Xonar DX

Jonnygrunge · 2 Jun 2008 at 10:43

Guys bought a DX finally. I am no audio buff and to me compared to the XFi the audio sounds a bit flat!, especially the bass!, its not very punchy at all. Can any one offer me any advice please on how to improve the quality. The card is used mainly for listening to music and gaming. I will be using it to drive my Aego's.
Jonnygrunge.

Uriel · 2 Jun 2008 at 13:24

Were you using the X-Fi crystalliser for MP3s? Try CDs if you haven't done so already.

Jonnygrunge · 2 Jun 2008 at 14:02

Yeah I was, why will playing CD's sound any better? I know they are uncompressed but....
The equalizer tbh is pretty crappy.

Uriel · 2 Jun 2008 at 18:33

The X-Fi crystalliser artificially enhanced low bit-rate tracks by emphasising certain frequencies. Hence why mp3s sounded 'punchier'. It's an audiophile's nightmare but it's enough to enhance it for quite a few people. The Xonar doesn't have an equivalent feature.

Given a decent soundcard and speakers most people can hear that a low bitrate mp3 lacks something when they're familar with the CD recording. I can still hear the difference at 192kb/s. Haven't tried higher yet. Try encoding your mp3s at a higher bitrate, preferably lossless.