14 DAY TRIAL // While Asus' Xonar line of sound cards is great for desktop users, laptops and other small for factor computers don't feature the expansion slots necessary in order to install such a solution, so Asus developed a new external USB version of the $30 Xonar DG that is about the size of a thumb stick.
Presented for the first time during the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, the stick requires only one empty USB slots and features the same chip as that found inside the Xonar DG.
This is built by C-Media, is called the CMI8786 and was especially designed for Asus.
Although it is effectively a cut down version of the CMI8788 (Oxygen HD), the sound processors still support 24-bit as well as Dolby Headphone and GX2.5.
However, compared to Oxygen HD, the sampling rates have been limited to 96kHz and the maximum number of channels supported has been cut down to six.
But these most certainly won't prove to be major issues in the notebook world where users are accustomed to low-quality integrated audio codecs which should prove to be vastly inferior to the U3.
In addition, the Xonar U3 features an integrated headphone amplifier, that is optimized for 32-150Ω, and special virtualization software to emulate EAX positional audio effects and to simulate surround-sound speakers with stereo headphones.
Since such options aren't usually found in notebooks and small form factor computers, Asus has a clear advantage in this regard.
No details about availability were disclosed by Asus, but the Taiwanese company said that the device would carry an affordable price tag, similar to the Xonar DG.
This will be the company's second external USB sound card after the Xonar U1 Audio Station that was released a while back and only supported 48KHz sample rates. (via Tech Report)