The Auzentech X-Perience!

Headquartered in San Jose California, Auzentech Inc. is a provider of quality consumer level electronics products. Auzentech made their name in the soundcard market after developing the world's first Dolby Digital Live Sound card (The HDA X-MYSTIQUE 7.1 Gold) and the world's first DTS Connect Sound Card (The HDA X-PLOSION 7.1 DTS Connect).

Customers these days are demanding new alternatives and the best value for their investment. Auzentech's sole purpose is to offer innovative, feature rich PC audio products and solutions. With a total understanding of their customer’s needs and desires, Auzentech continues to establish unsurpassed levels of innovation and delivers new & exciting products that validate the brand, fulfilling Auzentech's commitment to audiophile-quality sound for the PC platform.

Auzentech clarify the differences between their products and other comparable soundcards on the market in the following Q & A session:

Q: How do Auzentech sound cards compare to Creative Labs Sound Blaster® sound cards?

A: Very well. For details, see the Sound Card Comparison Chart and Sound Card Comparison articles below.

Q: How are Auzentech sound cards better than motherboard sound cards, including boards that use the C-Media chipset?

A: At the heart of Auzentech sound cards are C-Media chipsets CMI 8768, CMI 8770, or CMI 8788, the first to provide Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect support. We also feature the Creative X-Fi Chipset in the X-Fi Prelude soundcard. Auzentech engineers designed our PCI sound cards specifically for these chipsets. The result is amazing, audiophile-quality sound.

Q: How are Auzentech sound cards better than others using the same chipset?

A: The only similarity, if any, would be the chipset. Unlike many manufacturers, Auzentech does not copy the "reference" PCI board design provided by the chipset manufacturer. Our sound cards are custom designed. And the board is built from the highest quality components. The result is amazing, audiophile-quality sound.

Q: What's so special about your circuit board design?

A: Our design is completely our own, designed by engineers who are experts in digital and analog audio. They are audiophiles like you, and probably more so. That's why we designed the X-Meridian and X-Fi Prelude sound card with a 4-layer printed circuit board (PCB). Other cards use a single-layer PCB. We need more PCBs because we use more components. A double-layer PCB with all the components we include would be closer to the size of a motherboard.

Q: Why should I care about circuit board design?

A: When two sound cards include the same chipset, the board is what makes them different. If you are serious about audio quality, you should compare the images of Auzentech sound cards with the other sound cards using the same chipset. As of this writing, for example, several manufacturers are offering identical CMI-8788 sound cards under different names. They have the same components in the same locations. Count the capacitors (the tall cans); notice the multi-colored connectors. The boards are identical. Compare that to the unique design of the X-meridian card, which uses more components to produce better audio.

Q: Why do you use more components on your sound cards?

A: More components produce better audio, if you know how to use them, and if they are of high quality. An analog signal, for example, will degrade the farther it travels along a circuit. We use additional components to enhance the quality all along the board. You can see this yourself. Compare the number of components on the X-Meridian and X-Fi Prelude alongside other sound cards based around the CMI-8788 chipset or Creative X-Fi chipset. Study the cards for a while, and you will begin to see why Auzentech cards sound better. The X-Meridian and X-Fi Prelude product page includes large images to make this easy. Not as easy to see, but still true, is that the components are the highest quality we could find.

The following tables compare AuzentechTM Sound Cards to Sound Blaster® Sound Cards from Creative Labs at the time of writing. These features are discussed in the Auzentech Audio Tips article and also within the Sound Card Glossary. Click the icons below to display the charts.