ASUS announced the first product of its brand new product line: the ASUS Xonar D2 7.1-channel soundcard. This product is based on the AV200 audio chip that integrates sound-enhancing technologies from... More...
Huh, that is quite a surprise really. Came out of nowhere with this. Although it seems they are just using technology and features that have already been available for ages (Dobly, DTS), but perhaps its a case of, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' Price will be the key here i reckon, as it is with most things i suppose. Oh well, more products for us.
Wow, that really did come from no where. Although, I don't really like the idea of my soundcard having a Fan as well, I think we've got enough fans in a system already. Shame EAX has made such crossroads into gaming, because people will stick to Creative. Unless Azunetech or whatever could make a huge inroad into the sound department.
Sound card enthusiasts have known about this new card for at least a month or 2 already, ever since Asus gave some sneaks at CeBit 2007. And no it's not a fan. It's a magnetic EMI shield, something like the one on Razer's soundcard. The circle thing glows with a yellow outline when it's working. The only new thing is the support for PCI Express 1 slot option. Finally makes use of that useless slot in your new motherboard. However the PCI version has exactly the same specs as the PCIE one... so whether there's any improvement at all remains unclear.
