Asus returned to the sound card market targeting the high-end market segmentwith the first product of its brand new product line: the ASUS Xonar D2 7.1-channel audio card.

The audio card is based on the AV200 audio chip, which integrates multiple sound-enhancing technologies from Dolby and DTS. The ship has been developed by Asus and has been manufactured by UMC at the 0.35 micron process.

The ASUS Xonar D2 features a signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) of 118 db for both audio. Asus claims that unlike generic sound cards in the market that provide the highest SNR to only the front stereo outputs, the Xonar D2 is able to deliver 118 db quality audio for all 7.1 channels.



The Xonar D2 is also packed with Dolby Digital Live, which converts PC or game audio content real-time into Dolby Digital; Dolby Headphone, which delivers surround sound to any set of headphones; Dolby Virtual Speaker, which delivers surround through stereo speakers and Dolby Pro Logic IIx, which creates up to 7.1-channel surround from stereo or 5.1 sources. In addition, the supported DTS Interactive technology offers real time AC-3 encoding and DTS NEP: PC stereo to multi-channel expander.

The Xonar D2 also comes with a special application called "Portable Media Processor". This application works with the onboard ALT (Analog Loopback Transformation) circuit to provide almost lossless analog recording audio quality from digital music files.

Asus showcases the new audio card at Computex 2007 at Hall 2, Stand F185 - F232 from June 5 - 9, 2007.