Asus has announced the expansion of its owl-themed Strix family with the unveiling of three new gamer-oriented soundcards: the Strix Raid DLX, Strix Raid Pro, and Strix Soar.
Joining the company's Strix graphics cards, the Strix soundcard range has as its headline the Strix Raid DLX. Described as a a 'premium' soundcard for gamers who have decided that on-board sound is a no-go area, Asus claims to have designed the card with premium components including the ESS SABRE9016 32-bit/24-bit digital to analogue converter (DAC). The card includes support for 192KHz 24-bit playback and 7.1-channel surround-sound output, and boasts an impressive 124dB signal-to-noise ratio. An integrated 600-Ohm headphone amplifier is also included, promising the power to drive even high-end headphones.
The Raid Pro and Soar, meanwhile, drop down to the lower-end but still high-performance ESS SABRE9006A DEC, which drops the signal to noise ratio down to 116dB. All models, however, include low-dropout regulators, 'hi-fi grade capacitors,' and the aforementioned headphone amplifier, along with Asus' Sonic Studio software. This latter allows easy adjustment of audio settings including Perfect Voice, a system designed for multiplayer gamers which Asus claims reduces background noise to make in-game voice transmissions clearer. It also includes Sonic Radar Pro, which maps in-game sounds to an on-screen overlay - pointing the direction to an enemy through their footsteps, for example.
The Raid editions have an additional feature above the Soar, too: Raid Mode. A somewhat oddly-picked name for what amounts to a user-configurable settings database, Raid Mode allows the user to configure different audio settings for different scenarios and then switch between them on-the-fly using a dedicated button on the bundled desk-mounted control module.
UK pricing and availability have yet to be confirmed, with more information available on Asus' website.
Joining the company's Strix graphics cards, the Strix soundcard range has as its headline the Strix Raid DLX. Described as a a 'premium' soundcard for gamers who have decided that on-board sound is a no-go area, Asus claims to have designed the card with premium components including the ESS SABRE9016 32-bit/24-bit digital to analogue converter (DAC). The card includes support for 192KHz 24-bit playback and 7.1-channel surround-sound output, and boasts an impressive 124dB signal-to-noise ratio. An integrated 600-Ohm headphone amplifier is also included, promising the power to drive even high-end headphones.
The Raid Pro and Soar, meanwhile, drop down to the lower-end but still high-performance ESS SABRE9006A DEC, which drops the signal to noise ratio down to 116dB. All models, however, include low-dropout regulators, 'hi-fi grade capacitors,' and the aforementioned headphone amplifier, along with Asus' Sonic Studio software. This latter allows easy adjustment of audio settings including Perfect Voice, a system designed for multiplayer gamers which Asus claims reduces background noise to make in-game voice transmissions clearer. It also includes Sonic Radar Pro, which maps in-game sounds to an on-screen overlay - pointing the direction to an enemy through their footsteps, for example.
The Raid editions have an additional feature above the Soar, too: Raid Mode. A somewhat oddly-picked name for what amounts to a user-configurable settings database, Raid Mode allows the user to configure different audio settings for different scenarios and then switch between them on-the-fly using a dedicated button on the bundled desk-mounted control module.
UK pricing and availability have yet to be confirmed, with more information available on Asus' website.
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