Works under Ubuntu Linux boxes like mine Internally mounted - no chance of leaving it behind if transporting the PC Sounds better than my headphone and music files can support Back plate looks good though I don't know how much shielding it provides Has 7.1 analog out and S/PDIF via toslink Easy installation since it's bus powered, no need for a power supply cable Swappable amp chip

I cannot get the toslink to work on Linux and have no need for this thing on my Windows install. Not really an issue as using digital output on a sound card or USB sound box is a waste of a perfectly good DAC. Buy the card for its DAC not for the toslink, toslink is ok but being digital has no losses and sounds the same on motherboard audio as it does on the best sound cards (think the one 3x the price of this one). Only one amp socket noticed means you don't have one amp per stereo channel, this may or may not be an issue for you but it's good to know if you intend to swap the amp out.

I can't give 5 stars since I have no way to verify it's integrity because its fidelity is higher than my headphones and music files. Even the best sound system will sound bad if you have a bad source to begin with. Works on my Linux machine which is good since I only need a sound card on Linux since my Windows partition is not what I listen to music and watch movies on. Everything I want seems to work fine, I got it to replace my motherboard sound as it dissolves to static if I use a mic or certain software, this works fine though. I have yet to get the toslink port working and all sound comes from the card's analog ports, kind of sad but not really a big deal as digital sound sounds the same from the motherboard as any sound card. If you buy a sound card or USB sound solution (like a DAC and amp) I recommend using it as the analog portion rather than digital as the DAC and amp matter more than which port the digital sound comes from. If you want your PC to be a good sound source for headphones or a speaker amp I recommend this or another dedicated sound solution via PCIe or USB as a worthwhile upgrade from the motherboard DAC and amp. I'll probably feel better about this card when the rest of my audio chain is matched to it since having a nice card is worthless if it's crippled by low quality music files and low quality headphones. I'll be interested to see if a front plate can make a difference in noise floor and I'll also be interested to see if a different amp chip can make it able to drive higher impedance headphones.

After finding my old X-Fi audigy sound card in a box from 10 years ago and feeling nostalgic, I bought this to replace my onboard "good enough" sound. It works perfectly with Windows 10 (other sound cards don't support Windows 10 and the reviews confirm it). I have it sitting in a pci-e 16x slot so it wasn't blocking my video card airflow and it works and fits like a charm. Driver installation was quick and painless and the Asus sound panel is straight forward and easy to use, just make sure you spend a few minutes and set everything up before you go gaming. I also paired this sound card with a Cerberus V2 headset and what an amazing difference compared to my on board sound. If you are on the fence about getting a dedicated sound card, DO IT, you won't regret your decision.

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Make the switch from on board sound and buy a decent gaming headset to complete the pairing, it is worth the money.