Pros: -Sound is much clearer than the ZxR I purchased a few years ago. The sound is so uniform that sometimes I have trouble thinking the sound is coming from speakers to begin with. It's like magic! -Headphone amp sounds great with my Shure SRH 1540 headphone. Much better than the ZxR. -192khz surround sound! -Bass is not overly dominant compared to ZxR -Software is simple and easy to use compared to ZxR's software.

Cons: -This requires two PCI-E x1 slots, which made me move my video card to the bottom PCI-E x16 slot in my mobo. The card still runs the same temps thankfully as it still has breathing room. If you don't have this ability, you might partially choke the graphics card with one of the boards. -Included mini-displayport cable could have been a touch longer. -7.1 daughterboard described above is required for Surround sound.

Overall Review: Note: Requires a free sata cable, which is better than the Creative AE9's 6pin cable normally reserved for video cards. Those looking for a sound card should go no further than EVGA's Nu Audio.

Overall Review: I have three of these as intake fans and they've been doing a great job cooling down the case.

Pros: It's big, lots of buttons, fun to use once you get through the driver install. I'm happy with it enough to buy another for a friend.

Cons: -Quirky drivers which are hard to find. You need to do some profile trickery to unlock two of the buttons as well. -Many people claim the the joystick is death prone. The only problem I've had is that the cable that connects the joystick to the throttle. Sometimes the pins can get bent if you're not paying attention (but this is easily fixable). There's also a sensitivity issue for the precision users. This can be solved with a magnet trick but it voids the warranty.

Overall Review: I looked at the x55 and it's a bit over the top for what I want. What I'd like is buttons and not switches.