Asus Xonar DS 7.1 PCI Sound Card Review

👤by Sahil Mannick Comments 📅25-01-10
Conclusion
The overall experience with the sound card was a pleasant one. At its price point, it\'s clearly an entry level sound card, with its bigger brothers targeting the enthusiasts and audiophiles. However, that\'s not to say that the Xonar DS is bad because it inherits much of the aspects that made the other Xonars so popular. The AV200 chip and DS3D GX audio engine complement each other for an excellent music and gaming experience.

The card does have its draw backs. Firstly, it lacks the finesse of the Xonar D2/D2X in terms of aesthetics and the bundle is very limited. While sound quality was excellent, battlefield 2 brought it to its knees and it just cannot topple the X-Fi solution at their game. For music, the sound was warm and accurate but not as clear as the Xonar D2. It\'s important to mention that those alternatives cost much more than the DS, thus it remains a very viable piece of kit.

The bundled low profile bracket is testament to the target audience and I am certain that it will make a great addition to any PC. At under £40, there\'s no reason people should be sticking to onboard sound solutions!

Pros

[+] Good sound quality
[+] Supports DTS decoding
[+] Low profile for compatibility
[+] Very good audio console
[+] DS3D GX works well for surround gaming
[+] Cheap
[+] Swappable OPamps

Cons
[-] Issues on Battlefield 2
[-] The bundle is limiting



The Xonar DS is definitely a card I\'d recommend and as such, it deserves the Vortez Hardware Silver Award!

I would like to thank ASUS yet again for their patience and support in providing the sample for this review.

To further discuss this product, please visit out forums.



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