VR Features

The RMAA results of the Xonar is certainly disappointing compared to the rest of the cards tested. Dreamslacker, one of our members took some time off and helped replace the two operational amplifier on the front L/R channel and replaced the plastic capacitors. The missing capacitor you see above is actually soldered on the underside of the soundcard. Sadly, the modification did not bring about any positive results, RMAA results remained the same and the card began to sound....weird.

It's kinda pointless for me to comment on the sound output of the Asus card as sound something that's very personal, one man's meat might be poison for another. For the price point of the Xonar D2, it is a little hard to justify the purchase; it lacks EAX HD for gaming and there are cards out there which cost a lot less and does better in terms of sound output. The soundstage of the Xonar D2 is good as unanimously declared by my fellow compatriots who were listening to the sound test we did about 2 weeks back. The Bling factor of the Xonar is something that might attract the crowd, but ultimately this should be one of the least of your concerns if you want to buy a soundcard.

At the end of the day, the Xonar D2 might be a soundcard that you want to get if money is not a concern at all, but if your computer is made solely for gaming, you might want to consider a X-Fi solution and if you're more into PC Audio instead of gaming, cheaper Envy 24HT cards might be a better option.