The Package

ASUS ships the U7 in a small box. Inside, the device is well protected which is important since it is an all-plastic affair.


The bundle is very minimalistic, which is good because it is a simple product designed for convenience.

Closer Examination

Design-wise, the U7 is very well off. The design is very simple and the color scheme is non-offensive.


There is a huge, easily manipulated volume knob on top of the U7. It is not an analogue one, so using it might have some effect on the sound quality.


ASUS devices usually work straight out of the box, but with the U7, you have to switch to the proper USB setting first. That little switch on its underside will allow the U7 to work with pretty much any USB out.

You just have to love the U7's many connectivity options. This external sound card has full 5.1 and RCA outs to active speakers, making it a great budget monitor/audio combo with a good set of studio monitors. The easy-to-reach volume dial is just what you need if you want to have a couple of studio monitors for your PC.


The U7 is a fair bit bigger than the Sunrise Ray DA-P1 and has about the same volume as the O2+ODAC DAC/Amp from JDSlabs if you discount the wall wart needed to power that combination. The U7's size is quite amazing considering how many outputs it features. The O2 and DA-P1 only have two inputs and one output, which is nothing compared to the eight two-channel outputs on the U7. ASUS definitely managed to cram a lot of functionality into a small and well laid-out package.