bit-tech Shopping: Asus Xonar DX Sound Card

• Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Pro

• Dolby Digital
• DTS Digital Theater Systems

• Audio - Bass Audio Out Jack
• Audio - Center Audio Out Jack
• Audio - Headphone Out (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - Line In (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - Line Out (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - Rear Surround Audio Out Jack
• Audio - S/PDIF (Unspecified)
• Audio - Side Surround Out (1/8" mini)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Days

Strengths: Works with linux. 7.1 sound. Low profile.

Weaknesses: Specs not as good as the more expensive Xonar D2X

Summary: With a reasonably recent alsa, it is completely painless with linux -- microphone, aux input, even 7.1 sound works right out of the box. Low profile so it uses a PCI express slot between my SLI nvidia cards. Great performance for the price.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 6 Months

Strengths: Low profile, sound quality an improvement over motherboard option, affordable alternative to Creative cards

Weaknesses: None

Summary: Was upgrading my kids PC. They listen to a lot of music and play a lot of games on their machine, decided to put in a sound card for better quality and (in theory) a little less CPU utilization. This was the perfect choice in terms of price and performance. Subjectively my son did think it sounded a lot better than the motherboard Realtek solution he was using before. He didn't see much overall difference in gaming, but only has a two-speaker setup.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: Excellent sound quality with plenty of volume. It also supports up to EAX5.0 emulation for some games. Front audio connection.

Weaknesses: Not all games apparently work yet with the emulation.

Summary: I was replacing my Sondigo Inferno sound card with this sound card. I was only doing that because I wanted the front audio port connection that this card has. This card uses the same Cmedia 8788 Oxygen chip that my Sondigo sound card used.When I first received the card, after a couple days I was very close to sending the card back for a refund. I was very unhappy with the sound quality and the low maximum volume. Then I wiggled the power connection on the card, only to notice a HUGE increase in sound volume. Apparently the floppy type power connection on the card didn't connect tightly. I had to push fairly hard to get it to stay on so it didn't wiggle. Now that sound is 100x louder, and the sound quality was 100x better. It was night and day difference. (I wonder how many bad reviews and cards they have had returned due to people not discovering the loose power connection). The sound is so loud now I have to keep the volume setting at a very low level.I haven't tried a lot of games, but use only my Sennheiser PC350 headset with this sound card. I also have it set to use Dolby Headphone and the EAX emulation.I have tried Battlefield2 and it sounds awesome. More alive than my previous sound card, so I assume the EAX is working (I set the audio quality to the highest setting in Battlefield2).I mainly play the online game called Lord Of The Rings Online. The 3d sound effects are noticeably better with this sound card. So I assume its the EAX helping with that also. I have had no problems with crashes or anything with this game either (using the latest driver).I've been very happy with this purchase. Although I suppose I wouldn't be so happy if it didn't work with my favorite games. So far that hasn't happened. In fact I read FAR more problem with the Creative cards and games, especially in Vista. (I use Vista x64)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Days

Strengths: Absolute crystal clear sound, low profile card (with low-profile bracket) for HTPC's, good front panel audio, vista support, working non-bloated drivers, Cirrus Logic Oxygen HD chip

Weaknesses: Requirement for more power, comes with molex-floppy adapter. The Front Panel audio is not auto-detected on plug-in. You have to manually go to the settings and choose FP speakers. Somewhat annoying.

Summary: I was tired of the background noise that my on-board (realtek) sound was generating. The front panel port was horrible. I had a low budget and didn't want another creative card since I don't like all the bloatware that comes with creative drivers, let alone the instability they sometimes bring. Finally choose this card and couldn't be happier. If you need a good quality sound card on a budget, this is the card to get. There is no other competition. I use a grado SR60's and SR80's for headphones. I tried my Creative T3100 speakers and old bookshelf B&W speakers pushed by an old Sony receiver. Everything sounded excellent. Highly recommended.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Days

Strengths: Crystal clear sound, Vista drivers, continuous updates, Support for 192kHz recording

Weaknesses: Cannot get Bioshock to work, requires extra power connector

Summary: Nice sound for the price. It's good to see a decent Creative competitor.While Creative has hit and miss driver releases, Asus is very regular with their updates. If you look around, this is your best bang for your buck.