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I'd pick the MX5021 system, if they were still available. These speakers were THX-certified, and sounded quite good. However, Altec Lansing hasn't made these speakers for a year or two now, so unless you can find a set on eBay, you might not meet with success. Also, to the previous poster --...

Just wanted to follow up quickly. Our ASUS representative confirmed for us that DS3D GX 2.0 extensions are indeed accessible from within Windows XP, as long as everything is working properly. He provided a screen shot that showed active DS3D GX 2.0 extensions under Windows XP. He went on to...

Rory here again, I don't suspect that the splitter is wrecking the sound quality of the Xonar card's analog output. However, I've noticed that when I connect a set of headphones (fairly high 30-250 ohm impedance, usually) and a set of speakers (very low input impedance), there's a drop in...

Hi, Dred_furst and others. Thanks for the interest. Dred_furst, That's not what I'm reading in my Xonar DX sound card's manual. Here's what my manual reads, in section 6.9 (page 41): Then again in the table at the bottom of section 6.9: Since DS3D GX 2.0 is a software driver extension, and...

I'm looking at my D2 now, and I've got to say, I'm very surprised at the omission of front-panel audio I/O. I suppose it goes to show that as a reviewer, I can't simply take anything for granted. If I'd noticed the lack of front-panel audio at the time of my review, I'd certainly have had...

Hi, everyone; Rory here again. First of all, I've already explained why I didn't test under Windows Vista, despite the fact that any issues with the drivers would likely surface in Vista. This article wasn't meant to compare the two cards from different manufacturers on every conceivable point...

As if my sense of humor needed more introduction... (Cruddy low light photo...)

Okay, my responses. First of all, surround sound is far from essential to ascertaining the quality of the reverberant and environmental effects produced by either EAX or DS3D GX 2.0. I still fail to see how this criticism is valid, since EAX and DS3D GX still produce environmental reverberant...

Hi, everyone. Rory here. I didn't expect this thread to grow so rapidly, so I'll try to address everything in sequence. When performing the game testing, I simply ran each sound card's output in 2-channel mode. I didn't test the combination of Dolby Headphone and EAX, but the suggestion has me...

Yours truly. Age 22, 5'9", 185lb. Audio enthusiast, PC enthusiast, dog enthusiast. Tryin' to be less fat these days, but failing... Damn you, Jones Soda!

Hi, Rory here. I didn't test the Z Cinema speakers with a Mac. I suspect you'd be able to *use* the Z Cinema speakers on your Mac in a pinch, but you may not get the SRS TruSurround effect, which is handled by the driver software.

Hi, Kougar; Rory here. Just about any speakers over $100* can benefit from a better sound card. I was amazed at how much better my modest $150 Cambridge Soundworks MicroWorks II sounded when connected to the Xonar D2. If you ended up with the Z-5300, get the Xonar card. It'll help you get the...

Hi, Rory here. I'll actually be testing three cards side-by-side in the "ASUS vs. Creative: EAX Technology" article, which you can expect early this week. These cards are the ASUS Xonar D2 (which I've already reviewed), the ASUS Xonar DX (the low-profile, lower-priced, value-oriented model...

Hello. (Wow, this thread went a little nuts -- but it's understandable -- the Z Cinema is big news in PC audio.) The only analog input to the Z Cinema speakers is through the stereo line input on the right speaker, which is technically the 'Aux' input. Keep that in mind if you plan to use these...

Greetings, Linnerd40. Regarding Ultrasone's headphones: Even though Ultrasone is a relatively new company, they are definitely making waves in the industry with their designs, and winning over a lot of skeptics in the process. You can actually see this in action over at Head-Fi.org's forums...

This card only has EAX support up to EAX 2.0. However, the ASUS Xonar series recently added support for up to EAX 5.0. As regards the HP-1 headphones, this card works well with them out-of-the-box, and also features the "HD-DAI" connector that's designed to offer quick-connect and...

Hi, Bill. I've had a chance to hear the M-Audio AV40 in the wild, and they really sound excellent. If you're looking for the purest midrange and treble of the options you mentioned, I'd actually go for the AV40.

I'll give them that -- they did seem really loud, though they seemed to 'max out' in volume after a point. Beyond that point, they just started to sound compressed. I don't think I'm quite sold on the noise-canceling feature. Maybe it's because I listen in a semi-quiet environment, or maybe...

Hey, no worries. Like I said, these headphones weren't *awful*. They just didn't seem to really justify their high price tag by their sound quality, noise-canceling functionality notwithstanding. Perhaps if they said "Bose" on the side, they might have been able to get away with it...

I received an email from ASUS recently about this development. Even though the driver itself is still in 'beta', anyone who's been bemoaning the lack of EAX 3.0 and higher support on the Xonar cards would do well to check this driver out. As a side note, it's likely that EAX 3.0-and-up...