Where's all the X-Meridian Talk?!

MSR · 20 Dec 2006 at 17:50

I came here expecting there to be loads of chatter about the new X-Meridian but a couple of searches later and I only found a few brief mentions of it!

Having been in need of a new sound card for ages, and seemingly missing the X-Mystique band wagon, I've gone and had an X-Meridian ordered yesterday. I'm planning on connecting it up to my Yamaha '757 amp and B&W 600-series surround sound.

Reppyboyo · 20 Dec 2006 at 20:29

Shame OcUK dont sell them tbh

james.miller · 20 Dec 2006 at 20:35

they are priced way out of range for most people. the problem with x-meridians is that they still have the same basic featureset as an x-plosion (note: lackluster eax support). when it comes down to it, you dont need encoding if your watching fils and games are better on an x-fi. period.
That leaves you with one other field - music. It has better outputs than an x-plosion, but is it better than an x-fi, or a proper music card? no, it isnt. the only reason to buy one of these cards imo is if your intending to use an av amp thats more than a couple of feet away from the pc. Thats when 1 digital feed > 6 analouge, which is exactly why i bought an x-mystique for ~£30 so long ago. Otherwise, they are pointless.

pinky1 · 21 Dec 2006 at 08:57

james.miller said:
they are priced way out of range for most people. the problem with x-meridians is that they still have the same basic featureset as an x-plosion (note: lackluster eax support). when it comes down to it, you dont need encoding if your watching fils and games are better on an x-fi. period.
That leaves you with one other field - music. It has better outputs than an x-plosion, but is it better than an x-fi, or a proper music card? no, it isnt. the only reason to buy one of these cards imo is if your intending to use an av amp thats more than a couple of feet away from the pc. Thats when 1 digital feed > 6 analouge, which is exactly why i bought an x-mystique for ~£30 so long ago. Otherwise, they are pointless.

this isnt what all the reviews are saying. from the ones i have read they claim its as good as thex-fi in some areas and better in others.

and y dont u need it for films ? this is where it shines because while u can do without it with software this card uses hardware making the soud better.

also the eax suport is moot when u use this cards dts encoding running through an 7.1 amp, dont start the flaming as the compairisons have been done and only one game had a slightly less sound seperation.

and the x-meridian and the x-plosion are two different spu's, please go check the speck's.

thank u and good night

james.miller · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:11

you've got no idea what you're talking about.

1) eax support. its limited to EAX2.0 in games. the same as the x-plosion, the same as my x-mystique. x-fi's are better in gaming. fact.

2) i said it has the same featureset as the x-plosion. since you cant be bothered to look, here's the rundown:

* The C-Media Oxygen HD CMI8788 Audio Processor is the heart of the AUZEN X-MERIDIAN 7.1.
* 4 pcs 24-bit/192kHz AK4396VF (120dB-part spec.) DACs for 7.1channel output. (24-bit/192kHz in 7.1channel playback)
* 1 pc 24-bit/192kHz AK5385VF(114dB-part spec.) ADC input (24-bit/192kHz recording)
* 1 pc CMI9780 AC'97 2.3 CODEC for AUX input, CD input, MIC input (16bit/48kHz playback/recording)
* Integrated up to 192k/24-bit S/PDIF transmitter for 44.1kHz,48kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz SPDIF output.
* Supports onboard high grade special COAX+OPTIC combo type transmitter module for up to 192kHz SPDIF out.
* Integrated up to 192k/24-bit S/PDIF receiver for 44.1kHz,48kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz SPDIF input.
* Supports onboard high grade special COAX+OPTIC combo type receiver module for up to 192kHz SPDIF input.
* Standard 10PIN Front Panel Audio supports connectivity for stereo audio output and a microphone input from most new chassis. (All 7.1channel analog output muted by jack connection sense of front panel headphone out / Dual MIC input available by back panel mic input and front panel mic input)
* DTS® Interactive - A real-time 5.1 channel encoder.
* DTS® NeoC - An upmix matrix technology.
* Dolby® Digital Live (DDL) - A real-time 5.1 channel encoding.
* Dolby® ProLogic IIx surround processor spreading stereo audio into 7.1 channel surround sound.
* Dolby® Headphone technology, conveying 5.1 surround and 3D gaming audio over stereo headphones.
* Dolby® Virtual Speaker solution, bringing amazing virtual surround sound fields via general two speakers.
* C-Media FlexBass™ - LFE channel crossover frequency setable from range 50 to 250Hz in Small speaker mode and Small/Large speaker selectable.
* C-Media Magic Voice™, popular feature for disguising your tone in online chatting.
* C-Media Xear 3D™ 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter technology.
* C-Media’s unique Karaoke functions: Microphone Echo, Key-shifting.
* Individual 10-band EQ for each channel,.27 global reverberation environments.
* Supports most industrial standards of 3D sound for PC gaming, including EAX™ 1.0 & 2.0, A3D™ 1.0, and DirectSound™.
* Swappable DIP type OPAMP controlled preamp out circuit (4pcs output control OPAMP IC with DIY socket)
* Surface mount type OPAMP controlled preamp input circuit (2pcs input control OPAMP for ADC and 1pc MIC input gain control)
* 5Vrms (Differential DAC output with gain adjustment / approximately full swing from +/- 8V dual power supply)
* Proper OPAMP control circuit (large capacity 1A +8V, -8V, dual power supply circuit) for high quality audio quality, prevent audio distortion at high volume level.
* Upgrade Extension available (Extra 6.35mm MIC / Extra Digital I/O sold separately)
* Supported operating systems:
Microsoft Windows® 98SE / ME / 2000 Service Pack 3(SP3) / XP Service Pack 1(SP1) / Server 2003 SP1/ XP Media Center Edition 2005 (MCE) / XP x64 Edition.

----------

Features and Specifications
* 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
* Integrated 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® 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
* DTS® NeoC : An up mixing matrix technology that turns any 2 channel audio into 7.1 surround sound. DTS® NeoC, 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 bit stream
* 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 powerful 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 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

The main differences are the support for 192khz input and output on the meridian. They both support DDlive, DTS connect,neo6,Dolby digital, dolby surround yada yada yada......infact when your talking about features, the only thing mine is missing is dts encoding and dts neo6. if it wasn't for that and 192khz sampling, they'd all be virtually identical. Yeah ok so mine doesnt have an adjustable crossover, but since when do you need one? my av amp handles that automatically so my sound card doesnt need to.

also the eax suport is moot when u use this cards dts encoding running through an 7.1 amp, dont start the flaming as the compairisons have been done and only one game had a slightly less sound seperation.

flaming? wise up. i've got a dd-encoding card. gaming is STILL better in analogue on an x-fi. I dont have an x-fi, but i'm not blinded my my 'OMFG ITS SO GOOD' auzentech card.

and y dont u need it for films ? this is where it shines because while u can do without it with software this card uses hardware making the soud better.

Tell me, whats better?
DTS film > software decoding > DTS encoding > av amp > multi-channel decoding
or
DTS film > av amp > multi channel decoding

I'll give you the answer - when you're watching films, you dont need to use any encoding features at all. thats what spdif passthru is for - for passing the bitstream straight through to your amp untouched. encoding doesnt make the sound 'better' at all. If anything, it can make make it worse. Besides, the only reviews i've seen praising them in such a way were praising their analogue outputs being "clear that the analog mode simply blows away the Z-680’s digital decoders". *shock*

also the eax suport is moot when u use this cards dts encoding running through an 7.1 amp, dont start the flaming as the compairisons have been done and only one game had a slightly less sound seperation.

really? http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/399/5/

What we see is that the X-Meridian is capable of keeping the same company with the X-Fi, with a trade off in terms of performance. The sounds were also refreshingly similar between sound cards, that is to say, more consistent without EAX enabled.

Subjectively, since all the cards and modes were similar, the one stand out feature was Dolby Headphone. It was really very good. Creative's CMSS3D technology is similar, creating a surround sound field out of a pair of headphones, but to my ears it shifts tonal quality too much to be useful. The Dolby Headphone on the other hand is very accurate and maintains a more true sense of tonal balance. Well, that's a lot of words to say Dolby Headphone sounds great.

slower across the board- look at the cpu usage, and not really equal when eax isnt used. which it is, in a lot of games.

thank u and good night

That's a little too cocky for somebody who doesnt take the time to do some proper research. Owning an x-mystique doesnt make me an x-fi fanboy, so you'd be wise to listen. the x-meridian's biggest problem is that your paying for a card that *at best* is better than an x-fi with its analogue output, and worse off with everything else. if the card was the price of an x-fi, it would be strong competition......but it isn't.

squiffy · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:44

and y dont u need it for films ? this is where it shines because while u can do without it with software this card uses hardware making the soud better.

Wrong. James is right. You want to send the audio to the digital outputs, unprocessed and let your AV processor/AV amplifier do all DD/DTS decoding, bass managment and DSP processing. Converting audio to DTS or DD then streaming that out is inferior, especially if it's PCM. As PCM has higher bitrate than DTS/DD. It's like converting PCM to MP3 on the fly, and listening to the MP3- why?

The only thing I could think of of DTS hardware encoding is when mixing your own soundtracks, or converting a DVD to another audio soundtrack, but really that'll sound worse. Unless you have a lossless high bandwidth audio master. So really it's just for the professional DVD creators.

james.miller · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:56

using encoding for gaming has similar drawbacks. The biggest problem, one which doesnt seem to be mentioned very often, is that DD/DTS encoding brings with it a latency hit, and it's quite noticable when you switch between pcm or analogue and DD/DTS encoding.

MSR · 21 Dec 2006 at 13:09

You're making me wonder if I made the right purchase.

Just so you know, the card cost £103. I don't really play PC games, minus Half-Life 2, so the gaming side of things isn't a big thing. I'll mostly be using it for music and video editing. Does that shed any light on the comparison?

this_is_gav · 21 Dec 2006 at 16:27

I'd be looking away from Creative anyway. Their shoddy driver releases are just annoying me too much. I couldn't give a flying duck about EAX (I generally play older games, and at any rate, anything above EAX2 I can't even hear the difference anyway).

The shockingly slow roll-out to Vista is just the icing on the cake. Not saying anyone else is better, but we've been here before with Creative.

They make good cards, but they just don't put any effort in to things. It's been a half-cocked effort for months now.

Still got an Audigy 4 Pro, but I'll be doing a full audio upgrade next year, so I'll see where I land.

In a few words: yes, I'd have bought the Meridian too at this exact moment in time.

Gundam God · 22 Dec 2006 at 14:32

The problem I find when looking at the x-fi and which subsequently makes me look at the auzen cards is can I hook up everything?

Ideally i'd like to have spdif out for movies (dd/dts), microphone, headphones and then use my case's headphone socket connected to the sound card to run a stereo amp.

Thing is though with the x-fi, doesn't the spdif share the same socket as the microphone? This is why i'm leaning towards the x-meridian since it has the extra coax and optical spdif.

EAX for me also isn't really needed, I don't think, since the only games i've played recently is CS and DotA, bot of which don't use EAX.. well they can but sound worse with it enabled, especially CS.