Configuration (continued):
The final configuration tab is for the Karaoke enthusiast in all of us. Here you can activate/deactivate the Karaoke option. If you activate it, you can then enable an echo effect. If you like to use voice chat in IM or online games, you can use this option to activate the 'magic voice', which will disguise your voice. Another Karaoke option allows key adjustment, which will adjust your voice pitch by -4b to +4#. The last option to discuss is vocal cancellation which could allow you to remove the prerecorded singer from the selected song (it should be noted that Auzentech specifies this does not always work). The last tab is a standard "About" screen which will provide you version numbers and CODEC information.
Testing:
I performed several test scenarios with this card. The first was to put it into my game machine and see how some games sounded. Usually I play games with the onboard audio, and I get pretty good sound from my new ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard. However, the sound was much richer and crisp with the
AuzenTech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect card. During several late night gaming sessions, I have to admit the DTS Connect effect made me jump when a surprise sound was behind me, instead of in front of me, like I expected.
In addition to games, I also play a good amount of music on this system; generally as background music while I'm working or playing games. Some of my older music is only encoded for 2 channel and now suddenly it's a full 7.1 channel! While it's great for my older music to be in full surround, it does have a drawback. Many of those older files are lower quality, and the difference really comes out when it's converted from 2 channel to 7.1. Some of them are not a problem, especially when they were encoded from an old record (ok, I'm showing my age here), while others shows their age, and will force me to re-encode them soon!
My final test was to watch some movies and other home videos on my HTPC. This is where the card will stay. While I really enjoyed the card in my game system, I saw the biggest change in the sound in my HTPC. This is of course because I was able to use the optical output and pump it through my Sony DD/DTS receiver. It was surprising to watch shows that I had used Media Center to record in DTS 7.1. Watching some shows off the Sci-Fi network offered a totally new experience from previous viewings.
With Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect you might expect there to be a hit to your CPU utilization. To my surprise and satisfaction, the CPU utilization went down when changing from onboard audio to the Auzentech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect card, even when Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect were enabled. Using the Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard with an AMD X2 4200 CPU, I watched the Ai Booster utility which includes a CPU utilization meter. Watching a movie using the onboard sound, I received a CPU utilization of 3-5% on each core. Watching the same movie using the Auzentech sound card, the CPU utilization was between 2-3% on each core while using DTS Connect to upstream a 2 channel movie to 7.1.
