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Date: June 28th, 2010
Article by: Jackie Mueller (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Asus
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH

Audio processing is done through Asus' AV200 HD chip, which is actually a re-branded version of the C-Media CMI8788 OxygenHD audio processor. This chip normally supports both Dolby Digital Live and DTS Interactive, but the Xonar DS only has DTS encoding support.

One feature on this card that is normally found only on high-end cards is a user replaceable JRC OP-amp socket. Changing this out will alter the “color” of the sound produced, something audiophiles will appreciate.

On top of the card are three more connectors. In addition to the front panel header, there's also a four-pin header for line-level analog input and a SPDIF out header.

 

PRODUCT INSTALLATION AND TESTING

The driver interface is divided into two sections – an equalizer at the top and the remainder of the settings is below it. The “Main” tab has drop boxes for changing settings such as the sample rate and analog out.