They were very early high end cards; thats part of it. They had some cachet of exclusivity when new, because the SoundBlasters were what sold to people who want

They were very early high end cards; thats part of it. They had some cachet of exclusivity when new, because the SoundBlasters were what sold to people who wanted compatibility. GUS cards were known for lower noise. By the PCI days the cheap cards were better quality; the market differentiated on names and flashy features. I recorded using SB Awe64 Gold cards on ISA machines, and Ensoniq es1371 cards on PCI machines.