sounds like a tin drum ... worse than my onboard sound

I try to use his own words as much as possible to describe my impression, even with the knowledge that a
Listening experience of humans is totally different to person, and certainly depends on many factors, including the health of your own hair cells, especially at the higher frequencies.

I know my music from multiple sources, mp3 player, etc.
But this sound card took far the worst sound to light.

The sound card sounds kind of like a tin drum. Tested with 2.0 speakers.
On that occasion, I've probably noticed that my onboard chip probably not the worst seems to be, and even 7.1 sound was / is and therefore safe a quality chip. So inquire beforehand that you're not what worse is built into the computer. The chip of the Asus Xonar indeed offers only a 5.1 sound.
So if the purchase of the motherboard to see to that you do not take the best board that can be helpful already. These are sometimes only 30-60 euros more for the Board, which may well account for what.

I can confirm that the sound is too low at maximum setting as anyone ever could find here.
I had to chuckle a reviews that remained in my memory, said he had never heard so much instruments, as with this soundcard.
Yes that was me as well, but just instruments that did not belong there, .. and yes .. they came forward, but it is corrupted, and it was not envisaged by the composer in my opinion. The music did not sound as nice.

In my amateur knowledge I would say the centers are too stressed. I would appreciate a range of 2000-4000 Hz, the stands brachial for any reason. I suspect the manufacturer wanted to impress inexpensive speakers that have a lot of problems with the bass and treble anyway.
Or even completely different, maybe the sound card with poor 2.1 systems sounds reasonably well because there usually anyway the middle missing something and the frequency responses are anything but evenly and well.
But these are all just guesses.

But the sonority lacked any case somehow the brilliance of the music was no longer there, as usual .. from the heights was no trace, and lack bass a little, but that one could explore anywhere before, if you look at briefly in the matter reads. However, I did not think it would be so bad.

My tests I made in the basic settings.
(Equalizer was made, any Raumeinstelungen and sound effects made it worse and then had almost nothing to do with the original sound .. If someone different reverb like that can affect the set room size ... no idea)

And a mega correction by the equalizer I was not going to also should not be the purpose of a sound card, also for the simple reason, because then not sure hinbekommt a qualititav uniform or desired frequency response.
In addition, none of the voreinstellten equalizer has produced a decent sound.

so .. the text should be enough for a 35 euro soundcard ..