Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 is the best sound card for PC gaming, thanks to its ability to deliver pristine audio. It features the high-resolution ESS SABRE-class 9038 reference DAC with 32-bit ...

It used to be that USB audio interface options were fairly limited. Either you bought the one relatively affordable one, or you winced in pain as you handed over your credit card for a pro-level unit.

But I have two different USB 5.1 sound cards with coax and optical, and neither support more than 2.1 via the S/PDIF ports. The 5.1 is done via 3 (or 4) stereo minijacks.

The rest of the sound driver updates from Iwai address Cirrus codecs, the i.MX8 DSP, AMD quirks with its HD Audio and USB audio, and some minor build fixes.

The external USB sound card features up to 32-bit / 384 kHz PCM playback at 130 dB DNR, and features dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs, our custom-designed, fully balanced Xamp headphone bi ...

If you need a cheap, simple USB sound card that you can hack away on, this might be the one for you. If you need something more suitable for a vintage PC, however, consider this instead.