[freestyler]

A new sound card is being launched soon by Asus and this time is trying to sell itself as a gaming card.
So why is this card more suited to gamers than the other solutions? 2 points: GX2.5 aka EAX emulation = totally useless. And second, an integrated headphone amp with 3 gain levels (VOIP, Pro-gaming and Exciter).
It includes the C-Media CM18786 processor but no word on what is the headphone amp yet. For a 46 dollar pre-purchase price, it might be good choice after all.
 

Read more: http://www.slashgear.com/asus-xonar-dg-gaming-sound-card-caters-to-headphones-2398512/ 
& http://news.softpedia.com/news/ASUS-Xonar-DG-Sound-Card-Up-for-Pre-Order-153306.shtml

 

[ear8dmg]

DS3D-GX is directsound emulation not just EAX. It's basically essential if you don't want to be restricted to stereo, software based sound for many pre-Vista games. Think of it as equivalent to Creative's Alchemy.

It's the same software that's on every.other Xonar (via driver updates for older ones though). Compared to Alchemy it's a pain to use in the long term.

 

[Kuze]

Not worth the asking price, for $19 its ok.

 

[ear8dmg]

Think I'm going to have to disagree. With the right headphones, Dolby Headphone can be stunning. To get it on a card with a headphone amp built in is just superb value. If the sound quality is even close to the rest of the Xonar range this will be an absolute steal.



Look at how much the Astro Mixamp or SU-DH1 are. The next Xonar with Dolby Headphone is twice the price.



Still, I'm not.expecting miracles. If the headphone amp is as good as a CMOY or E5 though, it'll be the best stand-alone soundcard for headphone use under about 3x its cost.

 

[audionewbieyao]

Hum... another headphone AMP card.
Seems ASUS has found it's way to break the Creative barrier.
 
Has anyone in the US tried it?
Is it even on NewEgg now? Let me check....

 

[anger3377]

After DS, I thought ASUS Xonar will not continue its' Xonar D series since the product line is complete. Ha... really surprised.
 
Here are the some reviews I found:
 
[size=medium]http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/audio/asus_xonar_dg_review/3[/size]
 
[size=medium]http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/sound-cards/asus-xonar-dg-717199/review?artc_pg=2[/size]
 
it seems worth a try.

 

[kevral]

I have a DG in the mail now, and expect to be able to give some impressions by the end of the week.
 
I do have an Essence ST, but it is in the shop together with my main rig (which has an unidentified hardware error) so I won't be able to do any actual comparisons to begin with.

 

[kevral]

First impressions, as compared to Essence ST (both with HD555s w/ soundstage mod):
 
The control panel is a stripped version of the regular Xonar, as the card itself is lacking a lot of technologies. No Dolby Digital Live encoding, max sample rate 96 KHz, lower headphone amplifier gain settings (below 32 ohm, 32-64, and 64+ (to max 150 ohm if I recall)). The card does have GX2.5 EAX emulation for positioning and Dolby Headphone. Also has 5.1 analog outputs, which the Essence does not.
 
The sound is somewhat lacking when compared to the Essence, without me being able to pinpoint it. More sibiliance? Less precise bass? Less natural mids? Definitely more listening fatigue. I am afraid I lack the precise vocabulary and experience to describe it better. The sound is good, (compared to onboard) but unlike the Essence this card does not make me smile.
 
In sum, the DG is head and shoulders better than the onboard sound it is replacing. At 1/5 of the cost of an Essence, I would definitely recommend it for any budget gaming rig. It does not encourage me to spend hours listening to music, though.

 

[ourfpshero]

just got one- couldnt resist for 33$ shipped. i have had a higher end xonar and currently have a modded x-fi.

 

[nagual]

 
Quote:

First impressions, as compared to Essence ST (both with HD555s w/ soundstage mod):
 
 
The sound is somewhat lacking when compared to the Essence, without me being able to pinpoint it. More sibiliance? Less precise bass? Less natural mids? Definitely more listening fatigue. I am afraid I lack the precise vocabulary and experience to describe it better. The sound is good, (compared to onboard) but unlike the Essence this card does not make me smile.
 
 

By the way, "listening fatigue" it´s the most meaningfull feature in an audio device, to me.  It would be equivalent to "sound quality", but quite more objective,  as it can be measured.  So, one sound-card, or speaker set, or headphone, that takes 10 hours to let you bored, would be 10x better than other that takes just one hour.  Maybe we could build a standard based in this definition...
(Sorry !)

 

[ourfpshero]

spent some time with it- not as warm sounding as the higher xonar, but better than most cards sound-wise. about on par with my modded x-fi. a little eq goes a long way on this card. dolby headphone is about all thats needed for pc gaming now, as creative's 3d standard is pretty much dead. 
 
as for the headphone amp in the card- its decent. powered my 250 ohm beyer dt770 non pro ok, tho not fantastic. did great with a jvc rx900 and an audio technica a900. the amp is about on par with a portable amp, like a cmoy, go vibe, etc. for less than 40$ shipped you cant go wrong here

 

[MaxDemian]

I've just recently bought the Xonar DG for my Denon AH-D1100 headphones and I have to agree with ourfpshero. Though, I didn't compare the card with another Xonar but with a friends Yamaha A/V receiver: the sound on the DG is less warm and the base a bit less defined. Still, in comparison with my onboard audio solution I've no reason to be unhappy. 

 

[pay2play]

I just got the card in the mail and tried it out. I'm getting a high noise floor(? I think that's the term). There's an audible amount of static/noise when I choose the headphones/fp headphones. When I choose 2/4/5.1 Speakers, I do not hear any static/noise. Regardless of volume, I hear it. When I have it muted, I still hear it. I know it's not my headphones because I have plugged it into other sources, but do not hear the static/noise. 
Just wondering if any Xonar DG users are having the same problem as I am..

 

[ear8dmg]

Have you tried plugging the headphones into the back of the card?  Front panel audio is notorious for picking up interference due to lack of shielding or grounding issues.  The problem could essentially be down to your case rather than the soundcard.
 
What headphones are you using with them by the way?

 

[pay2play]

Quote:

Have you tried plugging the headphones into the back of the card?  Front panel audio is notorious for picking up interference due to lack of shielding or grounding issues.  The problem could essentially be down to your case rather than the soundcard.
 
What headphones are you using with them by the way?

Yeah I've tried plugging them into the back. Plugged into the front, there noise regardless if I set it to 'headphone' or '2 speakers'. When plugged into the back, there is audible noise under 'headphones' but no audible noise when set to '2 speakers'. I've checked the ASUS support forums and there doesn't seem to anyone with the same problem.
I'm using ATH-M50.