[Earwicker]

I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade my soundcard and I'm looking at options. I've been very pleased and impressed with the X-Fi's sound (via Foobar/ASIO) into my audiophile hi-fi - the sound quality easily surpasses many high-end CD players - but you know how it is, you always wonder if there's something better to be had...

So I was wondering if anyone had any experience of the ASUS Xonar D2? MUST work well with headphones, I've just ordered some HD595s. AND be significantly better than the X-Fi Music, obviously!

Another card that interests me is the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 - again, anyone remotely audiophilic tried it? All the reviews are written by people who wouldn't know a decent hi-fi source if it jumped them!

Needless to say I'm not remotely interested in sound processing, effects, surround, Dolby doo-dah, EAX, crystallisers and all that nonsense, I want high quality standard 2 stereo and good headphone drive capability...

Any thoughts??

Thanks,

EW

 

[Earwicker]

A shameless bump...!

Any thoughts anyone? It's a problem with buying these things that you can't try them first! Anyone tried the Xonar or Prelude direct into decent cans for audio use? Or have any thoughts on whether either would be a significant upgrade to the X-Fi XtremeMusic in such an application??

Thanks,

EW

 

[Heichef]

If gaming isn't important to you, buy the ASUS Xonar, it beats the Prelude in all RMAA tests. I actually bought a Prelude and will return it to buy a Xonar. I really can't understand all the hype surrounding the Prelude. The Xonar it's cheaper and better.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Either card should be an upgrade... The Xonar certainly looks interesting, and the Prelude has its fans as well. Check out Techgage's in-depth reviews:

Techgage - ASUS Xonar D2 review
Techgage - AuzenTech X-Fi Prelude review

RMAA results are similar enough that they don't make much difference. One thing that will be different is the sound signature / tonality of the card. Do you prefer warm/neutral or analytical/aggressive?

 

[Heichef]

Check this also:

Remixed audio cards in Windows Vista - The Tech Report - Page 1

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heichef /img/forum/go_quote.gif Check this also: Remixed audio cards in Windows Vista - The Tech Report - Page 1

I've seen that review before, and their RMAA results don't correlate with any other sites' tests. Basically, their test was flawed, and their comparison graphs were made by hand instead of posting the actual RMAA results.

See this post from a past thread.

So, please disregard that review.

 

[Heichef]

Well, it still beats the Prelude in subjective listening tests at that review in Tech Report. In this review, the Prelude beats the Xonar in RMAA test, but the results in the Xonar seem a bit weak compared to other sites' reviews.

Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1
Scheda audio Asus Xonar D2 7.1

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heichef /img/forum/go_quote.gif In this review, the Prelude beats the Xonar in RMAA test, but the results in the Xonar seem a bit weak compared to other sites' reviews.

Yeah, I've seen the RMAA results go both ways in different reviews... RMAA is a nice way of measuring objective specs, but since the two cards we're discussing have such similar results, it will really come down to subjective listening preferences.

 

[Heichef]

Yeah, you're probably right. Have you listened to the Xonar? Not that I'm disappointed with my Prelude, it certainly beats my previous Audigy 2ZS, in which I had to use SRC Resampling to 48khz in Foobar all the time to achieve a decent sound. Actually, I'm having some clipping problems when I pass the 90% volume in the Prelude's control panel (in Audio Creation Mode). My Audigy 2ZS doesn't have this problem.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heichef /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you listened to the Xonar?

No, I haven't heard either card, but I own an E-MU 0404 USB, which uses the same DAC as the Prelude, so I'm familiar with the general "flavor" of that DAC. I also have a universal DVD player with the Burr-Brown PCM1738, which was the forerunner to the PCM179x series (PCM1796 is in the Xonar), and its sound signature is almost the complete opposite.

My guess is that the Xonar would be warm/neutral, versus the Prelude's cool/analytical sound. Not that the Prelude necessarily sounds harsh; I'm just hypothesizing from my experience with the 0404 USB, which sounds a little lean/aggressive to me.

 

[Heichef]

The Prelude is probably a good match for the HD595, since I find them a bit too warm. When I plug my HD650 the Prelude's sound is indeed a bit aggressive, but less than the Audigy 2ZS. I probably need an Headphone Amp to correct this. I don't know...

 

[ROBSCIX]

You can also change out the front channel opamp this can be used to change the signature somewhat.

 

[Mr Barbarianite]

hello,
i'm so excited i've found this group as i've been going over the same issues as you - creative xtreme music very, very good compared to my other sound cards which i won't bother listing becuase i'm tired of being mocked. Any way i've read many pages on the pro's and con's on the Asus D2 and Creative Xtreme Music and, the lesser talked about, M-Audiophile 2496. As far as i can tell the latter is very good but with a sampling rate of just 96hrz is no where near as good as the other two.
Creative x-fi range seems to be more geared to gamers, of which i'm not one, with faster responses and a lot of software to engage the sound of an exploding grenade to the player.
the asus seems to go the other way, lending itself to the hi-fi nut, which i'm a proud member. i have listened to it but on such a poor setup that i'll bother to analyse it.
while not phrased as a question, i would like a response either telling me how wrong i am or that the nail has been hit cleanly on its head.
one final word, if anyones bothered to read this far, is that the Asus D2 is still quite a new line so software and drivers will continue to improve, this is reflected in the high price, whereas creative have the market more or less to itself the prices will be lower but don't fear the competition - i always go for the underdogs because they will have to surprise to get attention and a consumer base.

cheers
Mr Barbarianite

 

[infinitesymphony]

Software and drivers aren't really important for simple audio playback (as long as they work on your operating system); they matter more if you're trying to incorporate hardware acceleration, as in gaming. The ASUS cards don't support hardware acceleration and probably never will, but if playback is your only concern, that won't matter.

Also, frequency limit is not an indication of quality. Most of your music is probably at 16-bit/44.1 kHz anyway.