AuzenTech Prelude - Street Date?

M

MetalDwarf

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2002
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When is this card going to be in retail channels? all ive heard is "JUNE" anyone got a actual date yet? June is half gone already
 
They said end of June. That is the official date. You getting anxious to get one? -LOL, I know alot of people who are just counting the days...:D
 
It was said the card will be released in July. Not sure why the delayed it again.
 
You should never wait for a product from Auzentech, just get it when it is out. They are always late. Late or not, when their product is out, people will still buy it.
 
Well consider other companies that release product that aren't ready for the street. One that always comes to mind is the first batch of X-fi's. People couldn't wait for those cards and when they got them they were junk shackled to crappy drivers. Some people never did get theirs to work. Others spent the next 6-9 months patching crap drivers. Some figured out they needed heatsinks. I don't mind delays, we went through the same situation with the X-Meridian 7.1. When we finally got the cards they were rock solid and they just worked. So if they need another month to test and get rid of something that popped up-so be it. Atleast we know they are making sure the product is ready for the streets.;)
 
I agree 100%, the only issue I have is who is making the drivers. I have little faith in them(Creative) all one can do is hope that Azuen will not allow shoddy drivers for their X-FI.
 
Auzentech does not create drivers, you'll have to use creative's drivers...BUT ! Creative is making them extra stable etc. ( in other words good and usable ) because it does not want Auzentecht to complain and sue him. The card is delayed because the drivers aren't stable enough for Auzentechs likings (good point :) ) and minor improvements to the card...
 
Got a source for that, or is your entire post (save for the part about Auzentech not making drivers) intended to be hearsay? Auzentech's statement is that the additional time allows them time for "testing" -- it doesn't say anything about giving additional time to Creative nor does it say the card is undergoing hardware revisions.
 
Actually, they said: Revised for additional testing of driver and hardware.
 
Yes, they said the release date was revised. It makes no mention of any hardware revision (or driver revisions, for that matter).
 
With all these delays on the Prelude I'm glad I got an X-Meridian when I did :p
 
That's assuming Auzentech doesn't slip July as well. I certainly wouldn't put it past 'em.

They have strong products, but the constant product delays are tiring.
 
CodeRed said:
Yeah, if you're living with on-board sound, a month IS long.
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You have no other sound cards? If you've been using on-board audio for this long, I'm sure you could have lasted a little bit longer.

CodeRed said:
I got the card a while ago :rolleyes:
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Congratulations.

That's assuming Auzentech doesn't slip July as well. I certainly wouldn't put it past 'em.
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I wouldn't either, but it really doesn't matter either way. There is little point to this card until it supports DD/DTS encoding. In it's current form it's a slightly beefed up Elite Pro. I really fail to see what all the hype is about (until they deliver on DD/DTS encoding or the HDMI add-on). Those are the features I'm worried about being extensively delayed. The card is worthless to me until those features hit the big time.

can the X-Meridian do eax at all? I can't recall atm.
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EAX 1/2 in software.
 
Moofasa~ said:
I really fail to see what all the hype is about (until they deliver on DD/DTS encoding or the HDMI add-on). Those are the features I'm worried about being extensively delayed. The card is worthless to me until those features hit the big time.
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Dolby Digital Live should work out of the box in XP, if I recall. Auzentech has stated a date for Vista support. And, really, it makes sense to get the Prelude even if you're waiting for the X-Tension HDMI, as you can't use said card with the Elite Pro, or any other X-Fi card for that matter. If, at this point, anyone is torn between waiting for the Prelude and snagging an Elite Pro, I can't see any reason to not stick it out.

The Elite Pro's a great card, but many don't like paying for features (breakout box, remote) that they won't use, so the Prelude makes sense. Auzentech is taking a more modular approach with the X-Tensions, and modularity is certainly more logical from a consumer satisfaction standpoint than throwing everything but the kitchen sink in with the high end X-Fi and making buyers stomach it for better DACs.
 
phide said:
Dolby Digital Live should work out of the box in XP, if I recall. Auzentech has stated a date for Vista support.
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Nope.

Dolby® Digital Live
for Vista and XP
Scheduled for Q4 of 2007
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phide said:
And, really, it makes sense to get the Prelude even if you're waiting for the X-Tension HDMI
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I agree but how long does one have to wait? Just look at their track record, the X-Tension board for the X-Mystique got canned. It took them over a year to release the X-Tension DIN version. I can only imagine the time frame for the X-Tension HDMI version. At this point I would say we'll probably see DTS encoding on the Prelude before the HDMI add-on card is released. Don't get me wrong, if the Prelude and the X-Tension HDMI version was out today I would buy them in a heart beat, but realistically I would guess the HDMI part is still six+ months away.

I didn't mean to compare the Elite Pro against the Prelude. Clearly at this point in time I would choose Prelude over the Elite Pro. But what I was trying to say is that the Prelude in its current form is really nothing special. It's still a great card, but doesn't have the features yet that really make it stand out. And I'm very worried for the time frame in which those features are released.
 
Well, it seems they've updated some of the information since the last time I looked -- and silently, too.

I'm pretty sure DDL was a go for XP the last time I was poking around the site. Does anyone else recall this?
 
alg7_munif said:
You don't need two sound cards to have DDL on X-Fi :rolleyes:
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Then what smart ass? And the DTS encoder box doesn't count.

I'm pretty sure DDL was a go for XP the last time I was poking around the site. Does anyone else recall this?
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I remember some random forum member said this (can't remember who), but nothing from Auzentech. I guess he was wrong.
 
I said DDL not DTS, it is just a simple software, quite old actually. You don't need to believe me if you don't want to but if you choose to believe me, good luck for finding it :p Btw it is not official so Dolby didn't get their license fee.
 
That's with kX drivers (which doesn't support X-Fi) and performance plummets (not to mention the added latency). That's hardly a solution. Why even use a X-Fi in that situation? If I wanted a sound card that takes a decent performance hit in games (but gives DD/DTS encoding) I would have bought the X-Meridian.
 
Moofasa~ said:
That's with kX drivers (which doesn't support X-Fi) and performance plummets (not to mention the added latency). That's hardly a solution. Why even use a X-Fi in that situation? If I wanted a sound card that takes a decent performance hit in games (but gives DD/DTS encoding) I would have bought the X-Meridian.
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I have an X-Fi and tried it... It is not a driver, just a simple software, no performance loss nor high latency :rolleyes: We also don't need to use a kX driver to send the sound from X-Fi to our X-Meridian.
 
Believe what you want. If you can't even find it, I doubt that you can make it to work if I give it to you. Some people only know how to complain, other people are more patient and usually they get what they want ;) I recall the same negativity when we talked about Velbac...
 
If you can't even find it,
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Don't worry I'm not even looking for it. :rolleyes:

Yes a 100% software encoder with zero performance and latency hit. Hey alg you want to see my pet unicorn?
 
OMG I loss 20FPS in my games because I use a software encoder for my X-Fi. :D Guess that your CPU is quite old to handle a 3MB program, do you know that Intel price cut is coming on this 22nd July?
 
I'm sure just about everyone else would agree using a software encoder would defeat the purpose of having a sound card with a hardware accelerated DSP...

Guess that your CPU is quite old to handle a 3MB program
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I can make a 1MB program that will bring your CPU to its knees.
 
Moofasa~ said:
You have no other sound cards? If you've been using on-board audio for this long, I'm sure you could have lasted a little bit longer.

...

Congratulations.
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No, my M-Audio Revo doesn't work in Vista. No, I wouldn't downgrade my user experience (drop down to XP) just to get better sound when I could just upgrade the sound itself. Oh, I'm sure I could have popped in one of my Soundblaster 16s...I didn't *need* any of the X-Fi's gaming features so why wait?

Anything else, hater? :rolleyes: Go away. Oh, and thanks.
 
alg7_munif said:
Guess that your CPU is quite old to handle a 3MB program
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Memory has almost nothing to do with it. An encoder relies almost entirely on the CPU, not RAM, and there will be a performance and latency penalty. It's completely and totally unavoidable.

Your X-Meridian does DDL in software, at a performance loss, and with an increase in latency. Let's not beat around the bush here.
 
CodeRed said:
Who doesn't like features? :D
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Alright fair enough :p , sorry if I came off as a jerk :( . There are certain people in this forum that can be very frustrating and stubborn at times (myself included :D ). I didn't mean to offend you in any way.
 
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