Soundcards have really come a long way over the past couple years. Up until then, soundcard technology remained essentially unchanged since the introduction of 16-bit sound with the Sound Blaster 16 almost 7 years ago - an eternity in the computer industry. With the introduction of the Sound Blaster AWE32 and other cards during this era, the biggest developments during that time focused largely on enhanced MIDI support. However, this was really already available during the days of the SB16 through the use of MIDI daughterboards such as Creative's Waveblaster or Roland's SCD-10/15.

Just about that time, MIDI was rapidly decreasingly in popularity as CD music was much more flexible, especially since gamers were coming exclusively on CD at that time. Finally, some progress was made with the advent of PCI soundcards that offered lowered CPU utilization and multiple audio streams. But the most revolutionary advancement was the advent of "3D" sound, and was largely pioneered by Aureal's Vortex 1. It offered the ability to simulate sound coming from different directions using just two speakers or headphones. Now Aureal is back with the Vortex 2, which offers wavetracing for excellent reflection effects and the ability to take advantage of headphones, two standard speakers, or four speakers for a more realistic surround effect.

Xitel seemingly came out of nowhere to be a major player in the soundcard market, beginning with their Storm PCI soundcard and followed by the Vortex 1 based Storm VX. But it was the introduction of the Storm Platinum as one of the first Vortex 2 based cards on the market that really put them on the map and in the minds of gamers.

Xitel Storm Platinum Specifications

Courtesy Xitel

Controller Chip

• Aureal Vortex 2 - AU8830 Controller

CODEC

• Quad Channel Output 18-bit AC'97 CODEC

Features

• Hardware Accelerated A3D 2.0 and DirectSound 3D *
• 96 DMA Hardware Accelerated Channels
• Professional 320 Voice MIDI Synthesizer
• Digital 10-Band Graphic Equalizer
• Multiple Speaker/Headphone Support
• Optical S/PDIF (TOSLINK) Output - Minidisc compatible *
• Accelerated Joystick Port
• SoundBlaster Pro Hardware Support

Inputs and Outputs

• CD In (MPC)
• Aux In (MPC)
• Modem In (MPC)
• Mic In (for electret and condenser mics)
• 2 Stereo Line Outputs For Up To 4 Speakers
• Optical S/PDIF Output (TOSLINK) - Minidisc compatible *
• MIDI/Joystick Port
• Wavetable Header
• Expansion Header

General MIDI Interface

• MIDI MPU-401 UART Mode
• 16 Byte FIFO’s For MIDI IN and MIDI OUT
• Doubles as Joystick Port

Signal Specification

• Output: 1Vrms Typical (AC'97 Specification)
• Input: 1Vrms Typical (AC'97 Specification)
• Frequency Response 20Hz - 20 kHz
• THD+N: Less than 0.007%
• SNR: Better than 95 dB

Hardware Acceleration Features

• Full A3D 1.0 and A3D 2.0 *
• DirectSound and DirectSound 3D *
• MIDI Synthesis Including DirectMusic
• 48 kHz Sample Rate Conversion
• Digital Mixing
• 10-Band Graphic Equalizer
• Joystick Port Commands

API's Supported

• Aureal A3D 1.0 *
• Aureal A3D 2.0 *
• Microsoft DirectSound *
• Microsoft DirectSound 3D *
• Microsoft DirectMusic *
• Microsoft DirectInput
• EAX (future driver revision)

Operating Systems

• Microsoft Windows 95/98
• Microsoft Windows NT (items marked with * are not supported presently)
• Microsoft DOS

Force Feedback Headphones

The Card

Aureal's Vortex 2 AU8830 chip pretty much determines all the features of the Storm Platinum. Unlike the DSP based EMU10K1 on the Sound Blaster Live!, the Vortex 2 is a fixed function chip. According to Aureal, a fixed function chip can be up to 3 times more efficient than a general purpose DSP. Of course, a DSP offers the ability to be upgraded with new features that simply can't be done with a fixed function chip. If a fixed function chip gets all the features right the first time, the flexibility of a DSP becomes a moot point.

Fortunately for Aureal, it really seems like they've got the feature set down with the Vortex 2, so that DSP probably won't be missed too much. It offers complete hardware acceleration 96 DMA channels, which equates to 92 DirectSound streams, 76 3D sound streams, or 64 wavetable voices after overhead is taken out. The claimed 320 voice wavetable is based on the option of up to 256 additional voices done in software. The Vortex 2 also handles most wavetracing operations in hardware using a 3D game's room geometry. The CPU just needs to perform the relatively simple vertex math of where the sound will travel while the hardware handles the effects applied to the sounds. Finally, there's a built in 10 channel hardware graphic equalizer.

Despite MIDI's ever decreasing usefulness, there a number of PC musicians out there that rely on MIDI. The Vortex 2's default wavetable set , which is stored in system RAM, is better than FM synthesis, but nowhere near as good as that offered by many professional level cards. Fortunately, there is a header for wavetable daughterboard on the Storm Platinum, and the addition of any number of wavetable daughter cards could easily remedy the MIDI situation. Further, since the samples are stored in system RAM, and the Vortex 2 supports DLS, it may be possible to just purchase and load an improved sample set in software.

The card itself is very closely based on Aureal's reference design - so close, in fact, that there is no mention of the Xitel or Storm Platinum names anywhere on the card itself, but rather just "Aureal Vortex 2" and the Aureal A3D logo silk screened on the back. The truth is that Aureal manufacturers almost all Vortex 2 based cards, with the only exception being the Turtle Beach models. This doesn't mean that they are all identical - Aureal manufactures them based on each company's specifications, which can vary widely.

Xitel has selected the Aureal's Vortex 2 SuperQuad Digital design for the Storm Platinum. As the name implies, the board features a digital out and outputs for four analog speakers. The digital out is an optical TOSLINK S/PDIF, the kind most often used by minidisc players. Most home receivers capable of decoding Dolby Digital AC-3 feature both coaxial and optical digital inputs. Xitel has specified an excellent 95dB signal to noise ratio with less than 0.007% THD, which allows the Storm Platinum to have virtually no back ground noise or hiss. The card itself does not extend beyond the end of the PCI connector, so should fit in any PCI slot just fine.

Speaking of Dolby Digital, with the proper DVD software, the digital output on the Storm Platinum can be used to output to a Dolby Digital receiver for full 5.1 surround. No such software is included with the Storm Platinum, but the current version of Zoran's SoftDVD, among others, is capable of doing this. Zoran's SoftDVD is also capable of taking the Dolby Digital data on a DVD disc and outputting it via A3D on a Vortex 2 card, which means 3D sound through headphones, 2 speakers, or 4 speakers. While not quite as good as true 5.1 Dolby Digital, the quad speaker output is significantly better than just plain stereo.

A3D 2.0

Aureal's A3D technology is based on the concept that we can tell where a sound is coming from with just two ears, so it must be possible to produce three dimensional sound using just two speakers. Over two decades of research into our ability to distinguish the location of a sound with just two ears and a number of technologies have grown out of that research, including A3D. A3D 1.0 uses Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTF) to simulate the effect of a sound wave traveling into the ear and modifies that sound wave to make it sound as if it is coming from a specific location.

A3D 2.0 builds on this basic concept from A3D 1.0 by adding in wavetracing to simulate the effect of a sound wave traveling through a three dimensional environment - all done using the 3D geometry of the room from the games engine. This primarily means reflections off walls, occlusions by walls, Doppler effect, acoustic reverberation, and atmospheric absorption. Aureal website offers a complete white paper on A3D, covering the complete theory in full detail.

For example, imagine an audio source directly in front of you. You then leave the room by backing up through a door. In most games, the sound simply gets quieter as you move further away. But using A3D 2.0, the sound will actually get quieter because a wall is there and the higher frequencies become more muffled as they are obstructed by the wall. Now imagine turning the corner and walking down the hall. You're not really getting further away from the sound, so under normal circumstances, the sound would remain about the same volume. On the other hand, the sound would continue to change as A3D 2.0 calculates the amount of sound coming out of the door and bouncing towards the listener.

The wavetracing effect is truly amazing and must be heard to fully understand - this reviewer was definitely skeptical until hearing it in person. A number of demos from Aureal are included on the driver CD that really show off the effect. Unfortunately, Xitel has chosen not to include any software beyond those demos and the drivers. The value of game bundles is of course debatable and this point is left to the reader to debate.

Despite being the more mature technology, the 3D positioning of the sound was less impressive than the wavetracing. As stated above, A3D's positioning was actually originally designed to be used with two speakers, and headphones would in fact be the ideal setup as the exact location of the speakers is known.

Unfortunately, the positioning was not as that convincing to this reviewers ears using headphones or two speakers, but others have disagreed and believe this is the best setup. For me, the quad speaker configuration provided the most realistic 3D imaging since the sound that is supposed to come from behind you really does come from behind you. This is of course the most complicated setup that can be used with the Vortex 2, but thankfully all those options are available so that each individual can make his/her own decision.

A3D 1.0 was released back in 1997, so its game support is quite extensive as of now. A3D 2.0 is not yet a year old, but is already garnering plenty of support from most developers who already used A3D 1.0. Interestingly enough, one of the most anticipated games of the year, Quake 3 Arena will not support 3D audio in any form (including Creative's EAX).

Software & Drivers

Just like the hardware, the Storm Platinum drivers are based completely on Aureal's reference drivers with the only changes being the name in device manager and the Aureal control panel. The latest Windows 9x drivers from Xitel are the ones shipping with the card and are based on the 2016 Aureal Vortex 2 build. Aureal currently offers prerelease 2030 reference drivers on their website that fix a number of bugs, offer a bunch of new features, and improve performance. Beyond the beta label of these drivers, there is pretty much no reason to not use them as they were completely stable in our testing.

Installation went smoothly using Windows 9x plug-n-play, which detected the card. Inserting the CD and pointing it to the appropriate drivers was all that was required. In case you're not a pro yet at this sort of thing, the whole thing is covered briefly, but sufficiently, in the user manual.

The drivers add an icon to the tray that allow for quick adjustments of all card settings. Right clicking allows for quick selection of speaker type (headphones, satellite speakers, monitor speakers, or quad speakers). Double clicking on that icon brings up a window that allows quick access to a variety of multimedia settings - some of them part of Windows, others from Aureal. The A3D Settings tab offers configuration of speaker type, front to rear fading, and a test button.

The 10 band graphic equalizer is available by clicking its icon from the control panel tab. The MIDI tab allows for two effects to be applied to MIDI sound, the selection of how many wavetable voices will be used, and the ability to download new wavetable sets to the card.

As expected, complete driver support is available under Windows 95/98. The story under NT 4.0 is a little different due to the lack of full DirectX support - there is still complete stereo support with the ability to play multiple sound streams, but no A3D or DirectSound 3D support. Fortunately, Aureal is ready with full support for the Windows Driver Model (WDM) used in Windows 2000 - expect drivers to be available immediately upon the OS' release.

Force Feedback Headphones?

The Gamer's Pack from Xitel includes a pair of force feedback headphones. Wait a minute. Force feedback headphones?!? Yep, that's what they're called. The concept of force feedback on a pair of headphones at first seems quite strange, but reading the description on the box actually gives a good idea of what they do. The claim is that "it's like wearing a full surround sound system on your ears, subwoofer included." Well, the Vortex 2 handles the surround sound portion of that statement, and the force feedback handles the subwoofer side of things.

But does it really work?

Actually, this is one of the few products in recent memory that actually went above and beyond expectations. It's not perfect, but it really does feel like you're wearing a subwoofer, or at least sitting near one. The claimed frequency response is 5Hz - 28kHz, which is actually wider than the typical human hearing range of 20Hz - 20kHz. Why go so low? You can still feel sounds below 20Hz, it's that sort of rumble you get during a suspenseful scene in a good movie theater. The sound quality won't impress audiophiles, but for just $20 when purchased in the Gamer's Pack, there aren't many better options at that price point. They're also available for $40 as a stand alone unit, which obviously doesn't offer as much value, but it is still a decent buy since a similar pair of Sony headphones, without force feedback, would run $60 or more.

However, the effect may be excessive if you're not really a huge bass head, especially while listening to bass heavy music. Fatigue can set in quickly if your music is bass heavy. It would have been nice if Xitel had included a level control for the force feedback effect (it doesn't despite the claims in the specifications). The other major problem with these headphones is the limited battery life with force feedback enabled - just 30 hours off a set of AAA batteries can add up quickly.

To partially remedy both these issues, there is an on/off switch for the force feedback effects on a control module in line with the headphone cable. Sound quality with force feedback disabled is a little weak in the lower frequencies. The control module also features a volume control that comes in really handy for making quick adjustments mid-game without going back to the options menu or Windows mixer.

The Test

The standard AnandTech test bed was used for all tests and consists of the following components:

• Intel Pentium II 400MHz, Intel Celeron 266 (0KB Cache)
• Abit BH6 i440BX Slot-1 mainboard
• 64MB Samsung Original PC100 SDRAM
• NVIDIA RIVA TNT AGP 16MB SDRAM
• Western Digital AC28400 - UltraATA
• Windows 98

The latest device drivers were used for all components. Tests were performed using Ziff Davis Audio Winbench 99. The graphics mode was 1024x768 in 16bit color.

Under these tests, CPU utilization for up to 32 DirectSound 3D streams was consistently well below 5%, even on a Celeron 266. Streaming up to 32 DirectSound sounds produced CPU utilization under 1%. Both of which are essentially negligible.

The Vortex 2, however, requires the CPU to do all vertex calculations based on the geometry of the environment from the game engine. This is not taken into account in Ziff Davis' Audio Winbench 99 that was used above. Using Half-Life and 3Finger's Blowout demo, the performance hit was about 10% in terms of frame rate on either CPU when A3D was enabled compared to standard stereo sound. For the hardcore gamer, this loss in frame rate may be unacceptable, but for most users, this is most likely bearable in light of the greatly enhanced audio offered by the Vortex 2 on the Storm Platinum. Those hard core gamer's who are still interested in 3D sound may wish to consider the Sound Blaster Live! that features a much simpler 3D implementation that is handled completely by the card.

Conclusion

As Xitel's packaging implies, the Storm Platinum is definitely aimed at the gamer and is fit to be included in a Gamer's Pack as they have done. The Vortex 2 has taken the majority of the gamers in the market for a soundcard, and the Storm Platinum is an excellent example of such a card. The force feedback headphones in the Gamer's Pack are pretty cool and probably worth the extra $20 if you don't already have a pair of good headphones.

The primary competitor of the Storm Platinum is, of course, Diamond's Monster Sound MX300. Both cards are manufactured by Aureal, but to different specifications - fortunately both of extremely high quality. The Storm Platinum offers the advantage of a digital out without the use of a daughterboard, as required by the MX300. The Storm Platinum is also a physically smaller card that will fit in any PCI slot, whereas the MX300 may have trouble if there is anything obstructing the chosen PCI slot. Drivers are a wash as they are both very closely based on the reference ones from Aureal. Diamond of course offers a much better software bundle that includes games (most notably Half-life Day One), a software DVD player, and miscellaneous music authoring tools.

With the Storm Platinum coming in at $20 less than the MX300 for just the card, it seems that unless you are really fond of Diamond's bundle, that the Storm Platinum is a better choice. For that $20, you could have the complete Storm Platinum Gamer's Pack that includes the force feedback headphones.

For users who just need basic stereo sound, there are many cheaper solutions, but for gamers looking for an excellent 3D sound solution, the Storm Platinum will not disappoint.