DMX Xfire 1024

Terratec Is known for producing high-end soundcards with more features than you can poke a stick at. These cards are usually aimed at digital musicians and sound enthusiasts, and their large number of functions generally put the price well out of the reach of most home users. However, Terratec’s new card, the DMX Xflre, is tailored to the needs of the PC gamer, as it supports a range of 3D sound protocols such as Aureal’s A3D and Creative’s EAX along with the standard DirectSound and DirectSound3D. For old-school gamers, it has full support for DOS mode, so you can go back and play those classics whenever you want.
Four speaker output (two in front and two at the back) gives you surround sound, and the two CD-audio inputs allow for more than one CD drive. The card also has a SPDIF digital-optical out, handy for all those MiniDisc users who have been trying to figure out a way to copy music from their PC without the annoying background static.
Its software bundle consists of Music-Match Jukebox (for MP3 management
and creation) and Steinberg WaveLab Lite (for general music editing).
In Windows 95/98, the Xfire’s control panel is great for finetuning your card right down to the smallest details. However, the Windows 2000 control panel is not nearly as comprehensive.
In many ways, the Xfire is a slightly caled-down version of the impressive VideoLogic SonicFury, (see APC September 2000, page 50). The core chipsets arc very similar; both come from Cirrus Logic’s Crystal range. The Xfire provides slightly less power than the SonicFury, but it costs about $75 less, making it more attractive to people who don’t need the few extras supported by
the SonicFury.
Its two main rivals are Diamond’s Monster Sound MX40O (priced at about $170) and Guillemot’s Maxi Sound For-tissmo (now retailing for about $100). The Xfire combines the best aspects of these two, but it’s not cheap. It costs significantly more than either of them.