Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At this price the Sound Blaster/Audiology FX-PCIe sound card is a truly great performer. I only use it with a 2.1 speaker system but it clearly supports 5.1 systems along with several tweaking options. Sound is clear and expansive - almost impossible to believe that this level of sound quality is attained at such a low price. A few install/setup notes: I run Windows 10 and herein lies the issue. Clearly, this sound card has been in production for a few years - long before Win10. I used the enclosed CD-ROM setup disc. It is a waste of time & confusing. Just go to: [...] and download the latest Windows 10 Install Pack, extract, and you are all set. The enclosed CD-ROM is intended for windows 7, 8, whatever. When I used the CD-ROM it kept getting hung up during several steps of the install process. When you finally struggle through, you are directed to the link I posted (supra) anyway. OK. We have the sound card installed along the appropriate Win10 drives - yea! You will notice that you now have an FX Control Panel icon installed in your Quick Launce Bar. (If you do not see it expand your Quick Launch bar and there it is!) The default for the card is for a 5.1 system. As I mentioned earlier, I use the the card with a 2.1 speaker system. So, we need to select settings that will give 2.1 system users the maximum benefit. Here we go- 1) Open the Audiology FX Control Panel (single click for me) 2) Select the "Speakers & Headphones" tab 3) Select "Stereo" (remember card default is 5.1) 4) Check the Full Range box (Front Left & Right) 4) Run test. Happy? Almost done! Now, select the "Mixer" tab from the FX Control Panel. 5) Extend the Speakers slider all the way to the right (full) 6) Inside the Balance/Settings Box: Slide L, R, & Sub fully to the right 7) Slide C, LR, & RR all the way to the left. The Equalizer Tab: Default is "Flat." That is exactly what you want. Leave it alone if you want the music to playback the way it was recorded (or closer to that ideal). One last step you may wish to double check before leaving the FX Control Panel altogether. Look to the very top right of the FX Control Panel. Do you see the small arrow (or whatever it is called)? Open that arrow. Make sure that "Audiology starts when Windows starts" is selected (it should already be so set). That should do it. Hope this helps you avoid the errors I made. UPDATE: After learning how to get into the Dell XPS BIOS (F2 Key) I quickly found the sound enable/disable option. Once the on-board sound chip was disabled and PC rebooted there was a great improvement in SQ. It took some courage for me to enter the BIOS.