The Basics:

The Xonar U3 has a gloss black finish with a pair of speaker like grills on one side of the device.



The USB connection is covered by a cap - much like a USB flash drive. There is a small lanyard that you could use to secure the Xonar U3 to something, and it also serves to keep the cap from getting lost.



The grills actually contain a pair of blue LEDs that light up when the device is working. As shown below, the LEDs are not overly bright and should not be a distraction while the device is functioning...



Installation of the Xonar U3 was a simple matter of plugging the device in, inserting the software CD, and clicking through the Wizard. On my Windows 7 laptop the OS actually installed the drivers without needing the CD. However, in order to get the most out of the Xonar, you need to install the ASUS Audio Center software from the disc. This brings up the first problem with this device. It's for Windows users only, Linux and Mac users need not apply. While there is talk of Linux providing drivers for the card, without the software a great deal of the capability is lost and there are no such rumors about even partial Mac support without emulation.



The software comes with multiple tabs of controls, including the main output processor, standard mixer, and environment and vocal effects. These tabs are reached by clicking on the menu arrow located at the bottom right of the Equalizer, just below the volume. The only tab required for usage is the main tab below:



Once the software is installed and the correct output is selected, the device is active and ready to go. Next we move on to the testing.