ASUS Showcases New Generation Audio Card at Computex 2007

June 5, 2007

ASUS announced the first product of its brand new product line: the ASUS Xonar D2 7.1-channel audio card. This breakthrough audio card is based on the AV200 audio chip, which not only provides unprecedented sound quality on PC platform, but also integrates multiple sound-enhancing technologies from Dolby and DTS to transform almost any PC into a high-quality digital home media center.

The ASUS Xonar D2 features a signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) of 118 db for both audio in and out—reaching the limit of audio quality on most PC platforms. Unlike generic sound cards in the market that provide the highest SNR to only the front stereo outputs, the Xonar D2 is able to deliver 118 db quality audio for all 7.1 channels.

Besides delivering impressive audio quality, the Xonar D2 is also packed with multiple sound technologies from Dolby and DTS to deliver outstanding entertainment experiences. These include Dolby Digital Live, which converts PC or game audio content real-time into Dolby Digital; Dolby Headphone, which creates an entertaining surround sound listening experience using any set of headphones; Dolby Virtual Speaker, which delivers a vibrant surround sound listening experience from stereo speakers and Dolby Pro Logic IIx, which creates up to 7.1-channel surround from stereo or 5.1 sources as well as DTS Interactive for real time AC-3 encoding and DTS NEP: PC stereo to multi-channel expander.

"As users increasingly use their PCs to enjoy music, movies, and gaming, great audio is key to delivering an outstanding entertainment experience," said Greg Rodehau, PC Market Segment Director, Dolby Laboratories. "The ASUS Xonar D2 sound card delivers a powerful suite of Dolby technologies that create highly immersive listening environments from virtually any content or playback device being used."

The technologies onboard the Xonar D2 deliver outstanding game audio quality and 3D positioning in PC 3D games. DirectX technology specifies and creates 3D positions of sounds around the player for 4, 5.1, or 7.1 speaker configurations.

The Xonar D2 also comes with a special application called "Portable Media Processor". This application works with the onboard ALT (Analog Loopback Transformation) circuit to provide almost lossless analog recording audio quality from digital music files.

Source: ASUS