ASUS Xonar U7 USB Sound Card and Amp Review

Subjective Listening: Music

Not everyone hears the same as each other. Peoples ears are different and preferences dictate our style. A variety of headphones and headsets were used while listening with the Xonar U7 though by far, the most used was the Grado SR80i well renowned for its great response, detail, and energy.

Some audio purists argue against using any form of software manipulation to shape audio. Despite this, we found Dolby Home Theater V4s Intelligent Equalizer to actually enhance music playback. Without any enhancements, the Xonar U7 performed only marginally better than the cheaper Xonar DSX internal sound card. Where the U7 did better in that regard was slightly greater crispness in the bass frequencies.

Due to disappointing past experiences with Dolby Headphone, another Dolby branded sound shaping technology, it came as a surprise that Dolby Home Theater V4s Intelligent Equalizer actually delivered substantially better music sound quality. Unfortunately, the other settings that presented themselves as interesting such as Volume Leveler and Surround Virtualizer didn’t always have any noticeable improvement nor impact sound quality.

There are some instances where Dolby Home Theater V4s Intelligent Equalizer doesnt have an appreciable effect on music or even rarer, balances the frequencies incorrectly. Usually, those tracks are exceptions and already well mixed or edited and not meant to be dynamically equalized. Usually, Dolby Home Theater V4s Intelligent Equalizer does have noticeable results and turning it on and off while a song is playing can sound like listening to two completely different sources or headphones or speakers. In the more dramatic cases such as live recordings, turning off Intelligent Equalizer made the song sound more tinny and artificial prompting us to turn it back on and enjoy the glorious sound.

Regardless of whether Dolby Home Theater V4 is active or not, the Xonar U7 is an exceptionally capable audio output source rendering a great amount of detail across all frequencies. Bass is punchy, but not sloppy, mid frequencies are articulate, and highs are crisp. Of course, owning a set of good headphones or speakers will give a better result.