Review: Auzentech XPLOSION

[chased13]

i bought this card for 100$ from newegg after the 30 dollar rebate (which is no longer offered i believe)

ill begin saying that i have only used my onboard soudn (which is stereo, and old and NOT OF QUALITY I BELIEVE)

where to start

this card is downright amazing

installation was easy and everything worked right away (my receiver was annoying though and did not want to play the rear channel but after an hour of button mashing i figured it out...PIONEER MAKINGS THE WORST MANUALS EVER)

the box is nice and is covered in dts logos

has the optical cable which is nice, but is not long enough for me or anyone whose receiver is more than 4 feet from their computer)


on to sound quality and proformance
(btw I AM USING THE DIGITAL CONNECTIOn so i know nothing about the analog sound)

i first would like to point out that there is a ridicoulus increase in volume.

my reciever goes from like -60 db to like +5db- i used to get loud volume on around -20 or greater but with this card my speakers are LOUD at -30

you would expect that i would be getting distortion if i went abouve my new "loud" -30 (which used to be normal listenning volume) BUT NO sound stays clear even up to - 10 like it used too, only it rocks the neighboorhood.

the bass is incredible compared to my onboard. I usually do not prefer much bass (i dont know why) but the one song where it really hit me was "you shook my all night long" by acdc where the bass drum comes in
at earth shattering volume when the bass comes in my heart shakes....and evertthing else in my room...again all of this with no distortion
(note i do not have a sub yet but the woofers in my speakers cost like 80$ anywhere ive seen em online (got em free along with my receiver) so they are good for bass)

surround sound is great- the main reason i got this card (for dts encoding games) but i have nothing to compare it too since my onbaord wasnt surorund. there is clear distance and positioning with my 5$ (im guessing this was how much they were...found in garage) pionner rears. the speakers acutally sound decent when i play music through them via channel B or adv surround or w/e)

i can notice a slight difference between dts and ddl....i had my dad blind test me and about 75% of the time on music and better than that in surround sound i picked the right ones. sound just seems a little more full in dts. but i wouldnt say its worth upgrading from an ddl only card just for dts it is only a slight difference in music and maybe a little more in surround sound

to sum it up, if you do not have a sound card...Get one...if you can afford it...GET THE XPLOSIon.

all along i had thought that sound quality and distortion was only related to the bitrate of my mp3s (which is usually 200 vbr and imo is somehwat close to flac) my receiver and my speakers. WOW I WAS WRONG....this soundcard made a similar improvement to my system as upgrading from a 60watt receiver to my new pioneer 815 which is like 110 watts a channel

this card is 10/10 (mainly because i knew what i was gettting in surround sound but did not realize the benifits i would get for music)

even if you only listen to stereo/2channel music i would recommend getting a soundcard. this improvement was HUGE from onboard.

if you have anyquestions about this card feel free to post below or PM me

 

[choirbass]

yep! lol, i definetly had a very similar experience upgrading from the audigy 2 zs, to a montego ddl... ...particularly the impact that surround made... seeing as how i never much cared for the 6-8 cable analog solution in regards to how it sounded (or what i couldnt even 'do' with the sound, when the cables were connected to my receiver... it left it sounding very 'ordinary', and just plain unimpressive)... (a few other people have said that they cant tell much of a difference between an audigy 2 and onboard sound anyhow)... but, you should be able to get practically the exact same effect of analog surround using your multiple analog cables, routed to your receivers surround inputs from your x-plosion (im assuming the quality of the D/A converters and the SNR are pretty similar to an audigy 2, shouldnt sound much different, either better or worse)

between going with either optical toslink, or coaxial rca, its the same either way, no difference really in sound quality, supposedly optical is better, as its carrying a signal of light, though theyre typically more expensive too, when compared to a generic rca cable, but, between the two, and especially over such a short distance ( < 50+ feet or whatever), differences in cable quality REALLY wont matter, since the signal isnt degrading at all from 'traveling along a long run of cable' (and, its digital anyhow, so i suppose you either receive all the bits being sent in their original digital form, or you get partially corrupted data i would think, so yeah lol)...

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/FL-FR-channels-ftopict190526.html
(thats a review i wrote after i got mine, about half way down the page)

im really glad you like the card though, and in all honestly, i dont feel you couldve made a much better choice at all for going surround

the next biggest change you could make as far as how things sound, is in your speakers (how many channels your receiver supports too, an article said it supports 7.1, if you have the VSX-815 anyhow, otherwise, im not sure, lol http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/PioneerVSX-815ReceiverReview1.php)... but, speaker changes would honestly only be if you really felt you needed either different/better/more speakers.

 

[chased13]

yeh it really is great

about 7.1 i know my receiver supports it but i dont reall have the room as i already dont have very much seperation.

i still cant get over the improvement in listnening to stereo music through my 2 front speakers

im using my monityors speakers as the center channel. they are built in polks and they are relativly decent. Im sure a designed center would be better but this is oding the trick for me.

i plan on getting a sub once i have the $ as i have practiclly no bass comming rear channel due to the rear speakers size.

i dont mind spending money on audio related stuff becase 1) technology does change, but not nearly at the same pace as other computer stuff

2) im gonna take audio stuff away to college in like 2 years so its gonna be used alot.

 

[choirbass]

yeah, as far as additional speakers, its certainly not a requirement by any means lol, and if you dont have enough room available, they can certainly get in the way some, depending on where they are... but, if ever you do start looking, you can find some decent, all in one 5.1 surround sets, for not too expensive, for around ~$100 or so, im guesstimating (but to add to your 2 front speakers), and that will give you 7.1... purchasing speakers individually certainly can cost more, but if you do look... a powered sub is a good place to start, like you were mentioning.

 

[chased13]

thats actually a decent idea because i could throw away my junk rears and then have 7.1.

only problem is i only work 2 days a week i get like 75 bux each of those days and i really dont wanna spend ALL my money in this setup. mab for the bday and xmas.

i dont need big bux in the surround speaker sbecase i usually game for like an hour each day usually between like 11-12. i try not to wear myself out on stuff. plus im out most of the day during the summer with friends and stuff so i dont have time. but its so much cooler playing cs:s in surround. the gunshots mean something now as opposed to being random sound. my next objective is to get like 20 someting inch lcd to use as a tv/monitor so i can get an xbox 360 (which i won in a bet from my dad PWNED) surround sound+computer+hdtv+360 = awesome!

thanks alot choirbass for posting on TH.... there are a few people here who are just so helpful. its nice to have people who arent lazy and selfish and are willing to share their knowlege with others

 

[choirbass]

yeah, different speakers arent by any means a necessity, especially considering you already have surround sound, but they can certainly make a large impact if you do get around to purchasing some... i bet itll be awesome when you get things all set up (it already seems pretty awesome as it is though lol)

im glad i was able to help

 

[halcyon]

i bought this card for 100$ from newegg after the 30 dollar rebate (which is no longer offered i believe)

ill begin saying that i have only used my onboard soudn (which is stereo, and old and NOT OF QUALITY I BELIEVE)

where to start

this card is downright amazing

installation was easy and everything worked right away (my receiver was annoying though and did not want to play the rear channel but after an hour of button mashing i figured it out...PIONEER MAKINGS THE WORST MANUALS EVER)

the box is nice and is covered in dts logos

has the optical cable which is nice, but is not long enough for me or anyone whose receiver is more than 4 feet from their computer)


on to sound quality and proformance
(btw I AM USING THE DIGITAL CONNECTIOn so i know nothing about the analog sound)

i first would like to point out that there is a ridicoulus increase in volume.

my reciever goes from like -60 db to like +5db- i used to get loud volume on around -20 or greater but with this card my speakers are LOUD at -30

you would expect that i would be getting distortion if i went abouve my new "loud" -30 (which used to be normal listenning volume) BUT NO sound stays clear even up to - 10 like it used too, only it rocks the neighboorhood.

the bass is incredible compared to my onboard. I usually do not prefer much bass (i dont know why) but the one song where it really hit me was "you shook my all night long" by acdc where the bass drum comes in
at earth shattering volume when the bass comes in my heart shakes....and evertthing else in my room...again all of this with no distortion
(note i do not have a sub yet but the woofers in my speakers cost like 80$ anywhere ive seen em online (got em free along with my receiver) so they are good for bass)

surround sound is great- the main reason i got this card (for dts encoding games) but i have nothing to compare it too since my onbaord wasnt surorund. there is clear distance and positioning with my 5$ (im guessing this was how much they were...found in garage) pionner rears. the speakers acutally sound decent when i play music through them via channel B or adv surround or w/e)

i can notice a slight difference between dts and ddl....i had my dad blind test me and about 75% of the time on music and better than that in surround sound i picked the right ones. sound just seems a little more full in dts. but i wouldnt say its worth upgrading from an ddl only card just for dts it is only a slight difference in music and maybe a little more in surround sound

to sum it up, if you do not have a sound card...Get one...if you can afford it...GET THE XPLOSIon.

all along i had thought that sound quality and distortion was only related to the bitrate of my mp3s (which is usually 200 vbr and imo is somehwat close to flac) my receiver and my speakers. WOW I WAS WRONG....this soundcard made a similar improvement to my system as upgrading from a 60watt receiver to my new pioneer 815 which is like 110 watts a channel

this card is 10/10 (mainly because i knew what i was gettting in surround sound but did not realize the benifits i would get for music)

even if you only listen to stereo/2channel music i would recommend getting a soundcard. this improvement was HUGE from onboard.

if you have anyquestions about this card feel free to post below or PM me

Good stuff! How's this puppy do in gaming?

 

[chased13]

since i originally reviewd, ive swithced to coax cable because the included opt cable is only 3 or 4 feet..(too lazy to measure) and i need more like 6 feet. i had a standard rca cable that i hooked up as coax. works fine. no noticeable quality difference and i aalong with my dad tried to find some for a while.

ive spent few hours of cs s and its sweet. positional audio works great...i can hear gunshots and footsteps behind me so no one should even bother trying to come from behind.

tried wc3 and its cool audio as well but sound doesnt impact hte gamepaly in that game like in an fps.

its cool with hl2 as well.

i cant compare to anything else because ive only had onboard stereo.

i get the feeling that this card is very good for gaming as all of the sounds are correctly seperated. i get a great feeling of submersion. i no longer feel like im watching a game instead of living in it. i have to give it a try with doom... i have a feeling it could get pretty freaky.

i used to play bf2 alot but im tired of it. mab ill give it a shot just to see how it goes

 

[halcyon]

since i originally reviewd, ive swithced to coax cable because the included opt cable is only 3 or 4 feet..(too lazy to measure) and i need more like 6 feet. i had a standard rca cable that i hooked up as coax. works fine. no noticeable quality difference and i aalong with my dad tried to find some for a while.

ive spent few hours of cs s and its sweet. positional audio works great...i can hear gunshots and footsteps behind me so no one should even bother trying to come from behind.

tried wc3 and its cool audio as well but sound doesnt impact hte gamepaly in that game like in an fps.

its cool with hl2 as well.

i cant compare to anything else because ive only had onboard stereo.

i get the feeling that this card is very good for gaming as all of the sounds are correctly seperated. i get a great feeling of submersion. i no longer feel like im watching a game instead of living in it. i have to give it a try with doom... i have a feeling it could get pretty freaky.

i used to play bf2 alot but im tired of it. mab ill give it a shot just to see
how it goes

1 word. Niiiiiiiice

 

[chased13]

yeh its really amazing...

as i said its not worth upgrading a ddl capable card just for dts but really, this card leaves creative in the dust. yes....creative sucks. (i bleive that the mystique is the same stuff just doesnt do ddl so if you dotn have ddl capable decoder aka. receiver then get the mystique for 35 cheaper)

creative has yet to realize that there are many of us who want to USE digital connections, not just "have them".

2 words actually.... very nice

if youre just reading this now..... creative cards DO NOT ALLOW SURROUND SOUND OVER DIGITAL CONNECTIONS

algiht/ im done posting on this topic...if anyone has any questions feel free to pm me

 

[choirbass]

the chipsets though are some of the main differences between the x-plosion (CMI8770), and other less recent ddl capable sound cards (but still recent), the x-mystique and montego ddl (CMI8768+)... ...the chipset itself though can impact the overall quality of sound... ...nforce2 with soundstorm was one of the oldest ddl enabled chipsets that i know of (and there have been a few concerns on its sound quality when a few people were asked, honestly though, it was considered excellent when it came out, but was still lacking some impact overall), and the only other one i can think of, is the diamond xtremesound with dolby digital live... ...its a fairly current card from what i know, but so far i havent been able to find really anything on what chipset its even using, or many technical details at all for that matter... ...so, i would say its questionable quality at best... ...differences in chipsets though can certainly have an impact overall...

 

[chased13]

yeh i knew there was a diference in chipsets but i fiugred that the xplsosion was just the older one +ddl since that is the only different feature i saw...

 

[choirbass]

its okay, i didnt mean to take over the end of the thread lol, there was just a typo between ddl and dts that i saw at the end, but i didnt want to bother you about it, since you said you were done... just wanted to help avoid confusion to anyone reading.