Soundcard performance

gobble said:
I beleive one is low height for SFF (small form factor) chassis the other is full size.

Regards
Click to expand...

Height will not cause with any chasis as the socket/bracket of either card is same.only connected PCB is broad.

Coming to the prices,why shld D2X cause extra Rs2500 than D2,for simple silly chip which is useless as it converts PCI-E1X to reg PCI slot in D2X?

read 2nd para above (audio performance) PLX PEX8111 chip

Elite Bastards

In this way D2X & D2 are similar.Still why D2X is promoted above D2?

Same way I checked DAC speci of DX(ciruss) & found that it can accept 192/24bit signal,hence shld work with lossless HDaud.,even then asus is promoting DX for game & music only & not lossless HDaud.-

http://event.asus.com/audiocards/2009/xonarfamily/index.htm

Ciruss-http://www.cirrus.com/en/pubs/proDatasheet/CS4398_F1.pdf
 
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spivirious
dont always go by what is "promoted"
many a time this "promotion" is just another name for marketing

(without which they wouldnt need to have so many differnt soundcards in the first place!)

the acid test is always a blind test
 
spirovious said:
Height will not cause with any chasis as the socket/bracket of either card is same.only connected PCB is broad.

Coming to the prices,why shld D2X cause extra Rs2500 than D2,for simple silly chip which is useless as it converts PCI-E1X to reg PCI slot in D2X?

read 2nd para above (audio performance) PLX PEX8111 chip

Elite Bastards

In this way D2X & D2 are similar.Still why D2X is promoted above D2?

Same way I checked DAC speci of DX(ciruss) & found that it can accept 192/24bit signal,hence shld work with lossless HDaud.,even then asus is promoting DX for game & music only & not lossless HDaud.-

ASUS-Xonar

Ciruss-http://www.cirrus.com/en/pubs/proDatasheet/CS4398_F1.pdf
Click to expand...

spiro, so d2x can be used with pci? and d2 only with pci-e? is that the only difference?
I am asking because my ancient mobo asus a7v 400,supports only pci and agp:p, no pci e!
 
iaudio said:
spiro, so d2x can be used with pci? and d2 only with pci-e? is that the only difference?
I am asking because my ancient mobo asus a7v 400,supports only pci and agp:p, no pci e!
Click to expand...

Hmmm. AGP is no longer being used at all. It's all PCI-Express for graphics cards these days. It's better to go for a mobo upgrade too if possible. Will work out way better in the long run.

@spiro - The specs of PCI-E are better than that of PCI and Asus was the first one who started to use PCI-E slot for soundcards. Others like Creative and co. continued to persist with PCI many days after the introduction of PCI-E. Who knows the next generation of mobos may very well phase out PCI (as AGP was phased out) and go with only PCI-E. Hardware guys always do that... in the name of upgrade!
 
moserw said:
Hmmm. AGP is no longer being used at all. It's all PCI-Express for graphics cards these days. It's better to go for a mobo upgrade too if possible. Will work out way better in the long run.

@spiro - The specs of PCI-E are better than that of PCI and Asus was the first one who started to use PCI-E slot for soundcards. Others like Creative and co. continued to persist with PCI many days after the introduction of PCI-E. Who knows the next generation of mobos may very well phase out PCI (as AGP was phased out) and go with only PCI-E. Hardware guys always do that... in the name of upgrade!
Click to expand...

You are right moserw,PCI can phase out,advantage of PCI-E 1X is that you can even fit it in PCI-E 16X slot too.Otherwise both cards are same.

iaudio-You read it otherway, D2X for PCI-E 1X & D2 for PCI regular.
"X" for 1X
 
Atlast I cld decide & finalise on Xonarcard,I got my D2X today(aprox 9k):yahoo:

My friend tried for HDAV,not available in Malaysia.I gave priority to DAC process of SC & not just streaming it.BDp can do that,SC is analoge conversion.Its my view though...

Friends don't ask rev. from day1 as it need to get burned-in.
My 1st impression is I cld find marginal improvement on sound(20%?).Earlier used onbrd SC(realtek) which did decent job for me.

As I said after burn-in,I may get good effect.I connected to AVr & listened as now stereo amp yet.But I compared with same setup & onbrd SC to new Xonar....

Movies sounded opened & clear.I expect to hear it cleaner too in coming days.I may need to change cables too.

In short= out of the box ,it is Bright,its CP has lot of options & need to check with time.So lets see how D2X works....:)
 
congrats spiro.

But did you try sourcing the HDAV in mumbai? Its available for 11.8k in Pune on special delivery - have to place a order a week before with the Asus guys.

I will have to return the xonar soon - so a next buy could be the HDAV 1.3
 
Supra - are you finding the xonar essense the best/ top of the line/ unbeatable etc for stereo? Is it better than receiver's DAC etc?
I am thinking of getting it. What is the best price it can be had for?
 
Thanks to all,
9k as my friend was out of money & had to use his card.So I had to play extra.I cld be around 700 less.He said D2 was also for same price.

Suprateep-as I said HDAV is superior ,but I am not sure that I may Bitstream from PC,instead using analoge output is sensible.Asus has mini card which can do it.What can be good settings for mov.& music?How to config?

Price 11.5 is good for HDAV...

I checked the card on both PCI-E slots(1X & 16X)working fine....
 
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Spirovious - the D2X has a superior DAC when compared to the DX. There is really no comparison. Plus it has the ability to send Dolby and DTS encoded audio as output. Even for non-encoded material.

Its not a great help practically - as I have no use for surround sound. But for those who like it, it may be very helpful.
 
HDAV deluxe daughter card has analogue output for 7.1. Apart from it it can bitstream HD audio. Since i use a HTPC I am initially plannign to get that once my friend takes his xonar away.

And yes the xonar is light years ahead in the sound staging wrt to the DACs of Onkyo 606 - there is absolutely no comparison. I use the xonar with the MiniWatt extensively these days - low power output hence not loud - but definitely detailed and nice sound stage
 
Hi,

I have a creative xfi xtremegamer soundcard on the system. Actually i have asked a friend of mine to pick the xfi xtreme audio card when she was abroad. But she brught me the gamer:sad:. I am stuck with it for the last two years. How much the xonar will improve the sound? I have the logitech z4 2.1 speakers. But replaced with bookshelves of my old aiwa system.

Thanks,
sri
 
anm said:
Supra - are you finding the xonar essense the best/ top of the line/ unbeatable etc for stereo? Is it better than receiver's DAC etc?
I am thinking of getting it. What is the best price it can be had for?
Click to expand...

Dear brother this is something I've been stating all along that yes it is the best/top of the line/unbeatable. Specs are the best in the Asus simply put. Now specs are not everything but neither are they nothing and cannot be discounted entirely. Via analog output the Xonar is leagues ahead with amazing clarity, depth and soundstage.

Availability is an issue though. If you do locate one let me know, my brother's threatening to take mine if I don't source another one for him. Cost should be around 9K.
 
srikarkav said:
Hi,

I have a creative xfi xtremegamer soundcard on the system. Actually i have asked a friend of mine to pick the xfi xtreme audio card when she was abroad. But she brught me the gamer:sad:. I am stuck with it for the last two years. How much the xonar will improve the sound? I have the logitech z4 2.1 speakers. But replaced with bookshelves of my old aiwa system.

Thanks,
sri
Click to expand...

Sri,

I'm sure of your exact model, but sound cards I've been using for years now and especially Creative. Nothing Creative has done till date compares with the Asus in anyway. Creative are great for gaming. For stereo output though the Asus is way ahead of the pack right now.

In terms of improvement its subjective so I cannot put a figure as to by how much it will improve the SQ. SCs in general add color and they really depend on DSP settings for that wow effect for anything on the PC be it music or games. The Asus on the other hand strips everything else and works on delivering music without any coloration.
 
moserw said:
Sri,

I'm sure of your exact model, but sound cards I've been using for years now and especially Creative. Nothing Creative has done till date compares with the Asus in anyway. Creative are great for gaming. For stereo output though the Asus is way ahead of the pack right now.

In terms of improvement its subjective so I cannot put a figure as to by how much it will improve the SQ. SCs in general add color and they really depend on DSP settings for that wow effect for anything on the PC be it music or games. The Asus on the other hand strips everything else and works on delivering music without any coloration.
Click to expand...

+1 to that.

I would love to see the HDAV and Xonar STX go head to head - on paper they might be different - but in real life overall performance would love to see who comes out tops. Am yet to come across a comparision of sorts between the two. For HDAV getting >90% of the performance of the xonar stx - its still a winner.

I am caught between my next buy.
 
thanks SUpra for putting this in words. Moserw, I meant a comparison with other high end cards. How does it fare wrt to other high end cards of its own clan.
suprateep said:
+1 to that.

I would love to see the HDAV and Xonar STX go head to head - on paper they might be different - but in real life overall performance would love to see who comes out tops. Am yet to come across a comparision of sorts between the two. For HDAV getting >90% of the performance of the xonar stx - its still a winner.

I am caught between my next buy.
Click to expand...
 
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