The Slim in Use
The design of the card, and its connectivity, basically insure a fully digital pathway for audio. This means that there is no strange digital to analog conversion which could color the output of the card. The user’s receiver will be providing that particular conversion (going from DTS/DD5.1/PCM to analog speakers). As I mentioned before, the only analog outputs from this card will be powering headphones, and the output from there is actually quite nice and neutral. The card also features a combo digital coax and optical port, but I question the usage due to the HDMI output already present. This connection does not have the ability to bitstream DTS-HD or TrueHD audio.
There is not a whole lot to this card, but it gets the job done. I does not require external power, and has the ability to drive headphones nicely with the front panel connector (top right).
The card does not do video encoding, decoding, or enhancement by itself. It requires a 3rd party card to handle all video duties (hence the HDMI in and out ports). The HDMI output can support up to 1080p or UXGA (1600×1200 resolution). It does not appear to be able to handle anything above that, such as 2560×1600. Considering the usage that this card will get, this is not really an issue.
Overall the card seems well built, the ports do not feel loose, and the components they use are top drawer. This is a good thing, as the card retails for around $150 US. The bundle is very complete when considering the usage. It comes with a driver disk, a Total Media Theater 2.0 disk and license, DVI to HDMI cable, HDMI cable, the manual, and the low profile backplate.
Actual Usage
The first thing a user should know is to download the latest drivers from Asus for installing this card. The second thing they should know is to also download the latest Total Media Theater 3 package from Asus (do not download directly from ArcSoft, as the product key provided with the sound card will not work). With the latest introduction of Blu-ray movies, Asus just updated the TMT3 package this month (Oct. 09).
The card fits in any modern PCI slot, and installation is very straight forward. The PC is started it, the card will automatically transmit video even though drivers are not installed, and the user can then apply the correct drivers. There will be multiple choices for the audio output in both Win 7 and Vista. Users will then choose the option that works best for their setup (in this case, the HDAV HDMI output).
If a user’s receiver can handle it, setting the audio output to 24 bit/192 kHz may be the best option. Opinions will vary depending on what type of media is played back, but at any rate ASIO 2.0 is supported by this card (direct bitstream output of media files in native format).
There are no connections to a daughtboard or break-out box. The HDMI in/out handle most of the duties, and if someone for some reason wants to use this card without HDMI, then the combo coax/optical port will work nicely.
To bitstream HD audio, TMT3 needs to be used. The program is opened, and the audio output in settings needs to be set to HDMI. This allows the protected passthrough of HD audio. Once a movie is started which features Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio, then the audio content is bitstreamed to the user’s receiver. The receiver should then show that it is actively decoding the HD audio streams.
The card also supports bitstreaming Dolby Digital 5.1, DD 5.1+, DTS, and DTS-ES. As mentioned previously, it can also handle encoding DD 5.1 and DTS streams. The card also has the ability to handle 8 channel LPCM, which can be set up in the software audio properties for the Asus card.
With Blu-rays, the card worked perfectly. I found no issues in playback with my small collection of Blu-ray disks. Both TrueHD and DTS-HD were handled correctly, and the listening experience was quite expansive. Seeing the HD audio light show up on the receiver is a good experience for anyone.
I tested this card on the MSI 785GM-E65, 2 GB of Corsair DDR-3 1333 memory, AMD Phenom II X4 905e, and Windows Vista SP2. When bitstreaming HD audio was active, I was seeing upwards of 30% CPU utilization, which is fairly significant considering this is a 2.5 GHz quad core processor. Without the sound card, CPU usage for BD playback was in the 10% to 15% area. The sound card itself does not require an external power source, and gets all of its power through the PCI slot. That means it theoretically can pull 25 watts at most.
