With the new Sound BlasterX AE-9, Creative Labs shows that it still values the audiophile community, even though it took the company 6 years to release a new version. The new card comes with replaceable operational amplifiers for increased control over sound tuning, and an external DAC to further filter out the interferences.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Creative-Labs-showcases-new-Sound-BlasterX-AE-9-audiophile-soundcard.376156.0.html