If you think of your PC as a lifeboat full of components floating in the Atlantic Ocean after one of those ARM-based subs put two fish into the side of the PC's troop transport, you can better understand the plight of the sound card.

Far better gaming audio than onboard

Default audio settings are far too heavy handed

Overall, we were quite impressed with the new SoundBlaster ZXR. This source offers crystal clear sound quality while still presenting an impressive organic signature. The fact that this card offers high end converters on all channels is a big step in the right direction as generally some companies...

In 2011 Creative introduced the Sound Core 3D audio chip, and recently a new series of Sound Blaster cards was released using that chip. We tested the most high-end ZxR version, which is available for 200-250 euros.

The best sound card you can buy but the base setting is too high but you can reduce it. If you need a sound card this is a excellent choice.

Top sound card

Too much base

Sound was great for games and music, but not so much for editing. Could have been my card/rev, but it died from a bit of heat. Might consider an external enclosure to prevent issues.

Kick ass Sound Card, but one warning...Make sure your motherboard's firmware can handle it. I had to upgrade BIOS and install latest chipset drivers to get the card to be recognized by windows 7.

By Vance I purchased this ZxR to use with my Sennheiser PC G4ME ZERO headset. I had read other users complaining of sound degredation when using the ACM (Audio Control Module) to connect their devices to and that they recommended connecting directly to the sound card.

Super sound from these sound cards and for anyone doing any high quality sound editing for a variety of reasons such as film edits etc. Easy to install and very easy to configure. Great enhancement for any high end gaming rig.

I was lucky enough to grab one of the first few from OcUK. I primarily got it for the quality DACs, and i did not even bother installing the extras. The audio quality is slightly better than my previous X-Fi Titanium Fatality Champion (which is already way above average).

thanks for the awesome deal ;)