Specification
As per most previous Xonar offerings, at the heart of the Xonar DS you'll find the AV200 HD audio processor. Although the AV200 traditionally supports both Dolby Digital Live and DTS Interactive capabilities, in the case of the Xonar DS only DTS encoding support is offered (no doubt to save on licensing costs for this budget board). 192KHz/24-bit audio playback is also supported, as well as 3D audio capabilities in the form of OpenAL alongside EAX 1.0 and 2.0 acceleration. This means that there's still no official EAX Advanced HD support, but the DS does offer DS3D GX - ASUS' equivalent of Creative Labs' ALchemy software, which is used to translate DirectSound-based EAX commands into OpenAL so that they are compatible with Windows Vista's methods of handling audio. The Xonar DS is the first to boast DS3D GX 2.5 support, although what has been changed against version 2.0 of this functionality is unknown at this point in time.
As we've already mentioned, the Xonar DS sticks to a PCI interface over the use of PCI Express, which again saves costs by negating the need for a PCI Express bridge chip and allowing for a smaller, less complex PCB to be used as well as removing any concerns about powering the card.
For a full list of what's what, you can find a summary of the Xonar D2's capabilities below:
Up to 107 dB
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
100 dB
Output THD+N at 1kHz:
Up to 0.0017% (-95dB)
Input THD+N at 1kHz:
Up to 0.0017% (-95dB)
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input):
<10Hz to 48kHz
Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage
1 Vrms (3Vp-p)
Sample Rate Conversion Quality:
Almost lossless, high-fidelity floating-point filters, with:
-140dB THD+N (typical value for 44.1K->48KHz, 24bit)
145dB Dynamic Range (typical value for 44.1K->48KHz, 24bit)
ASUS AV200 High-Performance Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit)
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources:
Wolfson WM8776* 1 (108dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit) / Wolfson WM8766*1 (103dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs:
Wolfson WM8776* 1 (102dB SNR, Max. 96kHz/24bit)
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit for all channels
Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution:
44.1K/48K/96KHz @ 16/24bit
S/PDIF Digital Output:
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA-Pro
ASIO 2.0 Driver Support:
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
3.50mm mini jack *4 (Front/Side/Center-Subwoofer/Back)
Analog Input Jack:
3.50mm mini jack *1 (Line-In/Mic-In)
Other line-level analog input (for CD-IN/TV Tuner):
Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
Digital S/PDIF Output:
High-bandwidth Optical Connector supports 192KHz/24bit (shared with Back surround output jack)
Front-Panel Header:
Intel HDA front-panel compatible and supports HP jack-detection and automatically switch audio output from back-panel to front
S/PDIF Header:
Additional SPDIF-out header for connecting graphics card with HDMI audio output
Windows Vista/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005
DTS® Technologies:
DTS® Connect (DTS Interactive Encoder and DTS Neo:PC) for both XP and Vista
-DTS Interactive encodes any 3D gaming audio into true-to-live 5.1 DTS Digital Surround sound experience
-DTS Neo:PC could expand any stereo music to 7.1 surround sounds
Smart Volume Normalizer™:
Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a constant level and also enhances your 3D sound listening range and advantages in gaming
Xear 3D™ Virtual Speaker Shifter:
Adjustable virtual 7.1-speaker positioning
Karaoke Functions:
Music Pitch-Shifting, Vocal Cancellation, and Microphone Echo effects with Stereo Mix recording (Wave and Mic-in) for online Karaoke or online DJ applications
FlexBass™:
Professional Bass Management/Enhancement system
Other Effects:
10-band Equalier/27 Environment Effects
3D Sound Engines/APIs:
Vista: DirectSound3D® GX 2.5, EAX®2.0&1.0, DirectSound® HW, DirectSound SW, A3D®1.0, OpenAL generic modes, 128 3D sounds processing capability
XP: DirectSound3D® GX 2.5, EAX®2.0&1.0, DirectSound® HW, DirectSound SW, A3D®1.0, OpenAL generic modes, 128 3D sounds processing capability
VocalFX™:
The latest vocal effect technologies for gaming and VoIP, including:
- VoiceEX: produces vivid environmental reverberation for your voice in EAX games
- ChatEX: emulates different background environment effects when you chat online
- Magic Voice: changes your voice pitch to different types (Monster/Cartoon…) for disguising your real voice or just for fun in online chatting
1 x S/PDIF optical adaptors
1 x Low-profile Bracket