Asus Xonar D2

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Retail package
3. Installation
4. Utilities
5. Test Configuration
6. Test Results 16bit
7. Comparison Tests 16bit
8. Conclusion
9. Test Results 24bit
10. Comparison Tests 24bit

An important question is whether the Asus Xonar D2 offers any improvements, compared with the on-board soundcard. For that purpose, we used the external recording mode on both the Asus Xonar D2 and the SoundMax HD Audio sound cards (3.5mm jack male-to-male).

Starting from CD quality, we see a clear advantage in the Asus Xonar D2 in the Noise/Dynamic Range, and of course THD scores :

RMAA v6.0.5 Comparison Test Results
Testing 16bit/44.10KHz	ASUS Xonar D2 Audio	SoundMAX HD Audio
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.05, -0.04	+0.26, -0.07
Noise level, dB (A):	-96.3	-88.8
Dynamic range, dB (A):	96.5	87.4
THD, %:	0.0005	0.0092
IMD + Noise, %:	0.0042	0.047
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-97.3	-88.9

RMAA v6.0.5 Comparison Test Results
Testing 16bit/48.0KHz	ASUS Xonar D2 Audio	SoundMAX HD Audio
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.06, -0.04	+0.11, -0.03
Noise level, dB (A):	-97.0	-88.7
Dynamic range, dB (A):	97.0	87.7
THD, %:	0.0006	0.0092
IMD + Noise, %:	0.0039	0.015
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-96.8	-87.7

RMAA v6.0.5 Comparison Test Results
Testing 16bit/96.0KHz	ASUS Xonar D2 Audio	SoundMAX HD Audio
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.07, -0.05	+0.02, -0.06
Noise level, dB (A):	-99.7	-88.8
Dynamic range, dB (A):	100.1	87.7
THD, %:	0.0008	0.0091
IMD + Noise, %:	0.0028	0.014
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-98.8	-85.4

At the best quality for 16bit, the performance differences are even clearer:

RMAA v6.0.5 Comparison Test Results
Testing 16bit/192.0KHz	ASUS Xonar D2 Audio	SoundMAX HD Audio
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.08, -0.05	+0.04, -0.17
Noise level, dB (A):	-103.0	-89.0
Dynamic range, dB (A):	103.0	87.8
THD, %:	0.0013	0.0092
IMD + Noise, %:	0.0023	0.014
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-99.9	-84.1