The Experience: Movies
Unfortunately I don't have the kind of equipment needed to perform advanced electrical tests on the equipment. However, sound is about more than just numbers so I hope to be able to convey some of the more subjective impressions of this card while watching films, listening to music and battling games. For each of these areas I will be testing three different system setups:
System 1: Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS sound card feeding a pair of BeyerDynamic DT 231 headphones.
System 2: ASUS Xonar Xense One sound card and BeyerDynamic DT 231 headphones.
System 3: ASUS Xonar Xense One sound card and Sennheiser PC 350 Xense Edition headphones.
While it's not the ideal, this should allow me to compare how the card fares on its own versus a cheaper but well-reviewed sound card, and also see how well suited to the ASUS card the PC 350s really are compared to, again, cheaper but well-reviewed headphones.
Ideally I'd like to have tested the headphones without the ASUS card, to see if there's any special sauce in the combination, but I decided against this on the grounds that the headphones are relatively high impedance so without a headphone amp the Audigy card isn't going to be driving them very well (which was backed up when the impedance setting reverted to normal on me once). The DT 231s on the other hand are 32 Ohms and fit within the reported optimal range of both cards.
Moulin Rouge
Spectacular Spectacular! A wonderful musical showpiece from Baz Luhrmann. I picked this to test how well the setups coped with multiple blends of pop music, ambient sounds such as the movement of dancers movements and quieter moments where solo voices are presented to their full. A good performance will show richness in the solos while coping with the demands of the medleys without losing any details.
Audigy 2ZS/BeyerDynamic DT 231
The attack is almost percussive, giving the impression of a thousand smaller details, and I'm not sure all of them add to the overall effect. Unfortunately background static takes away from the experience in quieter moments. Separation of sounds is excellent though.
ASUS Xonar Xense One/DT 231
This combination has slightly less attack than the Audigy, but it's still quite a punchy response. Bass is strong but it's the treble performance that really stands out. Unfortunately in comparison to the PC 350s the sound is a little thin, especially in the mid-range. Big music moments sound a little lacking in detail, and solo voices sound a touch cold. The most obvious difference from the Audigy is a massive reduction in sound separation, so some of the detail becomes merged together.
Xonar Xense/Sennheiser PC 350 Xense Edition
The first thing I noticed with these is that the sound stage seems to have increased in richness - details in the mid-range become immediately more apparent. Treble is not as pronounced as with the DT 231s (both cards), but the balance seems to be much more authentic to the cinema experience. Do note how important it is to match the impedance settings however - when I was playing about with settings I originally thought the PC 350s were very muddy sounding - actually the impedance had reset itself to normal gain. On switching back to the Sennheiser Xense setting the clarity and punchy-ness improved no end. The only disappointment compared to the DT 231s is a slightly looser bass - again it kind of matches the cinema experience, but the DT 231s are crisper in this area.
Hell Boy 2
An action-packed comic book movie from Guillermo del Toro. Trademark comic-book atmospheric bass effects mix with highly-detailed fight scenes and del Toro's typical attention to aural detail.
Audigy 2ZS/DT 231
Clarity is the key term here. The wonderful attack of this combination really suits this film. Texture of sounds is also very well highlighted. Bass is really crisp. The sound stage just misses a bit of gravitas and is a little cold.
Xonar Xense/DT 231
The punchy bass and detailed treble response also set these cans up for a good first impression. Rain and metal effects are especially well served although not quite as good as the Audigy, while bass is plentiful and quite crisp.
Xonar Xense/PC 350
Once again the best way of describing the sound here is 'cinema effect' - rather than highlighting the attack of incidental noises as the DT 231s do, they are infused with more mid-range detail in the PC350s, really bringing to life more of the sounds del Toro perfuses his films with - especially sounds like leather creasing or cloth whirling in the air. Combat sounds are richer both in detail and spatial awareness, and it's quite noticeable how much lower the bass response goes on these headphones compared to the DT 231s and although it's slightly quieter, it seems more balanced. Unfortunately it's still a bit loose, and high range effects like rain are not as well defined as on the DT 231s.
Movies summary
It was immediately clear that the overall worst combination for movies was the Xonar card with the DT 231 headphones. It’s not terrible, but they lacked the attack and detail separation of the Audigy/DT 231 combination while giving a much more compressed sound-stage compared to the Xonar/PC 350 combination.
Choosing between the Audigy/DT 231 and Xonar/PC 350 is not quite as straightforward, although they have very different characteristics. The Xonar/PC 350 combo just edges it for creating a more cinema-like experience.