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When it comes to sound cards, I've pretty much
tested each and every alternative out there in search of the absolute best
PC audio.
However, what may be considered "best" is quite a loaded question.
While I have found that the Creative X-Fi series cards are what I think are
the best in terms of overall sound quality, there is always a company
looking to target a different crowd. It all comes down to
its primary use and what the system builder is after. With that said,
few are designed to fall into a certain category targeted at a unique crowd.
That's where the AuzenTech X-Plosion DTS Connect Sound Card comes in.
Designed primarily to please the HTPC enthusiast, this card sports not
only some unique features, but manages to provide a very high level of sound
quality that will certainly impress.
Packaging & Contents
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The
card ships with a detailed instruction manual, driver disc and even an
optical (toslink) cable.
The Card
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The
X-Plosion is one pretty card. However, there's much more than just
beauty built into it. This sound card has many optional inputs
available, both onboard and external. You have onboard CD/DVD SPDIF input and and SPDIF input
extension header that can be used with the optional module. The board
also features swappable dual DIP type OPAMP controlled preamp circuits that
in short, provides increased gain and improved signal-to-noise ratio.
One thing many will notice is the large amount of capacitors around the
front, center, rear side and rear center circuits. At first glance, it
is certainly quite an impressively built soundcard.
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All
connectors on this sound card are gold plated for maximum performance and
sound. Now, unlike a majority of other higher end sound cards on the
market, the X-Plosion does feature both coaxial and optical digital out
ports. They even included a Toslink optical cable along with the card
for connecting it straight to your audio receiver.
Specifications
Features and Specifications
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C-Media CMI8770 PCI
chipset (8CH audio single chip with DTS® Connect and Dolby® Digital Live
Real-Time Content Encoder)
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8CH codec embedded PCI
audio single chip
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Full-duplex 8CH
24bit/96kHz DAC / 2CH 16bit/48kHz ADC
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Integrated S/PDIF
input/output supports 44.1kHz/48kHz/96kHz sample rate and 16/24bits
resolution
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The world's first DTS¨
Connect logo program certificated PCI audio board
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DTS® Interactive : A
real-time 5.1 encoder that takes any 2 or more channel and encodes it
into DTS® bit stream. DTS® Interactive provides a single cable
connection via S/PDIF digital audio output to a DTS® enabled surround
sound system by encoding all audio into a DTS® compatible bit stream at
1.5Mbps
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DTS® Neo:PC : An up
mixing matrix technology that turns any 2 channel audio into 7.1
surround sound. DTS® Neo:PC, based upon DTS® Neo:6 matrix surround
technology, transforms any stereo content such as MP3, WMA or CD audio,
into a 7.1-channel surround sound experience
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Dolby® Digital Live(DDL)
Real-Time Content Encoder converts PC audio into a 5.1 channel Dolby®
Digital bit stream
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Swappable dual DIP type
OPAMP controlled preamp circuit (4pcs output control OPAMP IC with DIY
socket, 2pcs MIC input control OPAMP IC with DIY socket)
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Max 2.8Vrms full swing
analog output gain by unique preamp circuit / incredible powerful analog
output, improve dynamic range / SNR
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Proper OPAMP control
circuit (+8V, -8V dual power supply circuit) for high quality audio
quality, prevent audio distortion at high volume level
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Package contents: HDA X-PLOSION
7.1 DTS Connect Audio Card / MPC to MPC(2pin-2pin) CD S/PDIF audio cable
/ TOSLINK fiber optic digital cable / installation CD / warranty card /
owner's manual
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