Asus Xonar Xense Premium Gaming Audio Set Review

Testing:

I have chosen to compare the sound card and headset against others that I have reviewed by using Rightmark as an objective sound card test, and the usual subjective listening tests to assess the headset's performance.

Testing Setup:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 920 @ 150x20 3GHz
• Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe V2
• Memory: 3x2GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-10666 9-9-9-24 1333 MHz
• Video Card: BFG GTX260
• Video Card: XFX GTX260
• Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750 Silencer
• Hard Drive: 4x Hitachi T7K500 250GB SATA2 (Highpoint RAID-10)
• Sound Card: Asus Xonar Xense
• OS: Windows Server 2008 R2

Comparison Hardware:

• Sound Card: Asus Xonar D1
• Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX
• Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeMusic (modded: LM4562, Blackgate, bypassed decoupled output)
• Headset: Psyko 5.1
• Headset: Zowie Hammer
• Headset: Turtle Beach Ear Force X-52
• Headset: Speedlink Medusa 5.1 Home Edition

Benchmarks:

• Rightmark RMAA 6.2.0