The Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe that Josh just finished reviewing is a fine soundcard.  It can pas through protected HD audio via an HDMI 1.3a cable letting you shatter your ear drums watching the newest Michael Bey movie.  It has switchable OPAMPS for the audiophiles to colour their music with.  Dig into the control panel and you will find no end of things to tweak, up to and including telling the soundcard the bitrate of the music file so that it can adjust its self.  The big question on Josh’s mind is how long before motherboard manufacturers include onboard audio every bit as good as this $200 audio card?

“Asus has produced a very good card that should give those willing to shell out the money nearly every feature they could ask for. From my understanding, Asus is working on some more advanced driver level features which should add some more value to the entire Xonar line. This certainly is not a card for everyone, especially considering the overall impact on the user experience when compared to a DX11 video card costing near the same level as this sound card.”

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner