OC3D Review: Asus Xonar DX 7.1 Soundcard

[w3bbo]

With the Xonar DX 7.1 soundcard, have Asus managed to trim the excess fat from it's bigger brother without sacrificing perofrmance? Or have they put the DX on a diet so harsh it can't hold it's own weight with the new influx of audio solutions...

Asus Xonar DX Review

 

[!TIMMY!]

Nice review webbo.

Good move by Asus tbh, but they need to be on top of the driver support!

Creative could slip further down the pan.

 

[Rastalovich]

Nice review, good to see some soundcard action.

Manufs need to make these cards with; front panel support; connection for internal HMDI support; low profile; solid drivers for XP/Vista 32/64bit - as almost a standard.

Asus are not particularly some1 I`m wanting to either look for support or driver upd8s. They`re are exactly Creative in that department, but they don`t personally fill me with enthusiasm either. That`s just me, I don`t buy their products when there`s a viable alternative for just that reason.

£60 is an ~ok~ price for me. I`d be happier if it settled around £40-£50, but that`ll take some time.

Like to have a comparison playoff with ASUS, Auzen, Creative - and let`s say an Abit IP35 Pro onboard, as a look into the qualities, drivers, performance and price.

For the +/- using Vista 64bit and these choices, I`m edging towards taking the soundcards out of the systems tbh.

 

[w3bbo]

I was a little hesitant about the price too but when you consider you are virtually getting a D2X (minus the frills) for half the price then it works out at a half decent price point. What most should consider I guess is the need for high performing audio over 'adequate' onboard solutions. IF all you do is surf the net then I guess onboard is fine but if your PC is a multimedia gateway then a dedicated solution is much better imo.

I am also concerned about driver support but we can only hope Asus keep on the ball with this one, either way it surely can't be as bad as Creative.

 

[Kerotan]

Excellent Review, much respect webbo: Wu-Tang Clan FTW!! :worship: I have a cheapo soundcard right now but if I'm looking to upgrade I'll definatley consider this, but tbh I don't know how much benefit I'd get running through the Aux on my 2.1 system, I wish 2.1 was listed as an option on my sound control panel but sadly I'm stuck with 2.0 or virtual 5.1

 

[ionicle]

good review

looks like a niceish card actually

and as for the comment about all the connectors being gold, you make a good point, but on the alternative side, green, pink and blue looks rather tacky ...

gold looks profesional, even if you dont know where to plug your wire

 

[w3bbo]

Excellent Review, much respect webbo: Wu-Tang Clan FTW!! :worship: I have a cheapo soundcard right now but if I'm looking to upgrade I'll definatley consider this, but tbh I don't know how much benefit I'd get running through the Aux on my 2.1 system, I wish 2.1 was listed as an option on my sound control panel but sadly I'm stuck with 2.0 or virtual 5.1

Do you use headphones at all m8? If so then I'd says it's worth it.

good review

looks like a niceish card actually

and as for the comment about all the connectors being gold, you make a good point, but on the alternative side, green, pink and blue looks rather tacky ...

gold looks profesional, even if you dont know where to plug your wire

Yeah I agree gold looks better(and results in a better connection) and I didn't actually have any trouble connecting the audio up but I could forsee that in the average Joe setup with his case sat in the shade below a desk it would be nigh on impossible to get the right connector in the right hole (!) ahem. It would have been nice of Asus to include the led port lights its bigger brother has. Asus arn't the only ones guilty of this and although it's only a minor point, I thought it was a point worth making nonetheless.

Thx for your kind comments guys - my first review (of many hopefully) on OC3D

 

[cybermaniac]

ne1 recommend any DTS enabled cards?

 

[w3bbo]

Xonar D2X?

 

[TamaDrumz76]

Cool review, interested in the newest model. Always nice to have alternatives from the Creative crap... Well, not crap. Hardware is ok, but software/drivers suck. I think Auzentech has a great card which is based on the Creative chip, but costs just as much as the most expensive one too.

 

[escort97]

I know this is reviving an old review/thread but i have been wondering for a while now if yall had to do anything special to get the certain sound settings in BF2 while using this card I've never been able to get them with out an error.Its never let me choose x-fi and ultra.

Reading this review when it came out helped persude me to choose this card instead of a xtreme gamer, I've just never been able to get the Bf2 settings right with any option config.

 

[w3bbo]

Change the settings in BF2 config. It's the only way you get Ultra settings to work but I have my doubts whether it actually does anything anyhow as I couldn't tell the difference between ultra and high

 

[escort97]

Do you mean in the config files themselves or in the BF2 menu, because when I try the xfi option it just tells me I don't have one. Ty for replying.

 

[w3bbo]

You wont get ultra settings on any card as it can only be enabled via the config files.

Your soundcard however should be recognised as an XFI, the review sample was.

 

[escort97]

Yeah, that's the problem mine dosent get recognized as an xfi with or with out the gx enabled on the asus control panel, I don't know if its the card itself or what its currently set at hardware and high in the BF2 menu, is there a big change between that and xfi mode with the EAX enabled? Thanks again

 

[w3bbo]

What operating system are you using?

EAX can only be emulated in vista thorugh Alchemy software and the Asus exquivelant. The sounds are pretty much the same. Perhaps the easiest place to test it is in two areas.

Kubra dam - go into one of the tunnels and everything should echo/reverb.

Karkhand - Iirc you can here the occassional dog barking and a bell occassionally ringing.

The main effects though are the echo's that I could discern and a clearer more 'atmospheric' sound. There is little to choose between the XFI EAX and Xonar GX though so I wouldn;t lose sleep over it, especially as BF2 is now an aging game by todays standards anyway.