Introduction

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PURCHASE OF THE

PHILIPS ACOUSTIC EDGE™ SOUND CARD!

Thank you for enhancing your computer with the Philips Acoustic Edge™.

We know you’ll agree, once you give it the edge, that your PC will never sound the same again.

Now get ready to ignite your imagination with the most immersive sound stage ever created on a PC . . .

…a full-blown, digital surround-sound, discrete six-channel home theater experience through your new Philips Acoustic Edge Sound Card. Acoustic Edge is the first PC card to deliver the impact of 6 distinct channels of sound from every application. Utilizing advanced digital signal processing algorithms and extreme hardware acceler- ation, Acoustic Edge extracts audio-phile-quality sound from your PC with no added strain to your processor – not just from DVD’s or 3D audio games but from all your games, music and movies.

Load your favorite music, games and movies and be prepared to hear every detail as never before articulated through 96 distinct 3D voices, 256 distinct DirectSound voices and 576 distinct synthesized Wavetable voices.

The heart of your sound card is Philips’ powerful new ThunderBird Avenger audio processor, which relieves your computer of performing enormously complex audio processing. The results are dramatically faster, more-responsive gaming effects and more-convincing three-dimensional audio sound fields, all without placing new demands on your computer.

Advanced DSP algorithms from QSound Labs provide rich three-dimensional sound for every application. If you have headphones or only two speakers, Acoustic Edge’s patented psycho-acoustic codes envelop you in a virtual sound field created from up to ninety-six independent 3D voices.

Add rear, center and subwoofer speakers, and Acoustic Edge will transform your PC into your personal home theatre system, fully capable of playing the very latest Hollywood DVD releases in full-blown digital glory. Take your music CDs, MP3s, video files, cut scenes and stereo games to the max while you’re at it – rediscover your existing collection while you add new favorites too!

Acoustic Edge truly revolutionizes PC sound. Install your sound card as directed, connect a 5.1 speaker system (left & right front, left & right rear, center, and subwoofer) and try these:

•Play the latest Hollywood DVD hit and be prepared for goosebumps as sound effects sweep you away.

•Rediscover your favorite music in a whole new dimension – even those golden oldies. You’ve never heard them like this before!

•Play a 3D audio-enabled game and experience what “virtual reality” can mean.

•Elevate your classic 2D games to a whole new level of audio realism.

•Compare enhanced QMSS to ordinary Dolby Digital on DVD and hear the remarkable differences.

KEY FEATURES

•256 streams of DirectSound acceleration and digital mixing

•96 streams of 3D audio acceleration including positional reverb, obstruction and occlusion

•Full-duplex, 48khz digital recording and playback

•Philips ThunderBird Avenger™ high performance audio accelerator

•Hardware DSP accelerated QSound 3D algorithms including QSound3DInteractive™ positional 3D

QSound Environmental Modeling for EAX™ and DS3D™ games QSound Multi Speaker System™ for quad or 5.1 output of stereo sources QXpander™ for 3D enhancement of stereo

DVD QSurround™ 5.1 speaker virtualization over stereo speakers (compatible SoftDVD player required)

•576 voice total wavetable synthesis music polyphony

512 Voice professional quality soft-synth with XG and GM compatibility

64 channel hardware wavetable synthesizer

•Dual gameport accelerator with legacy and digital joy-stick modes

•DirectSound™, DirectSound3D™, EAX™ 1.0 , EAX™2.0/I3D Level 2, and A3D™ 1.0 compatibility

•Stereo, 4 channel surround , 5.1 speaker or headphone output

•QMSS™ enhanced DVD playback mode (compatible SoftDVD player required)