Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
For some time it seemed like there was no ideal compromise for gamers who are also audiophiles. Creative Labs has been a leader in gaming sound, but not music. Other brands boasted superior audio quality, but lacked EAX and strong hardware acceleration. Auzentech is looking to change that in its new Prelude 7.1 model card.
The card promises the fusion of audiophile sound quality and all the gaming perks one would miss out on by skipping Creative. Auzentech has been a contender in quality music sound cards for years, right up there with M-Audio and ASUS.
The card at a glance
advantage
o High-end DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) with 120 dB signal-to-noise ratio
o Supports up to 7.1 analog outputs
o SPDIF ports support digital input/output via coaxial and optical
or Dolby DTS
o Full compatibility with EAX 5.0
o 64 MB of X-RAM (like Creative’s high-end X-Fi)
Cons
o Uses a modified version of Creative drivers instead of something unique
o Lacks external breakout box (compared to Creative’s X-Fi Elite)
Characteristic
The Prelude offers comparable features to the Creative X-Fi Elite Pro, but at a lower price. However, it lacks the breakout box that the Elite Pro comes with for desktop headphones and an additional way to handle SPDIF. However, Prelude tries to compensate for this by offering better SPDIF connectivity natively on the card.
The back panel of the card starts with a microphone jack, followed by a line input. From there, you have your front/main output and another two for rear and surround. Of course, if you’re not looking to use 5.1/7.1, you only need to worry about the front/main connector. All the connectors mentioned above are 3.5mm. Two end ports are identical in appearance: digital input and output respectively. These support SPDIF coaxial input/output by default, but the card comes with adapters that convert them to optical ports if needed.
Performance
With Creative’s X-Fi processing chip, the Prelude should offer the same gaming performance while maintaining compatibility with anyone using EAX 5. It has the analog aux pins onboard and a somewhat watered-down version of Creative’s drivers so that everything happens.
Because it uses a form of Creative drivers, users familiar with that software will appreciate the three flexible output modes: entertainment, gaming, and audio creation.
The card itself is noticeably larger than the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer, likely due to the extended output options. This guards against feeling like a stripped-down product, as the Xtreme Gamer card is more of an entry-level item in Creative’s X-Fi lineup. This card serves as a great alternative to Creative’s Elite Pro for users who aren’t interested in the breakout box and hope to save money by going without it.
Overall this card is fully featured and again a great alternative to Creative for gamers. Still, the card doesn’t bring anything special to the table for the serious audiophile like the ASUS Xonar, for example. That card offers a built-in headphone amplifier and EMI-protected coaxial outputs. Touches like that really would have pushed the Prelude 7.1 a league above the Creative.