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Auzentech X-Meridian Review

Very Little Skimping Here

by Josh Walrath

The Box and Bundle

            Auzentech has taken a small step away from their previous box designs, and the result is quite eye catching.  The black and orange box should be readily viewable from brick and mortar shelves, and when a user opens a UPS or FedEx package containing this card they will certainly appreciate the design.

            The box itself is quite large considering the size of the soundcard and the bundle.  The outer box is thin cardboard, but the inner box is made of significantly thicker stuff.  On top of that the card itself is protected by a rigid plastic enclosure to help protect from static and physical abuse.  I would be very surprised if the card could be damaged with anything less than a truck running over the box.  Shipping damage is just something that probably will not affect the board when it gets to the user.

There is an origami feel to the box...

            After the box is unfolded the rest of the bundle becomes apparent.  In a ziplock bag there is bundled a thick optical cable (looks to be good quality), the driver CD, the warranty card, and a pretty thorough manual which goes through installation and usage of the soundcard.  The only issue I found with the manual revision I have is that the front panel audio connectors are not diagramed.  Luckily the board does comply with most other front panel audio connectors, so the connections will not be any different from those on the average motherboard.  Auzentech does rectify this somewhat by printing the front audio diagram on the PCB of the board itself.  Still, for those who already have their card installed in their machine, it is really hard to see the diagram on the board.

            The drivers included with the CD are a bit dated, so users are best advised to get online and download the latest versions from Auzentech.  There are no other applications bundled with the card, but one would think that a DVD decoder with DVD audio capabilities would be a useful “extra” with such a soundcard.  The drivers are provided by C-Media, so Auzentech has little say when updated drivers are released. 

The X-Meridian 7.1

            When contacted by Auzentech about potentially reviewing this card, I was of course very excited.  I really appreciate good audio, and since I spend the majority of my time in front of a computer I can appreciate it even more.  PC audio has made leaps and bounds throughout the years.  Going from the original SoundBlaster and ProAudio Spectrum products and tinny desktop speakers, we now have highly accurate playback devices and media as well as high powered surround systems that should make even the most discerning audiophiles impressed.

            The features that Auzentech is pushing with the X-Meridian are simply mouthwatering.  Upgradable OPAMPS (like in the previous X-Plosion and X-Mystique lines), true 24 bit/192 KHz playback, a host of Dolby Digital and DTX features, and some of the cleanest chips and circuitry to ever grace a consumer grade soundcard.  Auzentech did not hold back.  Except in one area.  But only sorta.  More on that later.

            The card itself is slightly longer than the reference design CMI-8788 card which Bluegears, Sondigo, and Razer use.  Auzentech revised the board design a bit to put the front channel circuitry closer to the outputs, potentially creating a cleaner connection than the reference design.  Auzentech also puts in a unique feature that I have yet to see on a competitive board.  Not only does it have both digital input and output, but these are “combo SPDIFs” which can take either coaxial or optical cables.  Auzentech essentially gives us four plugs in place of two.

In this shot we see the external connections.  Note the dual coax/optical input and output plugs.  It certainly is a tightly packed board with plenty of components.

            The chips that Auzentech uses with the X-Meridian are pretty exceptional and are what one would expect from mid-range to high end consumer electronics (think $400 to $500 US DVD players and receivers).  The CMI-8788 can output true 24 bit/192 KHz audio to 8 channels (7.1).  It can also natively handle 24/192 signals from the coax/optical input.  The 4 primary stereo outputs (front, center/sub, surround 1, and surround 2) all connect to AKM AK4396 DACs (Digital to Analog Converter) which are rated for 24/192 and 120 dB SNR.  These channels then go through the S4580 OPAMPS which are rated at 0.0005% THD and 110dB SNR.  This is really the only area where Auzentech skimped a bit.  They used these slightly cheaper (but still good quality) OPAMPS instead of the higher end Burr/Brown/TI 2134 chips, which feature an even more impressive 0.00008% THD and 120dB SNR.  Auzentech does give the user the option of swapping out the standard OPAMPS with the higher end units.

            On the input side the external mic and line-in are handled by the AKM AK5385 ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) which has a maximum resolution of 24 bit/192 KHz.  For auxiliary CD audio the CMI 9780 codec is used, and it features 24 bit/96 KHz resolution.  Overall Auzentech picked out some fine components to go along with this board.

            The design’s front panel support is also very impressive.  It allows multiple microphones (plugged into the front and back) to be recorded at the same time.  It also appears as though Auzentech used a nice quality relay to split the front channel output so users listening through their front panel connection can enjoy the same quality output as can be had at the rear of the card.  At least this is what I think is happening.  I am not 100% sure because I don’t have access to the design documents surrounding all the internal workings of this card.  I believe the relay design also allows the back panel outputs to be muted when a headphone is plugged into the front panel.

Next:  More X-Meridian

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