it just wont sell if it's marketed only for movie / game purpose.Both the 8 have ten DAC channels that simultaneously support 7.1-channel sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the front panel stereo outputsīoth also have two stereo ADCs that are integrated and can support a microphone array with Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF), and Noise Suppression (NS) technologies.īoth have analog I/O that are input and output capable, and headphone amplifiers that are also integrated at three analog output ports (port-D/port-E/port-F). I know all of them sucks, but the developers obviously don't deserve all the hate, because what they design is a plugin for 6-channel audio. Don't even think about "virtual surround" plugins or effects like Dolby Virtual Surround, Creative Crystallizer, SRS Sandbox when you're listening to 2-channel music. High quality VST will take some CPU usage but it will be way way better than any of the soundcard gimmicks I recommend foobar2000 which can use VST sound effect. NEVER turn on equalization or any sound effect on any soundcard
While aftermarket soundcards are better, it may not be worth it if you're running cheap speakers or audio, especially if the card itself already costs $60 Not all integrated audio like Realtek are created equal now I know why is there so many hate on the integrated audio. couldn't believe my ears, it sounded so bad it is worse than your average low end smartphone. it was a hp pavillion notebook with an i7 chip so it is not definitely a low end laptop. and then, one day I plugged my earphone to a friend's laptop. so much background noise, no features like Dolby Digital etc. it has bigger number but it sounded worse, especially on headphone. Then I built a desktop with another realtek 889 chip. however, things started to make sense when I used some $50 in-ear earphone with the realtek vs the X-Fi. I was listening through a $400 2.1 speakers back then. I'd say it's not so much different from X-Fi Surround 5.1 USB in terms of sound quality when you're playing FLAC songs through foobar2000. I used to have two basic X-Fis in the past and now im still rocking my ALC888S with 5.1 analog out from a laptop. not to mention the reviewer used sub $100 speakers to judge them. turning on realtek EQ is the worst thing you can do to color your sound. I'm sorry but I have to agree with some of the reviewers here.
As always, ignorance is bliss: as long as you do not try something superior you do not know what you miss and what you should expect. The DSP works fine on cheap audio solutions like onboard audio or not-so-good phones with earbuds but I find it that they hurt quality on good audio solutions with good headphones/speakers.Īs a sidenote, what I find amazing is the number of people that "like music", have tons of audio, listen to it a lot but really have no idea about how it should sound. Matthew DeCarlo is to try out the Xonar without enhancements, by pressing the HiFi button in the audio center, I find it way crisper compared to any of the DSP stuff. the onboard solution: you immediately notice that there are more filtering caps, beter DACs (even though the front one is listed at 115 dB SNR and the other is listed at 110 dB SNR), better opamps, relays that physically decouple inputs/outputs etc. But this is to be expected if you look at the Xonar DX board vs. Audiophile headphones make this difference even more noticeable. While this sounds fine on paper I find that the 5 old Xonar DX still has an advantage, like the article mentions, the onboard solution is simply lacking in lows and highs, there are some nuances of the sound that are lost in both "gaming" grade headphones and MOSFET amplifier with speakers. I have a new Z87 board from AsRock with "Purity Sound", to quote "Realtek ALC1150 audio codec, 115dB SNR DAC with Differential Amplifier, TI® 5532 Premium Headset Amplifier which supports up to 600 ohm headphones, cap less Direct Drive technology, EMI shielding cover, PCB isolate shielding and support for DTS Connect".