DH Review: Auzentech Auzen X-MERIDIAN 7.1 Soundcard

Zardon · Jan 8, 2007, 12:01 AM

Read The Review Here
______________________

Today’s review product comes from Auzentech a company who have been making a name for themselves in the PC home theatre market with the release of the World's first Dolby Digital Live Sound card (the X-MYSTIQUE 7.1 Gold) and the World's first DTS Connect Sound Card (the X-PLOSION 7.1 DTS Connect). The X-MERIDIAN 7.1 is aimed to directly compete with the Creative X-Fi in both the PC home theatre and gaming markets and on paper it certainly is impressive with numerous Dolby Digital technologies mixed with the latest DTS modes and some excellent technical specifications, let’s take a closer look at the card...

Chaos · Jan 8, 2007, 12:31 AM

Great review Stu! I think Creative better watch out for these guys it's obvious they have a far superior card

riles9262 · Jan 8, 2007, 05:16 PM

Nice review. This card is quite amazing, and I hope to get one for my next system.

LeanWolf · Jan 8, 2007, 08:28 PM

That sure is purdy! Thanks for the review.

harisbrown · Jan 8, 2007, 08:32 PM

It sounds like a great card and I like the absence of unwanted bloatware, but how well does the card do in actual games and CPU utilization? Also, is there a good summary of what features are included in each version of EAX, since this card currently only supports up to v2.0?

swimtech · Jan 8, 2007, 11:34 PM

Thanks for the review Veridian3 - the card looks to be real nice with great connectivity. Now if they could just get the price down some...

***Veridian3*** · Jan 9, 2007, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harisbrown

It sounds like a great card and I like the absence of unwanted bloatware, but how well does the card do in actual games and CPU utilization? Also, is there a good summary of what features are included in each version of EAX, since this card currently only supports up to v2.0?

Hi,

The gaming CPU usage isnt something I feel important for audio card reviews because its so specific to everyones CPU. For example our main review system which we use in gaming tests uses a quad core cpu running at 4Ghz...our media system runs a high end dual core as well so for the majority of people the CPU usage isnt going to be useful to see. I will however try and find some time to check it out and post back in here if possible.

On the EAX front the main difference in EAX versions is the number of voices which it is possible to use (EAX2= 32, EAX5=128). EAX 5 also has a technology called MacroFX which allows for distance cues which is meant to create a more realism when used correctly.

I cant say i've felt like i'm missing anything when gaming on the X-Meridian with its lower EAX version...and all the other extra functionality more than makes up for it.

[hobo]eclipse · Jan 9, 2007, 07:24 AM

I've had this card for a little over a month now, first off I want to say it has performed excellently and the drivers for XP x64 have performed superbly. There was a small issue with saving EQ profile in the first release I downloaded and after an updated release they are working. As stated in the review the control panel for the card is very easily navigated and configured. Previous audio solutions I've handled include nForce2 Soundstorm with Logitech Z-680's and the Realtek AC 97 650 I believe it was on a VIA K8T800 Pro. The soundstorm was nice and it was a definate noticable downgrade to the Realtek, and the X-Meridian is leaps and bounds over the Realtek.

Always glacing at the Creative cards with a skeptical eye because of all the net talk and never sprung for one, and once I saw the the other cards by Auzentech with DTS support I knew I would own one. The soundstorm with the z-680's were great, LOL I popped the SUB after a year and got a complete refund from Newegg, (props!). So far I've mostly used the X-Meridian with these Sennheiser headphones, and I've got to say the audio quality is about 1000x better, and these aren't highend headphones by any means. . All formats sound great. I've hooked it up once to a Sony DD/DTS 5.1 Surround Sound package. The package is about 4 years old or so and performs admirably in movies and music. Nothing thats going to blow your ears off though. The card sounded great all the way around but obiously took tweaking depending on the audio source and quality, Playing music DVD's through it is nice as you can really tweak in CP for the best sound for your environment, I could've toasted the Sub easily with some EQ tweaking and the LFE frequency contol.

I cant vouche for this card being better than Creative cards or any other sound cards for that matter, but i know that I am very pleased with mine and hope to have it for years to come. Now for some sweet speakers, any suggestions in the $500 dollar range for complete setup with DD/DTS?

bug77 · Jan 9, 2007, 03:52 PM

The guru3d guys found out that this card doesn't do all that well over 48KHz sampling rate...

***Veridian3*** · Jan 9, 2007, 05:20 PM

I've just gone and had a read at the article and it seems that the reviewer is suggesting there is a 48kHz issue but not that it is with the card specifically. The mention that it could be the driver, application or reviewer that is at fault.

In the end what matters most to me with a soundcard is how it sounds, not how it performs in a benchmark and in that aspect Guru3d's review agrees with us that its the best soundcard available in every aspect other than games where it still performs very well.

bug77 · Jan 9, 2007, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

I've just gone and had a read at the article and it seems that the reviewer is suggesting there is a 48kHz issue but not that it is with the card specifically. The mention that it could be the driver, application or reviewer that is at fault.

In the end what matters most to me with a soundcard is how it sounds, not how it performs in a benchmark and in that aspect Guru3d's review agrees with us that its the best soundcard available in every aspect other than games where it still performs very well.

Absolutley. That's the most important thing. I meant my remark as a note for those thinking about using this card (semi)professionally.

dallas-lv · Jan 11, 2007, 01:40 PM

I wish it was cheaper.

Shaga · Jan 12, 2007, 01:53 PM

I want this card.

niceguyrichy · Jan 12, 2007, 08:03 PM

brilliant review Stuart.
looks like a really sweet card, I'd love one. but like a couple above me, it really needs to be a bit cheaper before I could seriously consider getting one unfortunately

guess I'll stick with my Hercules for the mo

ronnn · Jan 13, 2007, 06:24 AM

Am watching prices. Will get one soon. Does it have working vissssta drivers?

ps nice review!

***Veridian3*** · Jan 13, 2007, 11:26 PM

From: http://www.auzentech.com/site/suppor...#compatibility

Q : Are Auzentech Soundcards compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista?
A: Our developers are hard at work on the Microsoft Windows Vista™ drivers. In the meantime, return here for regular updates.

Latest News about Vista Compatibility

* 11/22/06
This feature clarification is a response to support questions concerning the lack of DirectSound™ hardware acceleration in Microsoft Windows Vista™.

o Dolby® Digital Live and DTS® Connect will be supported.
o Auzentech will continue developing support for OpenAL.

ronnn · Jan 14, 2007, 02:50 AM

Thanks! I appreciate how you guys always answer my inane questions.

I am getting one of these for sure. That and a nice tuner card - will build a little multimedia set up. My brothers think I am nuts to want to use a small (19-22") monitor as a tv, but I am nuts.

ROBSCIX · Jan 16, 2007, 01:16 AM

I bought one of these cards when they were available. They sound utterly amazing. I swapped my opamps from the stock ones to Burr Brown's and the sound quality increased again. The sound quality is better the X-fi for sure. Gold Plating, if you buy this card you will probably spend 5 minutes looking at it before you install it. They went above and beyond on this design. The sound quality is awsome.
Everybody I have talked to who owns one has a new favorite audio company.

Zelig · Jan 16, 2007, 01:52 AM

Is there anybody here with high quality speakers (ie. not computer speakers, nothing bose, nothing under $1000, and with a real receiver) who is able to share their experience with this sound card?

DJShamrock · Feb 22, 2007, 02:31 AM

This card is on sale for $169 at Newegg right now.
Newegg.com - AuzenTech AZT-XM71 Auzen X-Meridian 7.1 Sound Card - Retail

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 22, 2007, 03:15 AM

How is it able to do BOTH COAX and OPTICAL from the same jacks? That adapter thing?

That gives max flexibility, to be sure - IF it works well. I'm a bit skeptical on how that might function and if it will reduce quality. Anybody got some info?

It would have been great if you had been able to test it with multiple speaker sets / dolby setups to test the Analog, Digital Coax and Digital Optical.

Still, it looks promising, but MAN - that is a LOT of cash.

ronnn · Apr 22, 2007, 07:56 PM

Ok, I got the card and have some initial thoughts. I have only used anolog out with my 5.1 monsoon speakers and also running it into an older stereo amp with nice speakers.
First thing there are a million settings to emulate sound - most are silly (they seem to add a subtle echo), but I do like the how it mixes stereo into the 5.1 speakers.

Also be carefull this thing really boosts signal (or something). I had to reduce by 1 db signal to my cheap centre speaker and sub woofer - as they were breaking up and would have cracked soon (only with certain music, but still).

Control panel is fairly straight forward once you get the idea.

Sound is much clearer than the audigy 2 oem card I had previously. (very big surprise)

Music on stereo system is much improved.

Am radio over the internet is greatly improved (I listen to hockey of all things).

Will in the near future hook it up to a multimedia setup - so hope the digital quality is as good as the analog.

Overall I am happy.

edit: I discovered that the default settings for effects "generic" was causing most of my problems. 3/4 of the way down is "plain" and that small echo is gone. Sounds great!

Jan 8, 2007, 12:01 AM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	DH Review: Auzentech Auzen X-MERIDIAN 7.1 Soundcard Read The Review Here ______________________ Today’s review product comes from Auzentech a company who have been making a name for themselves in the PC home theatre market with the release of the World's first Dolby Digital Live Sound card (the X-MYSTIQUE 7.1 Gold) and the World's first DTS Connect Sound Card (the X-PLOSION 7.1 DTS Connect). The X-MERIDIAN 7.1 is aimed to directly compete with the Creative X-Fi in both the PC home theatre and gaming markets and on paper it certainly is impressive with numerous Dolby Digital technologies mixed with the latest DTS modes and some excellent technical specifications, let’s take a closer look at the card...

Jan 8, 2007, 12:31 AM	#2
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,269 Rep Power: 165 System Specs	Great review Stu! I think Creative better watch out for these guys it's obvious they have a far superior card __________________

Jan 8, 2007, 05:16 PM	#3
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 70 System Specs	Nice review. This card is quite amazing, and I hope to get one for my next system. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Jan 8, 2007, 08:28 PM	#4
LeanWolf alpha male Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Skyrim Posts: 5,702 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	That sure is purdy! Thanks for the review. __________________

Jan 8, 2007, 11:34 PM	#6
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 122 System Specs	Thanks for the review Veridian3 - the card looks to be real nice with great connectivity. Now if they could just get the price down some... __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Jan 8, 2007, 08:32 PM	#5
harisbrown DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	It sounds like a great card and I like the absence of unwanted bloatware, but how well does the card do in actual games and CPU utilization? Also, is there a good summary of what features are included in each version of EAX, since this card currently only supports up to v2.0?

Jan 9, 2007, 07:24 AM	#8
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,897 Rep Power: 107 System Specs	I've had this card for a little over a month now, first off I want to say it has performed excellently and the drivers for XP x64 have performed superbly. There was a small issue with saving EQ profile in the first release I downloaded and after an updated release they are working. As stated in the review the control panel for the card is very easily navigated and configured. Previous audio solutions I've handled include nForce2 Soundstorm with Logitech Z-680's and the Realtek AC 97 650 I believe it was on a VIA K8T800 Pro. The soundstorm was nice and it was a definate noticable downgrade to the Realtek, and the X-Meridian is leaps and bounds over the Realtek. Always glacing at the Creative cards with a skeptical eye because of all the net talk and never sprung for one, and once I saw the the other cards by Auzentech with DTS support I knew I would own one. The soundstorm with the z-680's were great, LOL I popped the SUB after a year and got a complete refund from Newegg, (props!). So far I've mostly used the X-Meridian with these Sennheiser headphones, and I've got to say the audio quality is about 1000x better, and these aren't highend headphones by any means. . All formats sound great. I've hooked it up once to a Sony DD/DTS 5.1 Surround Sound package. The package is about 4 years old or so and performs admirably in movies and music. Nothing thats going to blow your ears off though. The card sounded great all the way around but obiously took tweaking depending on the audio source and quality, Playing music DVD's through it is nice as you can really tweak in CP for the best sound for your environment, I could've toasted the Sub easily with some EQ tweaking and the LFE frequency contol. I cant vouche for this card being better than Creative cards or any other sound cards for that matter, but i know that I am very pleased with mine and hope to have it for years to come. Now for some sweet speakers, any suggestions in the $500 dollar range for complete setup with DD/DTS?

Jan 9, 2007, 03:52 PM	#9
bug77 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: around Posts: 792 Rep Power: 0	The guru3d guys found out that this card doesn't do all that well over 48KHz sampling rate...

Jan 9, 2007, 05:20 PM	#10
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 4,835 Rep Power: 174	I've just gone and had a read at the article and it seems that the reviewer is suggesting there is a 48kHz issue but not that it is with the card specifically. The mention that it could be the driver, application or reviewer that is at fault. In the end what matters most to me with a soundcard is how it sounds, not how it performs in a benchmark and in that aspect Guru3d's review agrees with us that its the best soundcard available in every aspect other than games where it still performs very well.

Jan 11, 2007, 01:40 PM	#12
dallas-lv DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Riga, Latvia Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	I wish it was cheaper.

Jan 12, 2007, 01:53 PM	#13
Shaga Intelligent Life Form Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nordic Region Posts: 383 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	I want this card. __________________ Server: Currently Offline

Jan 13, 2007, 06:24 AM	#15
ronnn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 617 Rep Power: 0	Am watching prices. Will get one soon. Does it have working vissssta drivers? ps nice review!

Jan 13, 2007, 11:26 PM	#16
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 4,835 Rep Power: 174	From: http://www.auzentech.com/site/suppor...#compatibility Q : Are Auzentech Soundcards compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista? A: Our developers are hard at work on the Microsoft Windows Vista™ drivers. In the meantime, return here for regular updates. Latest News about Vista Compatibility * 11/22/06 This feature clarification is a response to support questions concerning the lack of DirectSound™ hardware acceleration in Microsoft Windows Vista™. o Dolby® Digital Live and DTS® Connect will be supported. o Auzentech will continue developing support for OpenAL.

Jan 14, 2007, 02:50 AM	#17
ronnn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 617 Rep Power: 0	Thanks! I appreciate how you guys always answer my inane questions. I am getting one of these for sure. That and a nice tuner card - will build a little multimedia set up. My brothers think I am nuts to want to use a small (19-22") monitor as a tv, but I am nuts.

Jan 16, 2007, 01:16 AM	#18
ROBSCIX DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,732 Rep Power: 0	I bought one of these cards when they were available. They sound utterly amazing. I swapped my opamps from the stock ones to Burr Brown's and the sound quality increased again. The sound quality is better the X-fi for sure. Gold Plating, if you buy this card you will probably spend 5 minutes looking at it before you install it. They went above and beyond on this design. The sound quality is awsome. Everybody I have talked to who owns one has a new favorite audio company.

Jan 16, 2007, 01:52 AM	#19
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Is there anybody here with high quality speakers (ie. not computer speakers, nothing bose, nothing under $1000, and with a real receiver) who is able to share their experience with this sound card? __________________ --

Feb 22, 2007, 02:31 AM	#20
DJShamrock DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tennessee but from NY Posts: 206 Rep Power: 35 System Specs	This card is on sale for $169 at Newegg right now. Newegg.com - AuzenTech AZT-XM71 Auzen X-Meridian 7.1 Sound Card - Retail __________________ My rap group. http://www.myspace.com/waxingpoetix

Feb 22, 2007, 03:15 AM	#21
~~DudeBoyz~~ banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,677 Rep Power: 0	How is it able to do BOTH COAX and OPTICAL from the same jacks? That adapter thing? That gives max flexibility, to be sure - IF it works well. I'm a bit skeptical on how that might function and if it will reduce quality. Anybody got some info? It would have been great if you had been able to test it with multiple speaker sets / dolby setups to test the Analog, Digital Coax and Digital Optical. Still, it looks promising, but MAN - that is a LOT of cash. Last edited by DudeBoyz; Feb 22, 2007 at 03:24 AM.

Apr 22, 2007, 07:56 PM	#22
ronnn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 617 Rep Power: 0	Ok, I got the card and have some initial thoughts. I have only used anolog out with my 5.1 monsoon speakers and also running it into an older stereo amp with nice speakers. First thing there are a million settings to emulate sound - most are silly (they seem to add a subtle echo), but I do like the how it mixes stereo into the 5.1 speakers. Also be carefull this thing really boosts signal (or something). I had to reduce by 1 db signal to my cheap centre speaker and sub woofer - as they were breaking up and would have cracked soon (only with certain music, but still). Control panel is fairly straight forward once you get the idea. Sound is much clearer than the audigy 2 oem card I had previously. (very big surprise) Music on stereo system is much improved. Am radio over the internet is greatly improved (I listen to hockey of all things). Will in the near future hook it up to a multimedia setup - so hope the digital quality is as good as the analog. Overall I am happy. edit: I discovered that the default settings for effects "generic" was causing most of my problems. 3/4 of the way down is "plain" and that small echo is gone. Sounds great! Last edited by ronnn; Apr 22, 2007 at 11:14 PM.