One thing I am noticing right away with this new controls system is that I can't turn off the microphone playback.  This is annoying since I really don't need or want to hear myself in my headphones as I chat VOIP or on Teamspeak.  This may just be a problem with the X-Fi beta drivers, but as I recall the disable playback was in the Windows mixers.  Then again maybe I'm missing it. 

While in theory I think the individual application volume settings are a neat idea, so far nothing works with them and it is just an exercise in frustration at this point.  I'll reserve final judgment on the new audio for a few more weeks or months, but right now I'm looking forward to the patch that gives me an option to disable it.

EDIT - Found the mute button for mike playback under the Levels tab under Speaker Properties.