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Asus Xonar DS
by GrayWizard
Gaming enthusiasts will be aware how important sound is to games espcially when it comes to first person shooters. Most computers have onboard sound cards but they aren't always good at picking up the little details of many games for example footsteps.
There are many expensive sound cards available that gamers will use, but to ... be honest, a mid ranged sound card can achieve a very good audio experience.
Asus aren't well known for making sound cards, but it is a brand that I know and trust, so I went for this mid ranged card as opposed to a Creative Soundblaster. The Xonar D boasts 24bit 192kHZ sound that has a decibel rating of 107. It also features a 7.1 channel surround sound. These are technical jargon that probably wont matter much, especially if like me, you use headsets.
So what are the requirements to use this sound card? Your motherboard probably already meets it - you will need a free PCI slot. On my system, in order to use it, I had to disable the onboard sound from the BIOS settings - this may not be required. It really depends on your BIOS so it helps to be aware of this.
Once the card is placed and the sound drivers are installed, load up your favourite game and you can immediately hear the difference. Sounds are much clearer, sharper and feel more accurate. Footsteps for example in MW3 feel as though they are actually in the real world and you can sense the direction easily. Not only does this enchance your awareness but it also helps you to be ready for that killshot or that flank. Your tactics can be changed simply with being able to hear out for things which would normally not be heard on an onboard sound device.
Many times I was even accused of cheating because I was always able to anticipate enemy movement and ready myself. As surprising as it may be, sound does make you a better gamer, especially with first person shooters.
In terms of other playback, well needless to say that everything is a lot clearer. I mean listening to music and comparing it to onboard sound you can pretty much make out the huge improvement in audio quality - especially if the music is high def. Similarly movie playback experience is also boosted.
The audio drivers come with a variety of features ranging from sound environment settings, equalizer and a plethora of other settings which is tiresome to write about.
Personally speaking, Asus here have a good sound card, although it still probably lacks compared to more expensive Creative cards.
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M-Audio Profire 2626
by professorlamp
M-Audio are a brand associated with audio and its counterparts, mixing, mastering, composing and more...
Here we have an audio interface and for those not in the know, it is basically a device that you can plug your microphone into and the audio goes into the computer for mixing and anything else you wish to do with it. Maybe ... you want to record a bands whole album or maybe you just want to send your mum a karaoke vocal you did, well, this can do it all.
It typically retails for £330 but prices tend to fluctuate a lot with audio gear.
***Features***
The profire 2626 is an intermediate piece of gear but one of the best introductions to multi-track recording, here you get 8 preamps and microphone inputs (enough to start out recording a drum kit) 2 headphone jacks with independent volume controls so you and a friend/client can listen to what's going on, a master volume and finally phantom power to power any microphone that needs an external volume supply (usually condensers and very rarely dynamic microphones).
The Inputs for the microphone cable are at the back which is handy because all the spaghetti created by the wires cannot be seen and the best to do is to plug your cables in and leave theme there. Set and forget, if you will.
There are a further 2 inputs at the front labelled 'inst', this stands for instrument and means you can plug your guitar, bass or anything else electronic into it to get it onto the computer.
That's not all folks! If we take a look at the back we will see something that is handy in the future, 2 ports called ADAT. This means we can buy another profire 2626 and link them together and get 16 channels instead of 8. Why would we want 16 I hear you ask? Well have you ever recorded a big drum kit or anything more than a small band? If you have not you'll realise you quickly run out of inputs on the profire so it's definitely helpful to expand if you are looking to get into this more professionally. There's no reason you have to expand the port with another profire as there are cheaper alternatives such as the behringer ada8000 (est £100)
***Sounds***
The easiest way to describe the sound is 'what you put in is what you get out'. The preamps are clean sounding and neutral meaning that they don't colour the sound in a good or bad way and the only sound you should be worrying about is the one you are dialling in yourself.
Playback is also a treat to listen to, put a decent pair of headphones on and marvel at the clean and completely hum/buzz free audio that's festering at your ears, the more you listen through these, the more you won't want to listen any other piece of gear!
The instrument input is also a worthy mention. It competes with my radial (a dedicated DI box) which was £180, but here we have TWO included in the package.
Once you have the sounds in your computer it is all down to you to how it sounds, the profire cannot take the blame on this one!
***In use***
I found setup was fairly simple, on first listen I had a weird jittery problem with the audio and this was because my computer did not come with a texas instrument firewire card. If yours doesn't have one, it's a safe bet to purchase one ahead of time to avoid having to just look at your wonderful new piece of equipment (always a sad feeling).
After all the nooks and crannies of technology were out of the way I found it to be highly reliable and haven't had any problems since. I have had it now for 3 years and nothing has gone wrong yet *touch wood*.
***Summary***
In short, buy this if you are looking for a great piece of long lasting inventory to add to your recording arsenal, you won't find many 8 channel audio interfaces at a lower price but a few worth looking at are the ones done by Focusrite and Tascam.
Highly recommend
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Asus Xonar Essence STX
by dannylee
Behind every pair of headphones should be a good sound chipset. That's the idea, and hopefully anyone who knows anything about good audio would adhere to that. For those who can't figure out why their big expensive headphones aren't quite performing as well as they'd imagined, read on;
Large and sophisticated headphones ... require extra power and feed which is not supplied by onboard sound cards (plugging it straight into your computer's built-in motherboard jack), nor by lower-spec hardware sound cards. I myself was using a Creative Audigy 2 beforehand and found it had nowhere near enough guts to power my brand new Sennheiser HD595's. If your headphones lack power or pop and crackle through bassy frequencies, step in the Asus Xonar.
The guys behind the Xonar obviously take these things seriously; the bundle you find in the box can have you wringing your hands and drooling with anticipation. Inside, besides the sound card itself, is a fancy looking test report booklet showing how the boxed hardware performed in the various quality control tests from the factory. A very nice addition, it shows an awareness that the majority of customers are discerning enthusiasts, not just random shelf-browsers stumbling upon their product. If we are being honest, that particular item will be perused through very briefly if at all before moving on - after all, sound cannot be represented on paper as well as it can in our ears. The Xonar features a few different audio output jack options; the standard big-jack 6.3mm as used by most high-end headphones, RCA stereo outputs (used for speaker systems), Line-in (for microphones) and an S/PDIF optical out, normally used for home theaters though this has been unused by myself. The card itself is packaged beautifully, masking most of the many capacitors under an anodised metal cloak with the stylish Xonar emblem adorned atop it. If you are stuck for bits to hook your gear up, there are a few complimentary adaptors included. Amongst them is a very handy 6mm to 3mm adaptor, which I personally use to make my budget desk microphone fit the 6mm line-in jack meant for big-boy mics. Also together in the pack is an RCA stereo Y cable which I use to mate my cheap Hercules desk-speakers to the Xonar. It's nice to have these extras included - they can't cost much to be included but some manufacturers still seem to omit little extras like this.
The STX model uses a mini-PCI connection to your motherboard. This is a common feature on motherboards nowadays but be very aware that some don't. Check your motherboard sockets just to be sure to avoid disappointment. Once physically installed, the supplied driver disc will have you well on your way - there are no unnecessary extras or unwanted applications alongside the required software. The controller software, entitled Xonar Essence STX Audio Centre, sits as a tray icon next to your computer clock and is just double clicked in order to pop up the full range of features. There's plenty to play around with but what you do from here is all down to the hardware you're using and your own personal preferences. The arsenal of audio-bending weapons include Dolby Headphone, Dolby Pro Logic 2, Flexbass, a fully functional equaliser and more. You're certainly not left wanting with customisation if you feel it's needed; I myself am very content with a tweaked equaliser alongside enabling 'Dolby Headphone'. Without them, I find the audio too flat and 'close to the ears', but I must reiterate that different headphones accept different setups, so don't be afraid to experiment with the add-ons and variables.
So, compared to my old Creative Audigy 2 soundcard (which was a good sound card in it's time anyway) was it worth the £140+ price I paid for it? Well in a word, absolutely. 2 years on from the date of purchase, I would adamantly recommend it. When I paired my hardware to the Xonar, I simply HAD to listen to EVERYTHING again - it was worlds apart. Underpowered and underwhelmed was what I felt when hanging my new headphones off my old Creative card. The Xonar gave a defibrillating jolt of life to them and I have enjoyed audio bliss ever since. Anyone who listen to familiar songs with this pairing of products always comments on how alive everything sounds, and when playing games or watching films it cannot be beat. So far I have had no incompatibilities between my Xonar and any software or games I have used, and that cannot be faithfully said for some less-known brands.
If you make the leap for a high-end sound card and it happens to be the Asus Xonar Essence STX, hand on heart it will be be the best audio experience you've ever heard from a computer, if not in general. I had expectations for it from the start but even so I was still taken aback. Highly recommendable.
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