ASUS Xonar DSX 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Audio Card

Pros: I'm not sure where to start praising the card. Sound is fantastic, clear highs, strong mids, tight lows.
I replaced a pci xonar_dg model with this and really wasn't expecting the huge upgrade that this is.

Cons: Something is wanky here (could be me o.0). I'm not able to get multiple sets of 2.0/2.1 speakers to act as a 5.1 set, like I was with the DG model. I've not paid as much attention to it as I should maybe, but this vs the DG - the center channel is always missing. (Shouldn't apply to 99% of you!)

Other Thoughts: Superb card.

Pros: Easy to install once I attached the correct mounting bracket. It came with the disk to load the drivers and once everything was loaded, it worked like a charm.

Cons: None.

Pros: Plug and play, sounds great

Cons: adds 3 - 4 devices to your sound device window.

Other Thoughts: Get drivers off website

Pros: I built my 1st mini itx and had no limitations for once. Chose a pair of M-Audio AV-40 speakers. Love my new board (MSI Z77IA-E53), but the sound from this inexpensive card with incredible sampling makes me laugh at the onboard sound and head straight to disable. This card tickles the AV-40's quite well, amazing clarity & definition.

Cons: Not much jingle to drop for benefits gained.

Other Thoughts: Ya research your speaker purchase but go with onboard sound? Doooooh ! - Homer Simpson

Pros: It sounds much better than the on-board Realtek HD audio. Had no problem installing it. Well the card that is anyway...

Cons: I've always disliked installing the Asus Xonar drivers for all the sound cards Asus makes. I have 3 different ones from Asus. They always give me problems installing but I eventually figure them out. That's my only Con at the moment though.

Other Thoughts: When I bought this card for my brother I also right away just went ahead and bought a LM4562 dual op-amp chip. Some say it doesn't make a difference in the sound but I sure did hear a difference. Nothing huge but it did. That was being hooked up to my Sennheiser IE 80's though. Also if you do buy a different op-amp chip. Don't fail like me and put it in backwards. Can't believe I did that lol. Take your time changing it and do it correct.

Pros: Don't know yet, can't install.

Cons: My computer has an Asus M4N68T motherboard with a PCIe slot. This card will not physically fit on this motherboard, the tail end of the card hits the blue heat sink and will not allow the card to seat in the PCIe slot. Additionally, the metal tab on the front of the card extends too far down and hits the motherboard itself. This can probably be worked around with a riser card, but should this be necessary for two Asus products. Buyers should be advised that a riser card may be needed for basic installation.

Other Thoughts: Newegg is great but I am very disappointed in Asus.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear trappem,

The bracket on the card is standard with PCIe cards and shouldn't have a problem with fitting on a motherboard slot. The card should also clear the heatsink on the board. Please note that the card should be installed straight into an x1 slot. If you are tilting it to install on the board inside of your case you may have to work a bit harder to make it fit properly, but it should do so. For a proper install, the bracket should just clear the end of the motherboard in a small gap between the end of the board and your case.

If you continue to have problems with your installation, please contact me at cl-jeremy@asus.com. I am happy to help with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.

Regards,
Jeremy
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: I've never owned a sound card before, I've always just rolled with the onboard sound that come's with your mobo. I often looked at these sound cards and wondered if it's really worth it. Well let me tell you, simply, it will bring your speakers to life. I don't have some super expensive speaker system. It's actually a sony home system I bought back in 2004. Now if I want to It sounds like I have a club going on in my Man Cave. Bottom Line I will never use onboard sound again.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: If you're on the fence, if you love loud crisp sound. DO IT.

Pros: Sounds great. Much better than the onboard sound on my Gigabyte motherboard. I thought I needed new speakers when playing music through my old computers soundblaster audio card, but I am using the same speakers with the Asus Xonar and it really sounds good and much louder than the Creative Soundblaster card. It would have gotten 5 eggs except for the con's below.

Cons: Get the Brainbit Unified aftermarket drivers if you have any problems playing games. I kept getting loud electronic noises that would not go away without a reboot when playing Civ V, until I installed the brainbit drivers. If you read the reviews on this card Asus needs to fix the driver issues, but until they do get Brainbits drivers.

Other Thoughts: Great card for the money with the aftermarket drivers

Pros: PCI-Express x1
About half as wide as the old Audigy 2 ZS card I used
Fantastic sound using the UniXonar drivers (v1.61)

Cons: Sits a little close to my video card, but that's just due to the motherboard layout (Asus M5A99X Evo).

Other Thoughts: Great card if you're looking for something that won't break the bank. Sound is much clearer in games, movies, and music that I regularly listen to, a noticeable difference from my old SB Audigy PCI card (and no comparison with the sub-par Realtek onboard audio). Also leaves room on my board to install another PCI-E video card for SLI/Crossfire later.

Pros: Music sounds "fuller", but it's not an extreme difference.
Better base from both my headphones and my 2.1 speaker system.
Biggest difference in sound is with my headphones

Cons: It's really not that different from my Realtek HD on-board sound, certainly not for the price.
The front panel is not amplified.
Does not improve the quality of my music half as much as I thought it would.
My computer would not detect the card for the life of me. I thought I was sent a bad card, but eventually I got it to work . Just have some patience with it I guess.

Other Thoughts: This card definitely makes a noticeable difference in how well your music sounds--however, it's not half as much as everyone is making it out to be. The biggest difference is in my headphones, those are much better, but I can still tell the difference in my speaker system. I read online about people switching out this op-amp for a LM4562NA op-amp. I did this just because the part was so cheap. It makes almost no difference though, haha. Not even worth the five bucks for the upgrade. Oh, and everyone whining about the drivers, UPGRADE THE DRIVERS TO BRAINBIT'S "UNIFIED DRIVERS". I had no problem with them, and they fixed any issues with the front panel auto-detecting and then switching back. Everything works as it should now.