so who mants the HDA x-plosion then? :D

james.miller

james.miller

james.miller

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2003
Posts
20,159
Location
Woburn Sand Dunes
its been a while in the making. I said it would come sooner or later when i posted details about the c-media chip with the DTS capabilities, and now its nearly here. THe HDA x-plosion with 1.5mb/sec DTS encoding, and DTS neo:6 aswell as DDLive. I want one and i want it now.


when are OCuk getting these in? :D

* C-Media CMI8770 PCI chipset (8CH audio single chip with DTS® Connect and Dolby® Digital Live Real-Time Content Encoder)
* 8CH codec embedded PCI audio single chip
* Full-duplex 8CH 24bit/96kHz DAC / 2CH 16bit/48kHz ADC
* Intergrated S/PDIF input/output supports 44.1kHz/48kHz/96kHz sample rate and 16/24bits resolution
* The world's first DTS® Connect logo program certificated PCI audio board
* DTS® Interactive : A real-time 5.1 encoder that takes any 2 or more channel and encodes it into DTS® bitstream. 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 bitstream at 1.5Mbps
* DTS® Neo:PC : An upmixing 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
* Dolby® Digital Live(DDL) Real-Time Content Encoder converts PC audio into a 5.1 channel Dolby® Digital bitstream
* 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)
* Max 2.8Vrms full swing analog output gain by unique preamp circuit / incredible powerfull analog output, improve dynamic range / SNR
* Proper OPAMP control circuit (+8V, -8V dual power supply circuit) for high quality audio quality, prevent audio distortion at high volume level
* Package content: 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

Gimme Gimme Gimme!

edit: could a mod please correct the thread name? :o lol
 
an american site has them on bacvk order for £121 dollars. That's $68 over here, so expect it to be around £80 really..


if your reciever does DTS, i think this is going to be fantastic. Otherwise id probably stick with the x-fi
 
the card has a DTS encoder, meaning it can turn your games or regular windows sounds into 5.1dts, just like the old soundstorm and the x-mystique do DDlive. It doesnt effect material that is already encoded like dvd's for instance.

Games would be better, music....dont know yet. The best music is always 2 channel pcm, period, and i cant see DTS encoding changing that.
 
ummm. headphones no - show me a pair of DTS headphones lol. Home stereo's? depends. DDlive encoding is great for games, but it does have its shortfalls. Higher than ideal distortion levels beign one of them. Lossless DTS encoding should overcome all of that, but we wont know untill some reviews start appearing:)
 
honestly? x-fi, assuming it isnt significantly more expensive than the x-plosion. Wether its really that good or not, ill be getting the x-plosion. I've waited for a lossless encoding solution since i had my old nf2 soundstorm board:)
 
Big.Wayne said:
Hi james,

I was just gonna ask for a *simple* version of your opening post, but as I scrolled down I came across the above nugget of info. .

However I'm not sure that will work how u think it will work. It may encode the pc audio is DTS but that means you can just use *one* single digital/optical cable between your PC and AMP. I don't think it means that it can program the sounds say like they are on a DVD (positional etc).

I thought the main advantage of this was just the pure digital connection (no analogue conversion etc?).
Click to expand...

Well, tbh DDLive positioning is very good. Using my yamaha amp, DDlive is better than 6.1 analogue in both positioning and quality in general.

The biggest advantage is that only one cable is needed, yes, but with DDlive (as apposed to D.I.C.E found on the old soundstorms) there are no disadvantages:)
 
Last edited:
smids said:
I think he's implying DTS in games would outweigh the loss of EAX. But tbh, I'd still want to use EAX. These things look amazing - however, worth it over my Audigy 2 ZS paired with Logitech Z5500's?
Click to expand...

if you have an av reciever and speakers........with out a doubt.

David G - i just dont know. They are out in limited numbers in the us. no word of when they'll reach these shores:(
 
It's mostely down to the soundtrack mixing. DTS has the capability to be very much better than DD with the option of lossless encoding/decoding. However, for every movie that has a better DTS track, there are also some astoundingly good DD tracks.

With the ability to encode at 1.5mb/sec lossless DTS, the x-plosion really is one to watch:)
 
Panzerbjorn said:
Is it me or does that review seem like the X-mystique and not the X-plosion?
It didn't talk about DTS just DDL...

Still very much looking forward to the X-plosion though.

Panzer
Click to expand...

the diamond extreme is a DDL only card, identical to the x-mystique:)
EB have got a review out and IMO, the card is looking pretty damn good:

http://www.elite********.com/cms/in...ask=view&id=19&Itemid=28&limit=1&limitstart=1

CD and MP3 playback

Naturally, the first thing I wanted to do with the X-Plosion was to enjoy some music, making use of the DTS Connect capability of the card to fill my room with musical goodness. Although the vast majority of music is not naturally designed for multi-channel playback, the added depth of being 'surrounded' by music really adds to the listening experience more often and not, and the X-Plosion does a good enough job of separating sounds and channels for you to easily believe in many cases that you were listening to audio that had been created for a multi-channel setup from the off. From the subtle, multi-layered and distorted soundscapes of Boards of Canada's The Campfire Headphase through to the orchestral power of The End of Evangelion move soundtrack, everything I put through the X-Plosion was a joy to listen to - Rich and precise down to the last note.

My only real gripes with listening to music in this mode were that firstly, the centre speaker isn't utilised at all, leaving you with 4.1 audio rather than 5.1 as you might hope. Secondly, things did get a little tinny at times at the high-end, although a little tweaking with the equaliser away from its default settings soon put paid to that. Somehow though, the lack of that centre speaker soon drifts out of your mind once you become immersed in your favourite tracks in and bombarded with sonic beauty from all sides.

DVD playback

There is always a joy to be had from enjoying multi-channel surround sound while watching DVD movies, and the X-Plosion doesn't disappoint in this field. Be it Dolby Digital or DTS, the X-Plosion offers good, crystal clear audio, with good separation of channels and a decent sonic range, leaving little to criticise at all. So, simply put, I won't. Particular highlights of my testing include The Matrix's lobby sequence, and the opening minutes of Star Wars: Episode III, both of which do a fine job of showing off the X-Plosion's prowess.

Gaming

I finished my subjective test with a look at how the X-Plosion does in your average gaming session, courtesy of a couple of games that make good use of positional audio as part of the gameplay experience - Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. Doom 3 in particular sounds fabulous in full-on 5.1 surround sound, giving you a great idea of when something is sneaking up behind you or on tis way around the corner, adding to the experience even without the EAX 4.0 support now inherent in the title. In a similar vein, F.E.A.R. is another scary battle of wits, which often relies on sound alone for you to figure whats around the next corner, as well as adding atmosphere to the whole experience. Thus, again having 5.1 audio is of great benefit here, adding that touch more tension to the gaming experience. In my entirely personal opinion, all in all the loss of advanced EAX effects is easily offset by the added multi-channel audio capabilities of the X-Plosion.

Conclusions

When we looked at HDA's first entrance into the discrete sound card market, the X-Mystique, we saw an excellent piece of hardware that introduced a much sought-after feature with it's Dolby Digital Live encoding abilities. Quite simply, the X-Plosion has topped that achievement, and by quite some margin. The addition of DTS Connect may not be a show-stopper for everyone, but it is bound to attract a fair amount of excitement and interest, and rightly so. From our testing however, the biggest news should perhaps be the improvements in overall audio quality that have been made with the X-Plosion, with it giving a substantially better showing than its predecessor, and more than giving the SoundBlaster Audigy a run for its money. Sure, it may not quite be an X-Fi (That may well be a comparison for another day), but everything it does do, it does exceptionally well.

As with the X-Mystique, the X-Plosion's biggest falling point is in its gaming performance and featureset - The lack of support for the latest, greatest EAX functionality may well put off gamers, and sadly is something we will most likely never see change with Creative Labs having the stranglehold on the discrete sound card market they currently do. This is a real shame, as a combination of Dolby Digital or DTS encoding alongside EAX would make for a gaming experience par excellence. As it is however, using Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect does add to the gaming experience, so if you can live without EAX 3.0 and upward support, and don't mind a heavier performance hit from using hardware 3D sound, then the X-Plosion may still be able to tempt even avid gamers.

However, the big draw of the X-Plosion is, in most cases I suspect, the ability to play back audio and video content in multi-channel surround sound regardless of source, and in this regard HDA's effort excels. If you aren't a hardcore audiophile, then you may well be tempted to save some money by going for the X-Mystique instead, but if you like the idea of DTS support and the higher quality output on offer here, then you can't go far wrong with the X-Plosion, and you're guaranteed a purchase that your ears will thank you for.
Click to expand...


They could have been a little more thorough with their testing and write up on DTS:C, but regardless it's a great looking card:)
 
cokecan72 said:
the latest 32-bit drivers for the mystique were quite pointless (6th of Jan). since installing them and using them, ive only noticed a few changes to the way things look, rather than it doing any good with the few little bugs there were before. when playing Halo with EAX and environmental sounds turned on it still clips the begenning or end or both of every sound and generally sounds crap. it still doesnt send a constant digital signal to my amp, so unless i use the work around still (turn on that magic voice thing) my amp will clip the begenning of every sound played while it decodes it, most annoying!
Click to expand...

put it in pcm then! why are you running 5.1 in windows anyway?
 
snedger said:
just a bit of fun! and realism
It's great people quoting the Mystique for £35, but I got mine from OCUK for about £70 in March last year! Still worth every penny!
I'd love the new card to be as good value as the Mystique, but do you guys think that a new product with limited supply will retail for the same price as last years soundcard?
Click to expand...

the only reason it went up to £70 (that's right, UP) was limited supply. So i think yeah, it's going to be around £75.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom