Bought my first sound card in over 5 years (last one was a Creative SB Recon3D PCIe):
The ASUS Xonar AE.
This is a really wacky card from a technical standpoint. An ASMedia USB controller takes in PCIe and puts out USB 2.0, which connects to a C-Media USB to I2S audio processor (same one found in Essence One external sound cards), which then is wired to two DACs (ESS and Cirrus Logic) and one ADC. ASUS launched this card in 2017, and it's selling rather cheap (like $70). Many audio forums have good subjective read on this card. I'll install this on my bedroom PC, and pair with an ATH-40X.
Unlike other ASUS PCIe sound cards, this one doesn't need an additional power connector (I stayed off ASUS cards for this reason). On the downside, this card lacks a front-panel header. There's a separate headphones out with 150-ohm impedance. Luckily my headphones come with a 3-meter cord.
Follow up to previous post, install time!
First impressions: build quality of the card is solid. These are some really impressive component choices ASUS made, with ESS, Cirrus Logic, and Ti Burr-brown. That NAND flash chip you see next to the C-Media audio processor is a USB flash-drive that stores the processor's firmware and serves as a slow RAM. Behind, there's a legit heavy metal backplate. Whether it offers any real EMI shielding or not, it definitely looks better than a bare PCB that's a bitch to clean with all its sharp solder work.
Also quick look at my bedroom rig. Has an i5-9400F, GTX 970, 16 GB DDR4-3000 ADATA memory (capped at 2667), Crucial MX500 500GB, and ASRock B365M Pro4.
Audio quality subjective opinion:
Despite using familiar components, this card has a unique sound-signature that's different from Creative cards. It's a definite step up from ALC1220-based onboard solutions (which I've heard at length on my main rig's MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard). Mated with my Audio Technica ATH-M40X, I could hear definitely superior and "earthy" bass, diamond-clear mid-range, and needle-sharp/silky highs. Although packaged as a "gaming sound card," this is a formidable music card.
I would place this card definitely above Creative SB Recon3D PCIe, above X-Fi Xtreme Gamer/Music, but below my Auzentech X-Meridean PCI. A worthy replacement to the X-Meridean eludes me forever.
To discrete sound-card cynics happy with their ALC1220 motherboards, I'd only recommend that if you have an expensive pair of headphones (priced north of $100), then you should really check out something like the Xonar AE.
