Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 XS71HDU USB Sound Card Review

Subjective Listening: Music, 3D Audio, Movies, and Games

Not everyone hears the same as each other. People’s ears are different and preferences dictate our style. A variety of headphones and headsets were used while listening with the Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 XS71HDU.

Music

For starters, the Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 XS71HDU outputs crisp and clean audio. The quality is more than satisfactory even if it can’t match the precision of certain more expensive audio output devices. Ideally, a good set of speakers or headphones should be paired to hear what this sound card has to offer. All frequencies, from bass to treble, have noticeable detail and impact for any type of music.

3D Audio

The Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 uses C-media Xear for its surround sound virtualization which we have used before with several other sound cards and USB headsets that used C-media audio processors. Our past experience with the advanced codec package isn’t too impressive. While listening with Xear Ear Headphone Surround in particularly, it was difficult to ascertain simulated positional audio and at the same time, playback quality was worsened. While Xear Headphone Surround is technically absent from this car, there is still a 7.1 surround virtualizer feature. Additionally, there are other interesting utilities available to modify and correct multiple channels both for virtual surround and actual home theater surround.

Movies & Games

The Xtreme Sound 7.1’s detailed playback quality makes it particularly suited at enhancing audio immersion. Powerful and defined bass with energetic trebles are easily within this card’s capabilities. Virtual surround sound capabilities are secondary unlike some other sound cards that may include more gaming oriented features though it’s not worrisome because many virtual surround sound codecs are ineffective. Considering only positional audio, game audio engines and multichannel encoding won’t be amazing with headphones, but the Xtreme Sound 7.1 home theater outputs and software features for multichannel speakers make it a compelling option for budgeted home theater users.