ASUS Sound Card Xonar U5

I had a problem where all the cheap 5.1 and 7.1 USB sound cards (which probably used the same chip internally) would occasionally switch channels, so the wrong channel was coming out of the wrong speaker. I went through 3 different cheap USB sound cards that all had this problem. During the pandemic, this suddenly became a problem if, during a zoom call, the zoom audio started coming out of the subwoofer!Finally, I gave up and bought this more expensive sound card. The sound doesn't seem appreciably better (though to my ears DACs matter a lot less than speakers and headphones). But it's rock-solid under linux and has been completely reliable. Also, the cheap DACs sometimes send a pop through my powered monitors when I reboot my machine, and this one doesn't have that problem.

I purchased it to improve the sound quality, as the onboard sound card picked up interference from other motherboard components. It has decent software too. I have not used it for gaming, so I can't rate how it works for that application.

Can't be sure if this is my ASUS Computer, Windows 10 Driver, or the sound card, but sometimes the sound goes out for a split second, or sometimes its as if I can't get it loud enough. Usually, it works great. Gave 4 stars as i am unsure which device is actually at fault.

It worked fine for a year, then one day just stopped working. Computer didn't even see that it was connected after that.

My old sound card (2007) didn't work with my new laptop. Part of the pain of W11.I've heard about a 30% increase in the quality of the sound. The bass has a little more punch and crisp sound to it. The mid-range frequencies got a little boost and over all the presence has improved. It included a program, Sonic Studio, that allows personnel adjustment to the sound envelope.I listen to music all day and now I'll enjoy it a little more.

I had this a while ago, but I've since had to replace it because it stopped working completely just after the warranty expired. Go figure. Up until that point, it worked great. I especially liked the quick push-button feature to switch between speakers and headphones. After this died I went with a Sound Blaster Z sound card instead.

It's nice on paper, but in practice, this thing just doesn't seem to cut it. The headphone outoput at it's highest impedence setting on my 80ohm DT770s does not allow the headphones to get loud at all, and I'm really not the type of person to listen to anything "really" loud, so just imagine moderate volume, and there's your max.There's no way to set different equalizer settings for your headphones and your speakers, so if you want to use the equalizer that comes with the soundstudio software, you're going to have to settle for having the same setting for both your headphones and your speakers.Volume in general is very low on my speakers (JBL LSR305), which is another annoyance. Honestly, volume is low all around on this device--why? My onboard sound is much louder, but with the LSR305s turned all the way up on the speakers, I often have to raise my volume in windows and volume in whatever I might be using (foobar, media player classic, netflix, any game..) to 90%+ on every slider. What's going on with this thing? My onboard is quite literally twice as loud, so this is very disappointing.The microphone input does seem noise free, which is a plus. The volume nob and headphone/speaker input switching both work great, and the device takes up very little desk space.Overall, I can't recommend this if you're looking for a catch-all audio solution that plays good at moderate to high volumes. I don't know where ASUS went wrong with this device, but man is it quiet. I even tried using my own equalizer (peace + equalizer apo), but it just makes my headphones clip with the volume all the way up. That's another thing--with the soundstudio equalizer adjusting a few levels to around +5/+6db and others -1/-2db (think a moderate V), my headphones clip at moderate volumes. I can plug my headphones into my onboard audio and get literally twice the volume with NO CLIPPING! ASUS, what did you do to this thing?Unless you want the convenience of instant input switching and a volume nob, just avoid this thing.

So far this sound card is really great! Sound quality is greatly improved without any setup beyond plugging it in. I down loaded the latest driver form the company website and the software side of this car is fantastic. You can use any of the dozens of preset values or create and save your own personalized settings and then quickly change from one to another. I am able to use my normal PC speakers and, my home stereo speakers simultaneously which is really great for full range sound sitting at the desk. I have the optical SPDIF output running to my home theater amp which provides an amazingly clean signal from the computer for watching movies etc. in 5.1 (The 50' fiber optic cable was like $9 separately) and the sound card auto detects when I switch my amplifier to the surround mode and switches from the normal speaker outputs to the SPDIF. This is really a great sound card and well worth the money for the results and versatility.