THD
DMX 6Fire 24/96
Audigy Platinum
In the next test, we measured the total harmonic distortion, or THD. This is an examination of the audio fidelity of the card where one notes the appearance of harmonics when a simple but strong sinus wave (-3dB) is sent into the card. Yes, you've already guessed, the DMX 6Fire 24/96 beats its rival with a splendid 0.001% against 0.004% for the Audigy Platinum, though this figure is also very good.
Diaphony
Finally, we examined the intermodulation, or diaphony. This test measures the separation between the card's left and right audio channels - in other words, the highest sound level at which one can hear on one channel before beginning to hear on the other one as well. This test is of particular interest in a multi-channel environment. Our cards reached the finish line in the same order, though they were pretty much neck and neck: 83.4 dB for the DMX 6Fire 24/96 and 82.2 dB for the Audigy Platinum.