[tryagainplss]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a good starting sound card that's gonna be used for playing A LOT of music (99% of the time) and was thinking of buying the Xonar DS; now, my question is: is the Xonar DS good for it's price range, and are there any options beside it?
 
 
 
 
Also, here's my motherboard (http://www.msi.com/product/mb/G31TM-P31.html). According to ASUS's website, the Xonar DS requires a PCI port; now, my mobo has one, but the problem is.... Some merchant websites listed the Xonar DS with a PCI 7.1 port requirement or something like that (I didn't even know that existed), will the Xonar DS work with my motherboard?
 
 
 
 
Anyway, I would really like some insight on this; thanks in advance!
 
 
 
 
 
P.S. How does the FiiO e11 compare to the Xonar DS in terms of sound quality?
 
 
 
EDIT: Using a Superlux HD661 btw

 

[Honkytime]

The Xonar DS should work in any pci slot. Your probably reading about the virtual 7.1 ( DTS Interactive) that runs out the toslink for an external receiver.
The DS has swappable op-amps i swapped the stock ne5532na with the [size=x-small]lm4562na and to me it improved the sound.[/size]
[size=x-small]as far as the fiio e11 goes never owned one myself to give to any feedback[/size]

 

[tryagainplss]

Quote:

The Xonar DS should work in any pci slot. Your probably reading about the virtual 7.1 ( DTS Interactive) that runs out the toslink for an external receiver.
The DS has swappable op-amps i swapped the stock ne5532na with the [size=x-small]lm4562na and to me it improved the sound.[/size]
[size=x-small]as far as the fiio e11 goes never owned one myself to give to any feedback[/size]

Oh I see, thanks.

 

[tryagainplss]

Also, I'm kind of worried; my motherboard's PCI slots look like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/PCI_Slots_Digon3.JPG/200px-PCI_Slots_Digon3.JPG
 
 
but the card's PCI adapter looks like this:
http://www.asus.com/websites/global/products/wcFuNdxM0I4Sf10X/P_500.jpg
 
 
(PCI slot has 2 sections; card's adapter has 3 sections).
 
 
I'm pretty sure this won't matter but I'm kind of worried since this is my first time working with a PCI card.

 

[mich41]

Should work. The old "non-express" PCI hasn't changed for many years and there is no such thing as PCI 7.1.

The notches in PCI connector indicate signaling voltage compatibility. Signaling voltage has been reduced from 5V to 3.3V on some high-end server motherboards in late 90', but desktop systems stayed at 5V to preserve compatibility with old PCI cards. Xonar DS has two notches, indicating support for both signaling voltages. Your motherboard has a key which prevents insertion of 3.3V-only cards, but accepts 5V and dual-voltage cards.


Generally, you shouldn't have PCI compatibility problems with any "consumer" hardware made after 2000.