ASUS Xonar D2 Sound Card
JC 13.02.2008 - 08:18 2579 2
JC
AdministratorDisruptor
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Review @ Digit-Life | GeizhalsWe had no doubts that the Asus Xonar D2 would outscore Mid- and Low-End cards, so we decided to compare it with the top card from Creative - X-Fi Elite Pro, equipped with the flagship Cirrus Logic converter on board.
We ran the tests according to our streamlined test procedure, which took much time. We understand our responsibility for published test results, so we took all possible measures to avoid mistakes, including double tests and multiple verifications. Tested cards were plugged to a passive switching center, which was used to adjust volume levels with a twin control. Then the signal went through a professional cable to ADAM S2.5A monitors. We compared audio quality by switching between the cards instantly.
Both cards demonstrate the highest audio quality, it's very difficult to choose the best card. We haven't heard any differences in some test fragments. Others demonstrated a hardly noticeable difference in playback personality. The X-Fi demonstrates a tad more distinct attack, while the Xonar D2 provides a tad wider stereo base. I repeat, the differences are so measly that we had to switch between the devices many times to hear them. It's even more difficult to understand which card sounds closer to the original.
[...]ASUS has come to the market of sound cards. The right stake on high quality converters and well thought-out circuitry yield an excellent result. You can see it in RMAA measurements and you can hear it, as you listen to music. The lack of advanced audio DSPs forced engineers to use a modern but simple on-board processor. It's partially compensated by the drivers that offer various processing algorithms based on Dolby and DTS as well as a proprietary 3D sound mode with EAX2.0. Hardcore gamers will still use Creative products. If we speak about prices, $200 for a sound card with such features is an adequate cost. Creative X-Fi Elite Pro is 1.5 times as expensive. Perhaps, the PCIe modification, Xonar D2X, will be even more competitive, because there are very few sound cards for the new advanced PCIe bus.
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Viper780
Er ist tot, Jim!
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der Dolby und DTS encoder klingt recht nett, ASIO Treiber Interface (hier wären Latenzen interessant) und das sehr niedrige SNR klingen gut, aber für Gamer fehlt eine ordentliche EAX Unterstützung und das am besten in Hardware. Spiele Benchmarks wären interessant.
weiß wer welcher Soundchip verbaut wird? schreit für mich irgendwie nach C-Media
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Krabbenkoenig
Managing the unmanageable
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Ja, is afaik C-Media, drum kann z.B. Auzentech eine Karte nimmer liefern (die Meridian, glaub ich wars), was ich so gelesen hab, da hat sich Asus alles geschnappt. (leg allerdings jetzt nicht meine Hand dafür ins Feuer!)
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