The only problem I've encountered with the MuseXL was with a Promise RAID driver (2.0.0.28) from WindowsUpdate that caused all kinds of skipping and crappy sound. It may be a record for how much 24KB can mess up a computer. Thank Gates for including a driver roll-back feature. Asses saved: Billions, and counting. I'm convinced it's the RIAA trying to keep me from listening to MP3's.

Features
I suppose to be a good reviewer I ought to go into some of the features, at a glance. The Hercules MuseXL is based around the C-Media sound chip, CMI-8738, that is becoming increasingly popular on many, many integrated motherboards. My Asus A7V266-E has one. So does Soyo's really great Dragon+ mobo. C-Media followed the AC97 (or PC99) standard to the letter, so I'm not going to wax prolific on those features, m'kay? It's not that this little champ doesn't deserve it, but the MuseXL isn't really a standout on features. It's got 2 channel outputs and Sensaura 3D effects, and that's pretty much the end of the list. This isn't a card for home theatre. You should get this card if you're into a super-stable, no-frills, rocker of a sound card. It's pure and simple, just the way I like it. The MuseXL does however have a nice long list of software included to sweeten the deal, but I'll get to that in a moment.

You should check out Hercules' web page for more on all of it's features here:

• http://us.hercules.com/products/

• http://europe.hercules.com/products/showpage.php?id=&p=H23

I like the European page far better. It's got nice little screen shots of the software bundle. Also, if anybody thinks they know what 'Internet Audio Ready' means, please do let me know.