Review on ASUS XONAR SE 5.1 Channel 🔊 Hi-Res Sound Card with Windows 10 Compatibility by Scott Kalinowski

Most motherboards have built-in audio. That onboard audio is generally pretty good. If you just want to watch YouTube videos, play DVDs, and stream Netflix movies, the built-in audio will suffice. However, if you use your computer for more demanding listening, a good sound card is worth considering. My favorite sound card has been the Asus Xonar DG for years. Sounds great and meets my needs perfectly. Since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7, I had to upgrade to Win 10. Unfortunately my Xonar DG card was not compatible with Win 10. I finally found new drivers on the Asus website and was able to get them working again. Sound on another computer. Meanwhile, I couldn't find a budget DG model for my other Win 10 machine, so here at Revain I settled on the Asus Xonar SE model. I was bitterly disappointed. The drivers are installed in Win 10, but the card and the software control panel are complete junk. I spent a lot of time with both and found the control software almost unusable. Basic functions like the equalizer are hidden and difficult to use. The control panel was designed by idiots. The equalizer in particular is poorly arranged. For example, with an increase of 5 kHz, the equalizer lowers all other bands at the same time! Setting up the equalizer is similar to playing Whack-A-Mole. I came to the conclusion that the Xonar SE is bad design. In addition, there is a problem with the chips or the software. I heard a fairly constant pumping effect (music getting louder and quieter moment by moment). It sounded like the "breathing effect" associated with dynamic compressors and the like. Just awful. It's important to note that when I switched back to onboard audio on the motherboard, the overall sound and volume of my computer improved. It is curious that the microcircuits are not marked on the board. Just empty chips. That surprises me. Fine, I'll send it back. BTW, for those who still prefer the Xonar DG, I've found that there are always five or six available on eBay for about the same money.