14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS brought a new set of 7.1-channel Strix audio cards to the market today, the Strix Raid DLX, the Strix Raid Pro, and the Strix Soar.
Apparently, all the new cards from ASUS are designed for gamers, and most of all, they belong to ASUS' internal STRIX brand, thus joining their NVIDIA and AMD graphics adapter cousins. The new cards arrive with advanced C-media audio processors and are designed to provide premium quality audio experience, together with features specially designed for gamers.
The C-Media CM6632AX sound processor (with maximum sampling rate of 384KHz/24-bit) is present in all of the three new ASUS cards, and come with high-quality digital-analog/analog-digital converters, but most importantly, they arrive with headphone amplifiers, so you can hear you clan leader shouting and swearing in pitch perfect clarity thanks to the Perfect Voice noise-cancellation technology.
Needless, to say, all three cards offer high-definition 192kHz/24-bit audio, 7.1-channel surround-sound, which is perfect for playing immersive horror games, and you need that monster behind you to really sound like it's behind you.
Quality materials, headphone amplifiers and LDO makes this card a must
However, the flagship of the three, the Asus Strix Raid DLX features besides the C-Media processor the ESS Sabre 9016 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that offers 124dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), analog-to-digital Cirrus Logic CS5381 chip with 114dB DNR as well as built-in TI LME49600 600-ohm headphone amplifier (with 124dB SNR). The card has LDO (Low Dropout) and Hi-Fi-grade Nichicon FineGold, Nichicon Muse, and German WIMA capacitors for perfect power delivery.
Although the design is similar on the other cards, the components are a bit cheaper so you'll have to deal with some sort of compromise, but you'll enjoy the anti-EMI shielding, and obviously dedicated components that will offer much better audio quality than integrated audio cards.
Additionally, for some brand awareness and extra fanciness on your table, you'll also get an external audio box that will provide advanced controls directly to your card and store your default settings. The graphics are already available at all ASUS dealers.
