Asus Xonar DG review

The Xonar DG is the cheapest PCI sound card Asus has ever released, but it still has 5.1 analogue surround sound, a mic/line in port, a dedicated S/PDIF output and variable impedance settings so you can optimise the card’s analogue stereo output for different types of headphone. The card comes on a full-sized backplate, but an alternative low-profile backplate is provided – handy if you want to use it in a compact media centre PC. Asus has cut costs in a few places, though. The Xonar DG uses a C-Media Oxygen HD CMI8786 High-Definition audio processor, a close relation of the CMI8788 processor that appears, rebadged, on Asus’s more expensive sound cards. However, the CMI8786 has a lower specification, with a maximum sample rate of 96KHz/24-bit for playback and 48KHz/24-bit recording, compared to the 192KHz/24-bit playback and 96KHz/24-bit recording we’ve seen from Xonar cards using the CMI8788. The card currently lacks a low-latency ASIO driver, usually used for audio production. One is in development, but even when it’s done, the DG won’t be a musician’s top choice. The maximum sample rate of 96KHz/24-bit makes it unsuitable if you’re into audio production, and such users shouldn’t consider buying this card.

However, although the Xonar DG is a good sound card, Asus’s own superior Xonar DS costs only £34 from www.ilgs.co.uk. It too is a PCI card, but has 7.1 analogue surround sound, a replaceable op-amp and a more powerful audio processor, providing a sample rate of 192KHz. Making it better value for money.