M-Audio Revolution 7.1 manual Test 3 Stereo Music

R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E

2.Open the Revolution control panel software, and select the “Sen- saura/Game Mode” option in the “Surround Sound” pane.

3.Launch the game and choose a positional audio setting in the game’s audio settings such as DirectSound or EAX 2.

4.Play the game, listening to both the audio quality and the immersive surround effect the Revolution 7.1 provides.

5.On games with good use of positional audio, you gain a competitive advantage by being able to hear where danger or a target is coming from. You can test positional audio simply by playing, but you may want to try triggering sound in one direction (such as by throwing a grenade), turning your “character” around or to the side, and noting which speaker the sound effect comes from.

While neither Mac OS 9 nor X have an established API for positional or 3D gaming audio, there are some games for the Mac that can be provide positional audio by using Circle Surround II’s Cinema Mode. Starcraft supports Dolby Surround and will provide positional audio with CSII enabled on Revolution. Games that use the Miles positional sound sys- tem are also supposed to be Dolby compatible and can provide positional audio on the Mac when Circle Surround II’s Cinema Mode is enabled. Warcraft III from Blizzard is a good example of this. Note that the com- bined system requirements of game processing and Circle Surround Ii decode may be somewhat high.

Test 3: Stereo Music

This test demonstrates the Revolution 7.1’s superior sound quality when playing a stereo CD, MP3, or Internet radio.

1.Audition one or more CDs, MP3s, and/or Internet radio selections using the competing sound card.

2.Switch to the Revolution 7.1 and access the control panel software.

3.Enable the “Stereo” or “Stereo w/Integrated Subwoofer” speaker sets if you have a stereo speaker set or a “2.1” set with a stereo speaker and crossover that sends bass to the built-in subwoofer. If you have a true 2.1 set that has a discrete subwoofer input channel, choose the “Stereo w/Discrete Subwoofer” set and enable Bass Management.

4.Audition the same music as before.

Note the superior audio quality of the Revolution 7.1. You should notice the improved dynamic range, lower noise, and increased clarity of the audio. On sources that are inherently very compressed or low fidelity—such as Internet radio—you may have a more difficult time telling the difference in sound quality. You may want to use one of the CD tracks listed in the “Music Lis- tening Samples” section.

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