBC2-war...

Great soundcard - massive improvement over an on-board sound engine. Both the physical and the software installation are fast and easy. The software allows for a significant amount of customization and effect settings.

At some point, the onboard sound just make music drag and not enjoyable. This card makes no drag, but produces silk smooth sound. However, the driver on disk crashed my computer at installation. The downloaded version from Asus website installed smoothly.