Which Asus Xonar Card Should I get?

drunkenmunky

drunkenmunky

drunkenmunky

Associate
Joined
9 Apr 2006
Posts
232
I've ordered some Logitech Z5500 speakers and want a good sound card to connect to them.
I'm looking at the Asus Xonar but don't know which one would be best for me. I don't understand a lot of the technical stuff about these cards so it's hard for me to compare them.
I will be mosty listening to music but also gaming too. Price is not imortant, I just need to know what the difference is between these cards.

Xonar DX
Asus Xonar D2
Asus Xonar D2X

Which is the latest model? Which sound best for music and games?
I'm runnig Vista Ultimate Edition 64bit.

Thanks in advance
 
A thumbs up from me for the DX. It's the cheapest of the range, and the sound coming out of it is fantastic. I suspect my headphones don't really do it justice though.
 
The DX is a good card - recently got one would say it sounds slightly better than creative extreme music it replaced, and sounds very good through my hi-fi setup. I have had no driver issues at all on Vista 64. The creative cards are possibly slightly better for gaming since they have full EAX 5.0 support (not sure of this is a big thing for you...), whereas the DX will only mimic EAX though software. Some reviews have said that there is no difference in sound, and it is unlikely you will notice any difference. Personally, i mainly use the card for music, so cannot really comment on games performance. Word of warning - compatibility with linux is an issue at present, although by the sounds of it this will not affect you.

The D2 cards are meant to be superior since they use higher quality digital to analogue converters, and would probably shine with a high end speaker set. Unless you are an audiophile, i suspect there isnt much difference between the two, although there may be other features i am not aware of. The difference between the D2X and D2 is one fills a PCI slot and the other a PIC-E slot. If you fancy the extra quality of the D2, the PCI version may be a better bet since its a bit cheaper. Part of me wishes i had spent the extra and got one of these (if only for better linux support...), but i am happy with the DX and would recommend.

EDIT: This may also be worth a read - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17898198
 
D2X is awesome. So many sound options & formats supported.

Bluray + HDDVD movies, Music & Gaming all sound incredible plus it has the bling factor with the colour LEDs on the rear sockets & colour onboard fan.

Asus software support is also better than Creatives.
 
Thanks, that helps a lot, might go for the DX over the DX2, mainly due to the price difference. The D2 sounds good but I don't really need/use the extra features.

One quick question. I have an Asus P5Q motherboard with a Radeon 4870 Will the Asus DX fit ok?
 
I would assume yes. The ati cards are only dual slot, so that should leave one of the pci-e x1 lanes available for you. I have the p5q deluxe and it fits fine, and i am sure it will probably fit on most of the p5q range. Of course, there are plenty of pci slots available on the p5q... could be as good a reason as any to get the d2x! ;)
 
Yeah, you would - whilst i do not have a fdd, the psu i bought did come with a molex to 2-fdd power connector adapter, but no adapter came with the card itself. I am not sure if the other xonar cards need power connections - maybe someone else could fill you in on this!

Personally, i would prefer to haver the sound card - i cant remember the last time i actually used a floppy disk!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom