The card does not deliver what it promises.
I will explain below:

A few notes for those who use it with 2 or 2.1 speaker systems.
For the rest, just skip to the SOS!

Of course, compared to an onboard sound card, even with the latest Realtek and Crative Cinema 5 effects, the difference is immediately noticeable, even before you start adjusting the EQ.

The EQ works differently compared to the Xonar cards, for those who have tried the Xonar audio. It does not compress the band of each control, but rather cuts off like a regular EQ. Because I also have a Xonar, the EQ settings are completely different for the same audio. The highs cannot be opened up. No matter how much you increase them, it sounds like someone is holding them back!

It cannot match the clarity of Xonar cards that cost over 130€, but the quality is mediocre! ...Quite. For a 100€ sound card, you expect more. Much more!!!

With some work on the EQ, the audio improves compared to the default settings. The dynamics are very tight and do not allow the sound to shine as expected from this price range! I really cannot understand what people hear in the reviews! And yes! My sound system costs over 500€!

The headphone amplifier is good, but to listen loudly, you need to right-click on the headphone icon and select High Impedance.

The management software is different from all other Asus software. All the functions are now in one menu. Card interface. No more multiple clicks in different categories. Everything is right in front of you. Except for some special functions that you only need to run once and then forget about. Like the overall volume of a channel! However, the frequency routing is missing in the bass channel.

And now the best part:
###!!! SOS !!!###
Something incredibly negative is the complete lack of proper upmixing! And overall support for more channels than what the source has.

Let me explain:
If you only use 2 speakers or a 2.1 system with the bass activated by the speaker amplifier, like in all 2.1 sets, then everything is fine. But if you have a multi-channel system, throw it out the window!!! Literally!!! Do not even think about buying it! In Chrome, there is no chance of hearing the bass and surround speakers! NEVER! And no, the patches and commands found on the internet do not always work. And some videos often do not play with these active commands! If the software does not support upmixing from stereo to multi-channel, then you only hear the front 2 speakers! In Payday, throughout the game except for the intro videos, you only hear the front 2 channels. In Need for Speed (2015), you only hear stereo. It activates the surround and subwoofer only if you select Stereo Mixdown (???) Yes, you heard that right! And it's not just that, but the sound is not even multi-channel. It simply opens the speakers. Battlefield 4 does not work at all with the Strix! (With a Windows reinstall, it played in stereo!!!) The same goes for Battlefield 5. But in 5, it plays without sound! While in 4, it crashes and closes the game. And so on! I have Origin Access and the list can go on for 80+ more titles!!! And imagine, ASUS promotes it for gaming!!! ...FOR GAMING!!! Forget about Sonic Radar. You get a sound card to hear the sound correctly, mainly!

Although I searched for issues before purchasing it, I never expected that a ~100€ sound card would not upmix any source in the 21st century, and the quality would not be crystal clear or at least above average for 100€!

Yes, I am an audiophile type, but I didn't buy a 30-40€ sound card. I bought a 100€ one! I have the 250€ one for another purpose! But even a 100€ sound card should not behave like this! Even the ones I have stored from 10-15 years ago do things that this 100€ card doesn't. Even any onboard sound card does upmixing effortlessly.

Unfortunately, after discovering this unbelievable problem, I had to search for a solution and found out that not only do many people have it (everyone actually... but) with multichannel systems, but there is no solution to these problems.

Continuing on the issue of signal noise mentioned, in silence through the speakers, it has a direct relation to the quality of the power supply. Because it is powered by the graphics card's plug. I noticed a different noise threshold (10 points from the speaker - slight hearing of the data) when I plugged it directly into the PCIe molex and the regular 4-pin molex with an adapter. So, the quality of the power supply matters. ...The power supply plays a role everywhere, but that's another story!

Personally, I do not recommend it! Not for the price it is sold for, NO! In relation to what it offers for what it should do! Proper sound and features, in a 100€ sound card.

The card is ONLY for 2 or 2.1 sound systems.

Believe what you want. The reviews on the internet, or this description here!

Oh! And reinstalling Windows, maybe, didn't change anything! Some games that had no sound... now have MONO stereo!

If it were a car, it would be like this: You buy a 4x4 car and discover that it only activates the 4x4 in sand! There is no possibility to use the 4x4 in mud, water, or rough roads. You can't think of checking this before buying it!!! It is assumed that a 4x4 car activates the 4x4.

The same goes here. They sell a 7.1 card (laughs) and mainly gaming (lots of laughs) and it can't do upmixing (laughs even more) and they ask for 100+€ (I'm dying of laughter).

And the most important thing, ASUS has listed all users of multichannel systems since 2017!! SINCE 2017!!! That's when they released the latest driver. And the curse continues!!! But! Nothing!

I, for one, regret it! Simply put, the card is not what the manufacturer promises! If I can get my money back, I will be happy. Otherwise, I will have wasted 100€ for nothing!