Diamond Monster Sound MX300

Product: Monster Sound MX300

From: Diamond Multimedia (www.diamondmm.com)

Price: about C$160

Pros: PCI card with great 3D audio, good software bundle and a lower price than its predecessor.

Cons: Digital I/O requires extra-cost "MX25" add-on. Requires two IRQs (One if the DOS compatibility option is disabled). Shipping driver is incompatible with Cambridge Four Point speaker system subwoofer (we are testing these and other speakers now). A new driver addresses this and other issues.

During a recent visit to a computer store, we noticed an MX200 sound card and the MX300 side by side. The MX200 was $239; the MX300 just $159. So, what's the advantage of the older MX200 model, we wondered? The salesperson stumbled through the feature lists on the back of the boxes, pointing out that the MX200 was higher quality and that its game bundle was better. But isn't Half-Life Day One considered a great title, too, we asked? Well, yes. And it contains Recoil, too, he noted. And there was that question of quality. The old model is based on the Dream chip, we noted. That chip has a worse S/N ratio than the one in the MX300, doesn't it? Sure enough, the old one offered 90dB, the new one 96dB.

Okay, so the clerk knew next to nothing. We did some more research and, most importantly, got a card and ran it through its paces. Overall, we found the MIDI instrument quality to be noticeably inferior to the SBLive! or the Guillemot Maxi Studio ISIS, but the 3D imaging, courtesy of A3D, was impeccable.

In June, 1999, Diamond released the long-promised MX25 add-on for the MonsterSound that adds S/PDIF output, software DVD support and an AC3 capable external audio decoder that, with a surround sound speaker system, gives full 6 speaker (5.1 Channel) audio support. Even without this add-on, the MX300 is a great choice for gamers. Recommended, but not for MIDI enthusiasts.

Sidebar: Beta Fix for Bugs

Diamond has posted a fix for several issues in the drivers shipped with the product. Notably, the new drivers provide:

• Updated code based on Aureal 4.06.2017 drivers
• Additional CODEC support
• An additional front/back fader to the Monster Sound control panel
• Stereo routing changed to front output (quad mode only)
• Disabled "Dac2" meter from the Monster Sound control panel

For Further Reading

• Info on Diamond's MX25 add-on
• PC Powerhouse Review
• 3D Audio Immersion's Review
• Ars Technica's ReviewAGN 3D's Review
• Gamer's Guide to Hardware Review
• The Techs Review
• Thresh's FiringSquad's Review
• Aureal A3D Central - Sound Card Reviews
• The Unofficial MX300 Support page

Glossary

• A3D - 3D audio spec created by Aureal. Generally considered more sophisticated than the "EAX" sound modeling performed by competitor Creative Labs,  A3D 2.0 produces dramatic 3D audio effects on two speakers and is even more compelling with four. 
• s/pdif (often pronounced "spidiff") -- Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format - a standard digital connector found on sound cards such as the Terratec EWS, Guillemot Maxi Studio ISIS, Event Layla, SoundBlaster AWE64 Gold, Digital I/O option for Hoontech/Hanmesoft SoundTrack 128, etc. 
• Codec - compressor/decompressor 
• dB - Decibel. A unit of sound measurement. 
• MIDI - musical instrument digital interface 
• IRQ - Interrupt request 
• S/N - signal to noise 
• Vortex2 - the chip on which the MX300 is based. Diamond's previous MX200 card was based on the DREAM audio chip, also used in audio cards from Terratec, Hanmesoft, Guillemot and others.