ASUS Xonar Xense Audio Card & Headphones Review - PAGE 1

Carl Poirier - Monday, January 17th, 2011 Like Share

Following our look at ASUS' Xonar DG, we have a new ASUS product specifically targeted toward the professional gaming and the audiophile crowd, the Xonar Xense. What's special about it is that it's not only an audio card; it comes with a headset as well. Since both parts are specifically made to work with each other, one would expect optimized sound quality, even before considering the fact that ASUS has teamed up with Sennheiser to power up this bundle. ASUS has shown its experience in audio with many devices lately, and Seinheiser has been an outstanding player in this field for a long time. Will the Xonar Xense impress or disappoint?

Soundcard Specifications
Audio Performance	Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 118 dB Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 118 dB Output THD N at 1kHz: 0.00039% (-108dB) for Front Channel of Line-out Input THD N at 1kHz: 0.0003% (-110dB) for Line-in Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input): <10Hz to 46kHz Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage 2V_rms (5.65V_p-p)
Bus Compatibility	PCI Express: PCI Express Rev.1.0a specification compatible. Maximum full 2.5Gbps bandwidth per direction and optimized latency for high-definition audio processing. Compatible with X1, X4, X8, X1 6 PCI Express slots.
Main Chipset	Audio Processor: ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192kHz/24bit)) 24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources: Texas Instruments PCM17961 for Front-Out (123dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit); Cirrus-Logic CS4362A1 for other 6 channels (114dB SNR, Max.192kHz/24bit) 24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs: Cirrus-Logic CS5381 x 1 (120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit) High Fidelity Headphone Amplifier: Texas Instruments 6120A2*1 (120dB SNR, -117dB THD+N @ Vcc+-12V, RL=600Ω, f=1kHz)
Sample Rate and Resolution	Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution: 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution: 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit S/PDIF Digital Output: 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital ASIO 2.0 Driver Support: 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @16/24bit with very low latency
I/O Ports	Analog Output Jack: 6.30mm jack1 (Headphone out); 7.1ch analog output (via bundled audio splitter cable) Analog Input Jack:* 6.30mm jack 1 (Shared by Line-In/Mic-In) Other line-level analog input (for CD-IN/TV Tuner):* Aux-In (4-pin header on the card) Digital S/PDIF Output: High-bandwidth Coaxial/TOS-Link combo port supports 192KHz/24bit Front-Panel Header: Shared by Headphone out / 2 channels out / Microphone in
Driver Features	Operation System: Windows 7/Vista/XP/MCE2005 Dolby® Technologies: Dolby® Digital Live, Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Virtual Speaker, Dolby® Pro-Logic II Smart Volume Normalizer™: Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a constant level and also enhances your 3D sound listening range and advantages in gaming Xear 3D™ Virtual Speaker Shifter: Virtual 7.1 speaker positioning FlexBass™: Professional Bass Management/Enhancement system Other Effects: 10-band Equalizer/27 Environment Effects 3D Sound Engines/APIs: DirectSound3D® GX 2.0 & 1.0, EAX®2.0&1.0, DirectSound® HW, DirectSound SW, OpenAL generic modes, 128 3D sounds processing capability DS3D GX2.5: GX 2.5 supports EAX gaming sound effects and Di rectSound 3D hardware enhanced functions for more games on Windows XP/Vista/7. (DirectX/DirectSound 3D compatible)
Accessories	1 x S/PDIF optical adaptors 1 x 6.3mm to 3.5mm stereo adapter 1 x 7.1 channel audio splitter cable 1 x Driver CD 1 x Quick Start Guide
Size(Width x Height)	111.15mm x 178.06mm

Headphones Specifications
Cable Length	3m (9.8 feet)
Connector Plugs	2 x 6.3mm
Speaker Type	Dynamic, 38mm, Nd magnet
Frequency Response	10 – 26,000Hz
Impedance	150Ω
Distortion	Less than 0.1%