Diamond's Sound Gets Xtreme

For about $60, the Diamond Multimedia Xtreme Sound card is quickly becoming more attractive than its competitors. With a 7.1 channel surround with Dolby Digital Live, Diamond's latest is able to provide video gaming and DVD theater surround sound experiences just as good as, if not better than, those of more expensive competitors.

To support Dolby Digital Live, the Xtreme Sound card has eight output audio channels, which are divided into the usual 5.1 surround with the addition of two extra surround channels that are usually positioned on the sides of the listener, rather than the back. Xtreme arrives with a 10-band equalizer with presets to maximize frequency response. Karaoke support also is bundled.

For inputs, the card comes with a mic and stereo line. Xtreme hooks into a PCI 2.2 slot and supports bus mastering and burst modes. It bundles the Audacity audio editor to record from any of its input lines, but CRN engineers recommend offering the superior Adobe Audition instead. Conversely, Audacity is simpler and arrives with filter effects, including a sound envelope tool.

Xtreme can play 96KHz encoded music at 24 bits and record at 16 bits with a maximum 48KHz sample rate. The card supports EAX 2.0 and A3D.

All the software packages included in the retail version of Xtreme Sound cards, excluding video games, are bundled for all system builders. The packages include video cards and other hardware components. To maintain a clean channel for resellers, Diamond is limiting the number of distributors carrying the cards.

Diamond's dedicated VAR Web site provides resellers with marketing materials, product line cards, news announcements and promotional programs. System builders also receive phone support and expert-level technical documentation on the VAR Web site when testing new systems. According to Diamond, system builders are regularly asked for feedback in identifying elements of the VAR program that need improvement.