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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 30, 2019
Once the unit was installed and the driver and software was operational; the sound is rich vivid and audiophile-grade in nature. Aesthetically the RGB lighting is cool and programable, but the look is more ASROCK TAICHI or ASUS Prime than ASUS ROG or Gigabyte Aorus or MSI Godlike. You can see the images at EVGA's website.
So after listening for awhile , I feel the marketing hoopla is warranted. When the card is driving some KRK Rockit 5 Studio Monitors, an immersive, explosive, nuanced and lifelike soundscape can be heard and felt.
The software is simple to use. The interaction with Windows 10 has been stable and non-invasive so far. I'm a happy listener on all those points. The downer here is that EMI/RF noise due to the non-shielded monitors can be heard, though at a very low level when using the default speaker output versus the S/PDIF optical output. So RFID shield cloth here I come.
Try Again EVGA Points:
I didn't like that the TOSlink port immediately fell apart. It uses a pressed-in door and socket mechanism which is too delicate and immediately parted with the I/O frame after a gentle tug on the premium optical cable (TOSlink S/PDIF). If you look at the same TOSlink Port on anything else you own that is still working, you will see why those manufactures DO NOT use this trap door plastic S/PDIF port and why that device still works after many insertions and cable pulls.
The other design item I really didn't embrace is "the taller than usual solder joints protruding from the PCB". I was hyper vigilant in assessing whether the card would for any reason flex sufficiently to make conductive contact with the AMD Radeon 5700XT GPU (Metal Shrouded) and ultimately mounted it first on the PCI-e bus. Mine now has an insulating felt layer to avoid shorting should the chassis bounce a little (Not shown in photo) or otherwise anything metallic finds its way to the surface.
I really feel the sound quality is stellar, but some of the design oversights should be addressed to reduce warranty claims and improve functionality. It's brand new for EVGA, a tenured company in the PC performance/enthusiast marketspace so I don't feel this indicates a systemic issue and at the time of this review, some or all those issues may already be resolved in the current inventory.
While I do want mine fixed so that the S/PDIF (optical) port is usable, the sound card sounds much better than the onboard premium ASUS Realtek unit (ASUS Crosshair Hero Ryzen mobo) and is worth the money I spent on it.
I replaced some tired PCI-Only RME Audio 9632 cards and also disabled the onboard Realtek). Most people are happy with the onboard sound which is pretty good as they come on ROG motherboards but adding this audio card offers a "really obvious sonic upgrade".
Finally Grace UK's expertise is finding itself at the heart of distinctive products like Izotopes' Spire Studio mic preamps so the pro audio resume brings confidence to this purchase. Thanks and (no -thanks as noted) EVGA.
Winner out of the Gate Points:
Once the unit was installed and the driver and software was operational; the sound is rich vivid and audiophile-grade in nature. Aesthetically the RGB lighting is cool and programable, but the look is more ASROCK TAICHI or ASUS Prime than ASUS ROG or Gigabyte Aorus or MSI Godlike. You can see the images at EVGA's website.
So after listening for awhile , I feel the marketing hoopla is warranted. When the card is driving some KRK Rockit 5 Studio Monitors, an immersive, explosive, nuanced and lifelike soundscape can be heard and felt.
The software is simple to use. The interaction with Windows 10 has been stable and non-invasive so far. I'm a happy listener on all those points. The downer here is that EMI/RF noise due to the non-shielded monitors can be heard, though at a very low level when using the default speaker output versus the S/PDIF optical output. So RFID shield cloth here I come.
Try Again EVGA Points:
I didn't like that the TOSlink port immediately fell apart. It uses a pressed-in door and socket mechanism which is too delicate and immediately parted with the I/O frame after a gentle tug on the premium optical cable (TOSlink S/PDIF). If you look at the same TOSlink Port on anything else you own that is still working, you will see why those manufactures DO NOT use this trap door plastic S/PDIF port and why that device still works after many insertions and cable pulls.
The other design item I really didn't embrace is "the taller than usual solder joints protruding from the PCB". I was hyper vigilant in assessing whether the card would for any reason flex sufficiently to make conductive contact with the AMD Radeon 5700XT GPU (Metal Shrouded) and ultimately mounted it first on the PCI-e bus. Mine now has an insulating felt layer to avoid shorting should the chassis bounce a little (Not shown in photo) or otherwise anything metallic finds its way to the surface.
I really feel the sound quality is stellar, but some of the design oversights should be addressed to reduce warranty claims and improve functionality. It's brand new for EVGA, a tenured company in the PC performance/enthusiast marketspace so I don't feel this indicates a systemic issue and at the time of this review, some or all those issues may already be resolved in the current inventory.
While I do want mine fixed so that the S/PDIF (optical) port is usable, the sound card sounds much better than the onboard premium ASUS Realtek unit (ASUS Crosshair Hero Ryzen mobo) and is worth the money I spent on it.
I replaced some tired PCI-Only RME Audio 9632 cards and also disabled the onboard Realtek). Most people are happy with the onboard sound which is pretty good as they come on ROG motherboards but adding this audio card offers a "really obvious sonic upgrade".
Finally Grace UK's expertise is finding itself at the heart of distinctive products like Izotopes' Spire Studio mic preamps so the pro audio resume brings confidence to this purchase. Thanks and (no -thanks as noted) EVGA.
Once the unit was installed and the driver and software was operational; the sound is rich vivid and audiophile-grade in nature. Aesthetically the RGB lighting is cool and programable, but the look is more ASROCK TAICHI or ASUS Prime than ASUS ROG or Gigabyte Aorus or MSI Godlike. You can see the images at EVGA's website.
So after listening for awhile , I feel the marketing hoopla is warranted. When the card is driving some KRK Rockit 5 Studio Monitors, an immersive, explosive, nuanced and lifelike soundscape can be heard and felt.
The software is simple to use. The interaction with Windows 10 has been stable and non-invasive so far. I'm a happy listener on all those points. The downer here is that EMI/RF noise due to the non-shielded monitors can be heard, though at a very low level when using the default speaker output versus the S/PDIF optical output. So RFID shield cloth here I come.
Try Again EVGA Points:
I didn't like that the TOSlink port immediately fell apart. It uses a pressed-in door and socket mechanism which is too delicate and immediately parted with the I/O frame after a gentle tug on the premium optical cable (TOSlink S/PDIF). If you look at the same TOSlink Port on anything else you own that is still working, you will see why those manufactures DO NOT use this trap door plastic S/PDIF port and why that device still works after many insertions and cable pulls.
The other design item I really didn't embrace is "the taller than usual solder joints protruding from the PCB". I was hyper vigilant in assessing whether the card would for any reason flex sufficiently to make conductive contact with the AMD Radeon 5700XT GPU (Metal Shrouded) and ultimately mounted it first on the PCI-e bus. Mine now has an insulating felt layer to avoid shorting should the chassis bounce a little (Not shown in photo) or otherwise anything metallic finds its way to the surface.
I really feel the sound quality is stellar, but some of the design oversights should be addressed to reduce warranty claims and improve functionality. It's brand new for EVGA, a tenured company in the PC performance/enthusiast marketspace so I don't feel this indicates a systemic issue and at the time of this review, some or all those issues may already be resolved in the current inventory.
While I do want mine fixed so that the S/PDIF (optical) port is usable, the sound card sounds much better than the onboard premium ASUS Realtek unit (ASUS Crosshair Hero Ryzen mobo) and is worth the money I spent on it.
I replaced some tired PCI-Only RME Audio 9632 cards and also disabled the onboard Realtek). Most people are happy with the onboard sound which is pretty good as they come on ROG motherboards but adding this audio card offers a "really obvious sonic upgrade".
Finally Grace UK's expertise is finding itself at the heart of distinctive products like Izotopes' Spire Studio mic preamps so the pro audio resume brings confidence to this purchase. Thanks and (no -thanks as noted) EVGA.
Watch the solder connections on the back of the PCB and the S/PDIF TosLink Socket
By String Theory on August 30, 2019
Winner out of the Gate Points:By String Theory on August 30, 2019
Once the unit was installed and the driver and software was operational; the sound is rich vivid and audiophile-grade in nature. Aesthetically the RGB lighting is cool and programable, but the look is more ASROCK TAICHI or ASUS Prime than ASUS ROG or Gigabyte Aorus or MSI Godlike. You can see the images at EVGA's website.
So after listening for awhile , I feel the marketing hoopla is warranted. When the card is driving some KRK Rockit 5 Studio Monitors, an immersive, explosive, nuanced and lifelike soundscape can be heard and felt.
The software is simple to use. The interaction with Windows 10 has been stable and non-invasive so far. I'm a happy listener on all those points. The downer here is that EMI/RF noise due to the non-shielded monitors can be heard, though at a very low level when using the default speaker output versus the S/PDIF optical output. So RFID shield cloth here I come.
Try Again EVGA Points:
I didn't like that the TOSlink port immediately fell apart. It uses a pressed-in door and socket mechanism which is too delicate and immediately parted with the I/O frame after a gentle tug on the premium optical cable (TOSlink S/PDIF). If you look at the same TOSlink Port on anything else you own that is still working, you will see why those manufactures DO NOT use this trap door plastic S/PDIF port and why that device still works after many insertions and cable pulls.
The other design item I really didn't embrace is "the taller than usual solder joints protruding from the PCB". I was hyper vigilant in assessing whether the card would for any reason flex sufficiently to make conductive contact with the AMD Radeon 5700XT GPU (Metal Shrouded) and ultimately mounted it first on the PCI-e bus. Mine now has an insulating felt layer to avoid shorting should the chassis bounce a little (Not shown in photo) or otherwise anything metallic finds its way to the surface.
I really feel the sound quality is stellar, but some of the design oversights should be addressed to reduce warranty claims and improve functionality. It's brand new for EVGA, a tenured company in the PC performance/enthusiast marketspace so I don't feel this indicates a systemic issue and at the time of this review, some or all those issues may already be resolved in the current inventory.
While I do want mine fixed so that the S/PDIF (optical) port is usable, the sound card sounds much better than the onboard premium ASUS Realtek unit (ASUS Crosshair Hero Ryzen mobo) and is worth the money I spent on it.
I replaced some tired PCI-Only RME Audio 9632 cards and also disabled the onboard Realtek). Most people are happy with the onboard sound which is pretty good as they come on ROG motherboards but adding this audio card offers a "really obvious sonic upgrade".
Finally Grace UK's expertise is finding itself at the heart of distinctive products like Izotopes' Spire Studio mic preamps so the pro audio resume brings confidence to this purchase. Thanks and (no -thanks as noted) EVGA.
Images in this review
