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The Canyon3D audio processor is the heart of the MX400, and its specifications yield more insight into what the new Diamond card will truly be capable of at the time of its release:
True positional 3D PCI audio accelerator
Adds vertical positioning with Sensaura's patented MultiDrive technology.
Engulfing 4.0, 4.1 and 5.1 multi-speaker support
Master balance/fade controls
Individual Wave, MIDI and Analog controls
Hardware solutions produce industry-leading real-mode DOS support
AC '97 2.0 architecture
Ultimate Dolby Digital and PCM support with S/PDIF digital output interface
Microsoft DirectInput compatible joystick interface
MPU-401 MIDI interface
PCI 2.1 compatible interface
While ESS Inc. may not be known to the masses as a creator of high-end desktop audio solutions, they clearly aim to change that perception as the Canyon3D's chip specs show.
Building off of the Canyon3D foundation, the signal to noise ratio and total harmonic distortion level of the MX400 has been improved towards the goal of very precise audio reproduction even at high volume levels.
For gamers, the 3D API support of the MX400 is strong. It can accurately play back the following positional 3D formats:
A3D 1.0
DirectSound
DirectSound3D
EAX 1.0
EAX 2.0
I3D Level 2
We're happy to see that the MX400 offers full EAX extension support. It was one of the major complaints we had with the MX300 as it wasn't able to support Creative's (now licensed to Microsoft) preferred 3D audio API.
One API that's omitted from the MX400's support list is Aureal's A3D 2.0, which is due to the fact that Aureal does not allow support for their proprietary A3D 2.0 API from companies whose products do not utilize Aureal's Vortex line of processors. This isn't much of a problem in our eyes as the market has clearly shifted to supporting EAX over A3D, from both the software developer perspective as well as the licensing perspective. With Creative, Diamond, and Microsoft pushing DirectSound3D/EAX over A3D, it's pretty clear which API most games will be supporting throughout the next year.
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