Asus Xonar D1 7.1 audio card released

Posted on Tuesday, July 29 2008 @ 0:29 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
ASUS presents its new Xonar D1 7.1 sound card. The firm claims this card delivers 35x cleaner sound than most motherboard audio solutions.
Today, with the release of the ASUS Xonar D1 PCI soundcard, users can enjoy the same rich gaming audio effects and extensive Dolby Home Theater features as the Xonar DX, and free up PCI express slots for other uses at the same time. This iteration of the Xonar provides fine-tuned audio components that reach a clear 116dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio); while the built-in DS3D GX revives support for DirectSound HW multi-channel gaming audio and the latest EAX (Environment Audio Extension) in PC games.

35 Times Cleaner Audio Quality over Most Motherboard Audio
Most onboard audio can only provide 80-86 dB SNR. Consequently, background noises are noticeable and can interfere with music and games. By adopting a CirrusLogics CS4398 audio DAC (120dB SNR & 117dB THD+N), noise levels on the Xonar D1 soundcard are only 1/35 (2.8%) of the noise levels when compared to motherboard audio. Additionally, the Xonar D1 also produces as little as 1/32 (-105dB) of the total harmonics distortion present in motherboard audio (-75dB).

Supports the Latest DS3D GX 2.0 for Gaming on Vista & XP
The Xonar D1 also comes equipped with the renowned DS3D GX 2.0, which revives EAX HD 5.0 DirectSound HW effects in games for both Windows XP and Vista. DS3D GX 2.0 automatically enables the latest EAX and DirectSound HW after installation, with no additional driver patches, game modifications, or OpenAL required; while extending MMOG EAX to online chat, allowing users to place their voice into the game's environment with ease.

S/PDIF Header Easily Combines Audio and Video through a VGA Card's HDMI Output The new S/PDIF header allows connectivity with supported VGA cards, and facilitates merged outputs of audio and video through a VGA card's HDMI port. This provides a clean, simple solution for Home Theater PC builders.

Innovative VocalFX Makes Gaming and Online Chat Lively and Attractive
VocalFX is an innovative voice processing technology that places the user's voice into the realistic game landscape (VoiceEX) or emulates background scenes in online chat (ChatEX). It is also able to change the voice pitch to disguise identities (Magic Voice) – dramatically increasing the fun for voice communication in PC games.

Dolby Sound Technologies for Ultimate High Quality Audio
Besides delivering impressive audio quality, the Xonar D1, like other members of the Xonar family of audio devices, is also packed with multiple sound technologies from Dolby to deliver outstanding entertainment experiences. These include Dolby Digital Live, which converts PC or game audio content into Dolby Digital in real-time; Dolby Headphone, which creates a surround sound listening experience when using any set of headphones; Dolby Virtual Speaker, which delivers a vibrant surround sound listening experience from stereo speakers and Dolby Pro Logic® IIx, which creates up to 7.1-channel surround sounds from stereo or 5.1 sources.
More info at Asus.

Specifications:
Audio Performance

Output SNR (A-Weighted):

116 dB for Front-out
112dB for other channels

Input SNR (A-Weighted):

112dB

Output THD+N at 1kHz (-3dB):

0.00056% (-105dB) for Front-out

Input THD+N at 1kHz (-3dB):

0.0004% (-108dB) for Line-in

Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz format):

<10Hz to 48KHz

Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage

2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)

Main Chipset

Audio Processor

ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit)

Sample Rate and Resolution

Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution

44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit

Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution

44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit

S/PDIF Digital Output

44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital, DTS

I/O Ports

Analog Output Jack:

mini jack *4 (Front / Side / Center-Subwoofer / Back)

Analog Input Jack:

mini jack *1 (Shared by Line-In / Mic-In)

Front-panel Header

-Works with both Intel HD Audio and AC97 standard front-panels (2x5 pins)

S/PDIF out Header

-Connects supported VGA cards for A/V HDMI output

Other line-level analog input (for TV Tuner or CD-ROM):

Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)

Digital Optical SPDIF Output

High-bandwidth TOS-Link optical transmitter (shared with Line-In / Mic-In jack) supports 192KHz/24bit

Driver Features

Complete Dolby HomeTheater Technologies
DS3D GX 2.0 / VocalFX / ASIO 2.0

Software Utility

RightMark Audio Analyzer 6.0.6



About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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