Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Soundcard
The Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 soundcard brings EAX, Dolby Digital Live, DTS Interactive and 7.1 channel surround sound to your PC.
Ease of Use, Performance: 23/25, Look & Feel: 23/25,
Features 23/25, How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 92/100
Going from onboard 7.1 channel sound to a dedicated sound card may not be the difference between night and day but the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 soundcard sure makes it seem that way. The Auzentech Prelude is a 7.1 channel surround sound card that has the X-Fi chip from Creative for starters but has gone way beyond what Creative has done with their chip.
Having only used some less expensive sound cards and onboard sound in the past and suddenly going to all the digital and surround sound, Dolby and DTS of the Prelude has left those others in the dust. Drivers have been extremely easy to install as well as the sound card itself and the Prelude works great on two computers I have tried it out on.
The Prelude is a dedicated sound card with plenty of connectivity options as well as system configurations to set up such as the 7.1 channel surround sound, Dolby Digital and DTS Interactive. You can use the Toslink optical digital out with an optical adapter to a Toslink optical cable or just use the RCA digital coax cable for digital output to a speaker system or receiver.
You can use the 7.1 channel surround connections out to a speaker set such as the Logitech 5.1 X-530 speaker system for some great surround sound. You can also use digital speakers and get that extra bit of enjoyment and fun with Dolby Digital or DTS Interactive for some of the best gaming and entertainment value from your computer.
I have really been pleased working with the Auzentech Prelude and enjoyed listening to not only gaming but movies and music as well. Some of the best is the gaming whether it’s on the PC or from a console system like the Xbox 360 or the PS3. The PlayStation 3 is fantastic for the Dolby and DTS interactive sound that you can get from some games with really very good positional sounds.
The Auzentech 7.1 Prelude has 64MB of separate memory so you do not take away from your system and has EAX Advanced High Definition 5.0 sound effects. The X-Fi chip from Creative Labs makes this a great sounding card with some of the best features including Dolby Digital Live, 24 Bit Crystallizer and DTS Interactive.
The Prelude has on board swappable OP Amps so you can easily upgrade the amplifier chips for the front left and right op amps. The solid capacitors for all the ones on the whole card mean a longer life and clearer sound for all your listening enjoyment. The board has a small heat sink on the X-Fi chip and a front panel audio connection for your PC’s case as well as a I/O extension connection.
The really nice and nice sounding features are the digital but the analog also means this soundcard is for anyone who wants better sound regardless of their speaker system. If you have a 5.1 or higher surround sound speaker set you will really enjoy the surround sound and Dolby Digital coming from the Prelude.
The analog connections can be used to connect the Prelude straight to a 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 speaker set using the analog connections along the backplane of the card. You can also use the digital output using either an optical Toslink or RCA coax cable to get digital to a receiver or directly to a digital speaker system.
The optical and digital input and output are through the same common RCA/Toslink connections on the back of the soundcard with the difference being in the plastic adapter for use with an optical Toslink cable and connection. If you want to use a straight RCA connection for your digital you just plug the RCA cable directly into the RCA connection but for a Toslink optical you insert the Toslink cable into the plastic optical adapter and insert into the RCA/Toslink connection.