ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card

Pros: Control panel software is simple to use.

Cons: Advertised as good for music recording, but all input monitors have unacceptable latency in Windows. (The Linux driver does not suffer from this problem, and ASUS outright refuses to address it.)

Other Thoughts: There is no difference in sound quality between the name brands in this price range. The small details are what makes the separation, and instead of putting themselves ahead, ASUS seems intent on putting themselves behind. Nearly every card in the Xonar line has this problem.

Pros: Good sound card option, price to performance ratio is right. good sound quality

Cons: software installation can be a huge hassle. Do what everyone else says throw the disk out and get the drivers from the website.

Pros: Earlier Review I recommended the OPA627Au's. They do have a nice crisp sound. But after installing the LME49720HA single opamp module, I much prefer that sound! I owe my original dislike to it as the the treble was scratchy. BUT! The opamp I received was damaged in transit, its wires bent 90 degrees. After I cut them, I had to bend the wires much more than I usually do. Bent wires increases the work stress on the metal, lowering the electrical conductance. When I had a unbent unit installed, the sound and treble was much smoother and easier on the ear. I soldered that one and it got ruined!
Now I just use a twisty tie to hold the opamp to the circuit board, and solder only the inner DIP8 pins.

Opamps are a personal choice, and you can go crazy trying different ones. The lme49710ha's and 20's were the first ones everyone raved about in 2008. I like them, they give a nice old School Panasonic Ambience sound to my ear. They give a really full bass. They are also quieter,
don't amplifiy as much, so I can turn my volume up louder on my Klipsch 2.1's. The adjustable range for volume was much more limited with the 627's. On little bit too far and wow!! They screamed!! So sound level control is much nicer now as well. Either of the opamps are cheap, at around 8 to 14 dollars or so.

Thanks for a awesome card Asus. One of these in a audio amp would cost a fortune!! Slightly higher price paid for substitutable opamp slot is worth every extra cent paid!!

I have xp and had no installation problems. I really love this sound card.

I griped about the equalizer not working, but this only happens with my 96ktz /24 bit vinyl files. Foobar fixes that problem, get Asio4All foobar plugin and rock on!!!

Cons: None

Pros: sounds good
games good
plays good

Cons: little pain in d a s s ....
drivers must be installed first..as per asus web site.... then the card installed
(even though it told I must install the card wile I was installing the drivers ....then drivers installed......W...T....F....

Other Thoughts: !!!!DO NOT USE THE CD THAT COMES WITH THE CARD!!!! IF YOU HAVE WIN7 64 BIT....
GET THE DRIVERS FROM ASUS WEB SITE..... THEN INSTALL DRIVERS.... THEN CARD.... THEN DRIVERS again in that order weird

Pros: This sound card definitely amplified AND clarified the audio over the onboard sound of my son's EP45-UD3P motherboard. For under $50, you wouldn't expect such an improvement, but there it is!

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I have always believed in sound cards over onboard. As good as onboard audio gets, it can't compare. Before this I had exclusively used Creative, but ASUS is as far as I am concerned equal to the challenge! Just make sure you download the current driver from their website first.

Pros: -Paired up with Creative Gigawoks speakers and Its a huge upgrade from the old Sound Blaster card I was using

-Worked immediately with the drivers from their site with zero problems

Cons: none yet

Pros: I was expecting my audio to sound better, but not by this much. Genuinely blown away. Definitely worth the upgrade from mobo audio if you're still using it.

Cons: None

Pros: The speaker sound is better than the ASrock onboard sound.

Cons: The drivers from the install disk locked up my system, had to start in safe mode and then do a system restore. Cannot get the front mic/headphone ports to work.

Other Thoughts: I had to find drivers on the net that were updated by an individual since Asus won't update them on their website. I can't ever see myself ordering any Asus products ever again. If you won't support a product, don't let anyone sell it. Will make do till I find another card that is new and better.

Pros: Have been using a Auzentech x-meriden to re record my vinyl collection to 96ktz. Suddenly I realized my gaming rigs onboard audio could not pass 96ktz to a mini plug!!! Enter Xonar DS. The spex sold me. At the 107 s/n db output, you are basically getting the guts that are equivalent to my Marantz SR-7300!
Hookup was a snap!! Installation was easy. Sound with stock opamps was decent, but I roll opamps quite a bit. The Auzentech loves LME49710HA's- a dual mono TO-99.
Unfortuantely, the LME49710HA did not fit into the board, it hit the capacitors surrounding the plug.
I had on hand a LME49720HA- Single, dual channel TO-99. This gave a nice detailed bass, but the treble was very soft.
Luckily I also had a opa627SM dual module. This opamp sounds the best, the treble, though mildly scratchy, is perfect for my output of Klipsch 2.1's!! So far these are the winners in this card for me. Also they can be had on YABE for like $9.00!!! The treble is really only scratchy when pushed above comfortable levels with a Equalizer.
The definition is outstanding.
I also have a set of small TDC .5 Minis with a ribbon tweeter hooked into the Klipsch's playing back in 2.1 stereo. I don't really use the other channels.
All in all the Xonar sounds like a really nice Push Pull Amp,
and the Meridien sounds like a warmer tube amp.

I hate to admit it, but the music sounds awesome on the
Xonar!! And the price I paid for the Auzentech..... still the Auzentec was the ultimate for the Analog captures.

I also killed my parakeet by playing back the russian meteor event. That scared him!!! Must have brought back bad dinosaur memories for him!!!

I also like that this is the larger type PCI card in the plugs.
I can mount it lower and farther away from my power source. The newer ones are farther up and closer to possible interference sources.

Stranglers Aural Sculpture sounds insanely good!!! I hate to say it, but even better than the Auzentech. This is a excellent card for the money, they won't look the same anymore as they go over to the metal can capacitors in the future.

Cons: Well hmm, The dual to-99 did not fit. Which is no great loss cause the 627SM module sound great!!! Make sure you get the dual 627sm module, a dual to single opamp adapter.
It's kinda confusing= the one with a opamp on the top and bottom!!

Equalizer works with videos, but the music it does not, I just use the EQ in Windows Media Player. If you were to intstall Foobar and Asio4all for Foobar, then you would get a even better sounding player for playback. I do no do this on my game rig cause I don't like the conficts, and having to remember all the settings in foobar. Not that its bad, it just complicates things. I do use Foobar in my audio rig. Not really a con.

Other Thoughts: Got a nice rebate, this month 2/2013 the card is even less thanks to lower shipping.

Pros: Sounds fantastic: absolutely no comparison between this and my realtek integrated audio. As I write this I'm listening to a sampling of my FLAC audio collection through wireless Sennheiser cans. The sound is clean, crisp, accurate; bass is strong without being overwhelming or distracting...you can hear literally every minute detail (I'm hearing subtleties that have never come through before now - can't wait to test my UE triple fi's). Usually I prefer to bump up frequencies over 8K by a few dB to give audio a more crisp and clear sound than stock/flat. That was certainly the case with integrated mobo audio but it's completely unnecessary with this card. Noise floor is also extremely low.

The opamp is not soldered onto the board and is easily removable/upgrade-able...can't really imagine the sound getting much better than it currently is but I'm sure I'll give this a go at some point in the future. It's a cheap upgrade so why not?


So far so good. Will update if I encounter any problems.

Cons: None yet

Other Thoughts: Installation was uneventful...just follow the instructions (a novel concept, I know) - uninstall all other audio drivers and disable mobo audio in the BIOS first then use the latest driver from the ASUS site. Running Windows 7 x64 and unlike other reviewers I had no problems whatsoever installing that driver.