which one should I get? Xonar dx, d2 or d2x?

hk09

Limp Gawd
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Apr 19, 2008
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I am mainly listen to music. I was just wondering which is the sound card better for music? It seem that xonar dx is more cheaper than the other two. Should I just get that one?
 
For hardware differences between D2(X) and DX, check out the following page:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14500

For pure sound quality standpoint, D2/D2X have an edge over DX - though I'm not sure if it's hearable without high end equipment.

D2X and DX are PCI Express audio cards and need floppy power connector, D2 is PCI and does not need extra power connection.

If I would be buying a Xonar now, I'd probably go for the DX model myself.
 
Will I notice the difference between the on board sound card and the xonar sound card?
 
I'd say that depends on your audio equipment. With basic computer speaker set or entry level headphones I don't think there will be that huge difference, but if you are using high-quality headphones or amplifier/speaker set with analog outputs, then it's going to be a definitive improvement.

I run my two computers sound through a hometheater amp to a bunch of Paradigm Titan speakers, and onboard Realtek definitely sounds a lot worse than Xonar D2 from my primary computer. It's hard to describe, but the sound from onboard seems to be missing a lot of "layers" that are present with Xonar.
 
You'll notice a big difference between on-board audio and the DX. You probably won't notice a difference between the DX and the D2X. You're paying a big premium for a little bit extra performance. I would get the DX for $90, it's a great value and will do music, games, and movies just fine. You can use the front panel connector for your headphones and back panel for speakers, and use the in jack for microphone, if using analog.
 
I'd say that depends on your audio equipment. With basic computer speaker set or entry level headphones I don't think there will be that huge difference, but if you are using high-quality headphones or amplifier/speaker set with analog outputs, then it's going to be a definitive improvement.

I run my two computers sound through a hometheater amp to a bunch of Paradigm Titan speakers, and onboard Realtek definitely sounds a lot worse than Xonar D2 from my primary computer. It's hard to describe, but the sound from onboard seems to be missing a lot of "layers" that are present with Xonar.


depends on your audio equipment. Yes....that being said, I have the promedia 2.1 and I too would like to get a sound card for a lot of music listening, movies and some gaming. I do plan, some day to either get some nice headphones or go to a 5.1 setup. So a DX would be of great value for me then?
 
I going to use the sound card with logitech z-4.

e2g said:
depends on your audio equipment. Yes....that being said, I have the promedia 2.1 and I too would like to get a sound card for a lot of music listening, movies and some gaming. I do plan, some day to either get some nice headphones or go to a 5.1 setup. So a DX would be of great value for me then?

I have no personal experience with either particular speaker set, but I've found many speaker sets designed to be used with a computer are horrible for music listening. I would rather put my money in a decent pair of bookshelf speakers and an amp or good quality headphones before upgrading the sound card. In my opinion, you are going to miss most of the Xonar's audio quality potential with multimedia speakers.
 
I have no personal experience with either particular speaker set, but I've found many speaker sets designed to be used with a computer are horrible for music listening. I would rather put my money in a decent pair of bookshelf speakers and an amp or good quality headphones before upgrading the sound card. In my opinion, you are going to miss most of the Xonar's audio quality potential with multimedia speakers.

yeah, of course. I had some Bose 201 hooked up to an old Pioneer receiver and they sounded amazing. My father uses them now since I have been away from school, but I was interested in finding another pair. I see how a lot of people feel about Bose:p.

n00b question: So if I were to get a receiver, does the computer pass 5.1 surround sound via a digital connector and is a digital connector the only way to do this. I know sound cards have like numerous outputs such as "Front," Sub" etc. But you wouldn't wire all of those to a receiver now would you?
 
n00b question: So if I were to get a receiver, does the computer pass 5.1 surround sound via a digital connector and is a digital connector the only way to do this. I know sound cards have like numerous outputs such as "Front," Sub" etc. But you wouldn't wire all of those to a receiver now would you?

You can pass 5.1 signal from soundcard either as analog via multiple RCA cables or as digital with a coax or optical cable. To get 5.1 over digital, the soundcard needs to support Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect encoding and the receiver needs to be able to decode the signal, of course. Xonar, X-Fi Titanium and Prelude all support at least DDL, and Xonar also supports DTS Connect (not sure about the other cards).
 
I bought an open box Xonar DX for $55. I simply couldn't think that the D2X warranted over $150 more at the moment, especially with the loss of front panel audio. I'm going to wait until the new Xonar HDMI high end card arrives, and buy that instead. For the time being, I'm saving cash and still getting a better card than Creative and Auzentech's X-Fi offerings.
 
You can pass 5.1 signal from soundcard either as analog via multiple RCA cables or as digital with a coax or optical cable. To get 5.1 over digital, the soundcard needs to support Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect encoding and the receiver needs to be able to decode the signal, of course. Xonar, X-Fi Titanium and Prelude all support at least DDL, and Xonar also supports DTS Connect (not sure about the other cards).

Hmm...so connecting it via RCA cables, all of the decoding and such is done in the sound card. Using a digital connection, the decoding is done in the receiver. So wouldn't the logical thing to do, if you have a Xonar DX and a really nice receiver, to pass it via a digital connection since (I would assume) the receiver can do a better job decoding that stuff? Or is that a disadvantage to the software on your pc (e.g. games, movies-powerdvd..)?

Thanks
 
Hmm...so connecting it via RCA cables, all of the decoding and such is done in the sound card. Using a digital connection, the decoding is done in the receiver. So wouldn't the logical thing to do, if you have a Xonar DX and a really nice receiver, to pass it via a digital connection since (I would assume) the receiver can do a better job decoding that stuff? Or is that a disadvantage to the software on your pc (e.g. games, movies-powerdvd..)?

Thanks

Well, the sound card doesn't actually have to decode anything, unless you are getting encoded sound data from external sources, like DVD movie soundtracks.

When you are listening to a MP3 file, or a music CD or playing a game with analog connections, the sound card will send analog signals to the appropriate sound card outputs (front/rear/center+sub/surrounds) and those signals are then transferred to the receiver via the RCA cablest. The cables are connected to the multichannel inputs of the receiver and the receiver knows to direct signal from front left/right input to front left/right speakers etc.

If you are using a digital connection, the sound card first encodes/compresses the channels to a Dolby Digital or DTS digital stream that is passed over the digital connection to the receiver, which in turn decodes/processes the signal and sends it to the appropriate speaker outputs.

There's an excellent pictured guide of different connection methods in Xonar manual, pages 18-25. :)
 
Well, the sound card doesn't actually have to decode anything, unless you are getting encoded sound data from external sources, like DVD movie soundtracks.

When you are listening to a MP3 file, or a music CD or playing a game with analog connections, the sound card will send analog signals to the appropriate sound card outputs (front/rear/center+sub/surrounds) and those signals are then transferred to the receiver via the RCA cablest. The cables are connected to the multichannel inputs of the receiver and the receiver knows to direct signal from front left/right input to front left/right speakers etc.

If you are using a digital connection, the sound card first encodes/compresses the channels to a Dolby Digital or DTS digital stream that is passed over the digital connection to the receiver, which in turn decodes/processes the signal and sends it to the appropriate speaker outputs.

There's an excellent pictured guide of different connection methods in Xonar manual, pages 18-25. :)


Thanks for your help!:D
 
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