This is a good deal if you meet these three criteria. 1) You use headphones for PC and not for a console [You will not be able to use virtual surround with a console] 2) You are looking to use Virtual Surround Sound and 3) You have high impedance headphones which require amplification beyond what a typical motherboard delivers. It is a very good product. Currently I have a Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 7 Motherboard which has Creative quad-core sound and SBX Pro Studio. So I can attest to it being the same quality as the internal sound card. I believe the E5 is slightly newer, it runs on different software. It is really only meant for use with headphones, though there is a line out for stereo. Switching between a surround sound setup and headphones is the only real difference I have found between these and the built in quad-core. It is a DAC and headphone amplifier, and at $75 isn't the best option if those were the only uses you have for it. The Virtual Surround is the only reason I would recommend this over a tube based Amp. It is some of the best Virtual Surround I have ever heard, and as a VR user Virtual Sound is really important for me. I find 7.1 headphones very gimmicky. Virtual Surround is really the only way to get a good surround experience with headphones. I also am running high impedance headphones, which is another thing I can attest it works well with. I have Sennheiser HD600's, and typical amplification isn't an option. Again, if you are just looking to drive high end headphones for music, I would look elsewhere. If you want to use them for gaming, and believe me they work well for that, thi is a good option. It has a mic in port as well, so you can buy an attachable boom mic to use for communication and not have to plug it in at a different location. I don't know why the price has been lowered so drastically as this is hardly a year old, and it may be Creative is going to release another product to replace it. It is a niche product in my opinion, and although it does work on the PS4 you will not get the virtual surround on consoles. So if you are a PC gamer looking for better sound to go with your high end headphones, and especially if you are using a laptop and do not have the option of an internal card, this is a slick deal. If you mostly listen to music, or you do not play games on PC. If you are a console gamer. If your headphones cost less than this product. You will not benefit much from this purchase. If you need a headphones amp for music, look into tube amps.