Auzentech X-FI Prelude 7.1 Sound Card

Introduction

Published: 30th October 2007 | Source: Auzentech | Price: US$199 RRP | Author: Matthew Fogg

Introduction

Before getting stuck into this review, I want to take you back in time with me for a moment. It won't take long I promise...

Prior to the early 1990's, PC's had little capacity to output sound beyond basic beeps. The sound card as we know it was popularised by Creative Labs at the start of the 90s with its range of Sound Blaster products. The SoundBlaster became a de- facto standard for amateur audiophiles, gamers, and home users, and was quickly emulated by other hardware manufacturers. The product line has continued to evolve, but other manufacturers have also come and gone and subsequently been swallowed by Creative. Hardware manufacturers like Terratec, AOpen, Hercules, Philips, M-Audio have all either fallen by the wayside or vanished into total obscurity.

For a while the sound card market appeared to stagnate, until an innovative manufacturer named Auzentech arrived on the scene. Within quick succession, Auzentech released sound cards that began to reinvigorate the market...namely the X-Plosion, X-Mystique and finally the X-Meridian. Utilising alternative C-Media chipsets, Auzentech began to secure a solid following and fan-base for both their quality, performance and innovation.

Auzentech's X-Meridian sound card also had the dubious honour of going head-to-head with Creative's latest offering...the Creative X-Fi. However, Creative seemed to be having a change of heart from their attitude of the past and were having a change of direction. Last year the PC enthusiast community began to hear rumours that Creative were going to begin licensing their audio chipsets. Whether Auzentech's surge in popularity had anything to with this is purely speculative, but I would be prepared to wager on it.

Subsequently, Auzentech were given the license to start producing their own range of X-Fi based sound cards and the rumour mills were buzzing with excitement at this interesting collaboration. As the days to release were ticking down, news was rapidly spreading that the Auzen X-Fi Prelude was shaping up to be something very special, and free of issues that plagued Creative's X-Fi based cards.

Today I have been given the honour of reviewing the Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 sound card, and I can safely say that it has been well worth the wait. But don't take my word for it, take a look at it yourself...

Specifications
The Auzen X-FI Prelude 7.1 sound card specifications were taken directly, and unashamedly from Auzentech's website .

Key Components

Creative X-Fi CA20K audio processor
One AKM AK-5394 super high performance 96kHz 24-bit ADC for analog input
Four AKM AK-4396 96kHz 24-bit advanced multi-bit DAC for analog output
64Mbytes of memory for audio processing
High fidelity audio OPAMPs for analog input and output (TI OPA2134)
Front L/R output OPAMP is replaceable by end-user (National LM4562NA)
Dual mode S/PDIF receiver and transmitter

Audio Performance (Rated Output @ 5Vrms, Typical Value)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Weighted)
Stereo Output : 120dB (part spec)
Front and Rear Channels : 120dB (part spec)
Center : 120dB (part spec)
Subwoofer and Side Channels : 120dB (part spec)
Total Harmonic Distortion Noise at 1kHz (-3dBFS, A-weighted) : 0.001% - part spec
Frequency Response ( /-0.01dB, 24-bit/44.1kHz input ) : 20khz (part spec)
Frequency Response ( /-0.01dB, 24-bit/96kHz input ) : 43.5 khz (part spec)
16-bit to 24-bit recording sampling rates: 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz

IO Connectors

One 3.5mm MIC input connector in rear panel
One 3.5mm line input connector in rear panel
One 4-pin AUX connector on board
Four 3.5mm 8 channel line output connectors in rear panel (FL/FR/C/SW/RL/RR/RSL/RSR)
One S/PDIF combo input connector in rear panel for receiving either coaxial or optical digital
One S/PDIF combo output connector in rear panel for transmitting either coaxial or optical digital
One 10-1pin front panel connector on board for MIC input and headphone: more
One 40-pin digital extension header on board to support AD-Link and other digital functionality

S/W and drivers

Creative X-Fi Driver

The Auzen X-FI Prelude 7.1 specifications look very good on paper, but just how well these equate to real-world performance we'll see later in the review. But for now, let's turn the page to see what you are actually getting for your money...

Most Recent Comments

06-01-2008, 21:46:37

Yeungster

PV - Do you still have this card to hand? If so, and you have some spare time, it'll be good to hear your views with the latest driver release which enables Dolby Digital Live

06-01-2008, 21:53:49

Pyr0

PV - Do you still have this card to hand? If so, and you have some spare time, it'll be good to hear your views with the latest driver release which enables Dolby Digital Live

it's DDL and the new upcoming features that are making me think about getting rid of my xtrememusic and getting a prelude instead

08-01-2008, 12:56:02

PV5150

PV - Do you still have this card to hand? If so, and you have some spare time, it'll be good to hear your views with the latest driver release which enables Dolby Digital Live

I'm downloading the latest driver as I type and in the next few days I'll let you know mate for sure :)

08-01-2008, 18:50:37

SuB

:o new drivers
/me goes to get!!

10-01-2008, 21:37:53

Yeungster

I hope I have set it up wrong or something, because when I enabled DDL and ran an optical feed to my home theatre system the sound coming out was really poor quality.

When I turn DDL off, the volume decreases dramatically, but the quality is much improved.

Any comments/pointers for me?

10-01-2008, 22:05:32

Rastalovich

Try playing about with the settings in... I think it`s Sound.. then the input/outputs are listed and in the optical thingy there`s a tab about what rates and quality the feed is.

One thing I don`t like about the newer driversets for creative/auzen is the way the settings aren`t all in one place.

EDIT: Actually it probably not the Sound menu, it`s more like Playback or Recording devices (right click on the speaker icon in the tray for a shortcut)

10-01-2008, 22:24:21

Yeungster

I'm not sure I'm following you 100%. Here's what I'm provided with within the menu you pointed me towards:

10-01-2008, 22:44:44

Rastalovich

Wow that`s weird, mine looks like this:

[IMG]http://upload.overclock3d.net/dwn/102240486078/soundpref.jpg[/IMG]

I know it says X-fi, but my Auzen one is 100% the same. That`s from right clicking on the speaker in the tray.

11-01-2008, 22:26:40

Yeungster

I've been playing with the card a little bit more tonight. I'm far from an audiophile so was lost in the technical speak on some of the av forum threads.

I'm now beginning to wonder what the chances are that I have either:
a) a faulty card
b) a faulty home theatre amp/receiver

Is there any way to test either of these components?

14-07-2009, 20:19:42

Rastalovich

Verbatim...

X-Fi Prelude Driver for Windows 7

New X-Fi Prelude Driver Supports DTS Connect on Windows 7 and Vista

Santa Clara, CA: Auzentech, Inc.(www.auzentech.com) has announced today the release of a new "Multi-Driver" for the X-Fi Prelude sound card. The new driver is compatible with Microsoft Windows® 7, Windows® Vista, and Windows® XP.

For X-Fi Prelude owners, the new driver brings DTS Connect™ to Windows® 7 in addition to the previously supported Windows® Vista. Dolby™ Digital Live is available on all three platforms.

The driver must be a fresh install on a 32-bit or 64-bit edition of Windows® 7, Vista, or XP. For details and downloads, visit the Auzentech sound card drivers page:

http://www.auzentech.com/site/download/updates.php
The Auzen X-FI™ Prelude 7.1 soundcard marked the first time Creative had permitted a third-party soundcard vendor to use the Creative X-FI™ chipset in its own soundcard design. The X-Fi Prelude fully supports EAX 5.0, the premier technology for 3-D audio effects diring game play, Dolby® Digital Live and DTS™ Connect. For more information, visit the X-Fi Prelude product page online:

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_prelude.php
About Auzentech, Inc.
AUZENTECH, Inc. is a provider of quality consumer electronics products, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. AUZENTECH developed the World's first Dolby Digital Live Sound card (X-Mystique 7.1 Gold) and the World's first DTS Connect Sound Card (X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect) and continues to bring the most innovative audio products to the market.
http://www.auzentech.com/

Contact:
[email]pr@auzentech.com[/email]