Asus Xonar D1 7.1 PCI Soundcard

Asus has released a new soundcard – the Xonar D1 7.1. This PCI soundcard will update the previous Xonar DX with (a claimed) 35 times cleaner audio quality compared to other motherboard audio, hitting signal to noise ratio of 116dB. Other features include :-

• Integrated DS3D GX
• CirrusLogics CS4398 audio DAC (120dB SNR & 117dB THD+N)
• 1/32 (-105dB) of the total harmonics distortion present in motherboard audio (-75dB)

That’s pretty technical, but to sum it up, it is much quieter when things are supposed to be quiet, and it does not shirk from reproducing near perfect sounds when the situation calls for it. If you can’t tell the difference with your motherboard audio, either get a better speaker or your ears checked. There is no word on pricing and availability for the Asus Xonar D1 7.1 PCI soundcard.