Conclusions:

A USB sound card can be a convenient and effective way to improve sound quality for a laptop or netbook, which might have less than impressive audio capabilities. The ASUS Xonar U3 USB sound card is a perfect example of this, and it just works extremely well for most of what it does. The power hum on the microphone input and the ineffective VocalFX were disappointing, but minor defects overall. Two things that need to be mentioned here though are the Windows exclusivity and the disabling of any built in speakers.



I find it very disappointing that ASUS would choose to not support Mac users with the number of them in the target audience for a device like this. That being said, most Macs are likely to have sound cards almost as good as the Xonar U3, as there are not numerous manufacturers looking to cut corners in order to compete on price. Not supporting Linux is a slightly more puzzling decision though, as a number of Linux based laptops would seem to be older machines that could really use this device to improve their utility. Still there are Linux distributions that will include drivers for the device and I'm sure the software will be usable in an emulator as well. It would be nice though, if jumping through these hoops could be made unnecessary.

The disabling of the built in speakers is likely unavoidable, due to them being wired to the internal sound card, which the Xonar disables in order to replace it without causing conflicts. Still, if a way could be found around this it would result in an improved product. The portability of the device is slightly hampered by the need to carry headphones or external speaker to utilize it.

These are minor quibbles however, as the overall improvement in sound output as compared to the onboard sound for most laptops and netbooks will be in the noticeable to huge range. The ability to output full 8.1 Dolby Surround allows a decent laptop to double as a portable HTPC in a pinch.

To top it all off, a quick search of the Bigbruin.com shopping engine shows the ASUS Xonar U3 is available for under $40 (US) from Amazon, Newegg, and the like.

The ASUS Xonar U3 USB sound card earns both the "Good Value" and "Recommended" awards as a portable, convenient, and cost effective upgrade to most laptops and netbooks.



Pros:

» Simple setup
» Easily portable
» Adds surround sound for headphones or digital output to a home theater
» Feature rich software adds value

Cons:

» Windows only
» Audible power hum on microphone input
» Disables built in speakers

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