Sound Card

A: Computer audio has gone from beeps to stereo to surround sound in just a couple decades. To select the best sound card for your needs, consider your current, and future, equipment. This article examines typical situations and explains how an Auzentech sound card can fit the bill.

Recently, two new Auzentech sound cards have been released that have been universally hailed as "world firsts." First came the X-Mystique, the first PCI sound card to encode Dolby® Digital 5.1. The second was the X-Plosion, the first Dolby® Digital Live and DTS Connect logo certified PCI sound card.

Case 1: You have a set of two powered speakers connected to your PC. You want a sound card that produces surround sound.

The Auzentech X-Plosion sound card includes virtual speaker shifter software that allows you to simulate multiple-speaker setup. You are able to move the virtual speakers, or even the listener, via a graphical interface.

Case 2. You have or are upgrading to a set of multi-channel powered speakers but do not own a surround sound system.

With the Auzentech X-Plosion sound card, you do not need a separate surround sound system. Hook your multi-channel speakers directly to the X-Plosion sound card to enjoy stunning audio that makes movies come alive and provides audio cues during games. The X-Plosion product page provides a full list of card connections.

Case 3: You have an older surround sound system to which you want to connect your computer.

Most likely, your sound card includes Dolby® Digital Live (DDL) surround sound with 5.1 channels. You can let the X-Plosion soundcard supply digital output to your surround sound system.

The sound card provides two types of digital "passthrough" connections: an RCA coaxial cable output and a digital optical cable developed by Toshiba, known as a "Toslink" connector. Your PC operates as a media center, passing the bits that makeup the audio directly to your external receiver, where the digital-to-analog conversion occurs.

Case 4: You want a sound card that will support the latest home theater system.

The latest approach to home theater is DTS, the top-of-the-line sound system used in theaters. The X-Plosion is the first PCI sound card logo certified for both Dolby® Digital Live and DTS DTS-Interactive™ technologies. It is custom designed around a chip from C-Media that includes both technologies. The card can supply a digital DTS bit stream directly to your DTS®-enabled surround sound system.

Case 5: You resampled all your music down to MP3 for your portable music player. But on your PC, you want to hear what you've been missing.

When you rip your CDs to MP3 format for playing on portable MP3 players, the audio is a reasonable facsimile, but it is a "lossy" technology. And if the audio was originally in surround sound, it no longer is in MP3 format.

The X-Plosion sound card uses DTS NEO:PC™ to resample any stereo audio up to 7.1 surround sound: you will be amazed at what you've been missing.

Next Steps

The five cases above provide a starting point for thinking about your next sound card. Whether you have stereo speakers, powered multi-channel speakers, a surround sound system, or a thousand down-sampled MP3 files, Auzentech's top-of-the-line X-Plosion sound card is designed to improve your audio.

Category: Soundcards. Date published: Apr 26, 06