Dedicated sound card or onboard sound chip? Sparkling wine or sparkling water? This question should have been asked by every user from time to time. About 20 years ago this was not an issue. The sound cards of the company Creative Labs were beyond any doubt and no one dared to question their right to exist. Nowadays, the situation is somewhat different. The sound chips that are installed on the motherboards are becoming more powerful and the decision for a dedicated sound card is usually discarded in favor of the onboard solution. That is why today we would like to present one of these dedicated solutions, the sound card Xonar Essence STX II 7.1 from the company Asus. Whether this card is next to the Sound Blaster series in the Hall of Fame, or more likely to adorn a place on the wall of the visitors