Tweak3D.net - Intel Reviews

Posted: March 13th, 2002
Written by: Tuan Huynh

Sound Max 3.0 w/SPX

Last year Intel started pushing Sound Max, an AC’97 audio Codec that had Sensaura 3D audio algorithms implemented. SoundMax instantly became a hit and started appearing in Desktops and Notebooks from Compaq and HP. Sound Max, though still a host based solution, unlike C-Media integrated solutions, is still a viable and cost effective solution.

SoundMax 3.0 is based around Analog Devices AD1885 AC’97 Codec. When coupled with the proper SoundMax drivers, the end user will be able to experience 3D Audio in games and various other programs that support one of the many 3D Audio API’s.

SoundMax by default has support for analog stereo speakers. When coupled with a CNR card, it is possible to have 5.1 audio and digital audio outputs. Above is a picture of what the SoundMax CNR card looks like, it has Rear, Center/LFE, and Optical Digital outputs. Since the CNR card I received was a low profile card, I just took off the metal plate to get it to fit into my case.

The Drivers

Without the appropriate SoundMax drivers, the Codec is essentially useless. The drivers are an essential part of SoundMax since they’re what are providing EAX1 & 2 support.

After installing the Sound Max drivers, the Intel 82xxx AC’97 Audio driver turns into SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio. It only has one device driver instead of fifty like the Audigy.

When you double click on the SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio Device, it’ll bring up the Audio properties. There’s a settings tab that allows you to choose your SPIDF Audio output mode from AC-3, PCM, or AC-3 or PCM.

After installing the SoundMax drivers and software, you’ll also be brought up with extra options that allow you to tweak your audio a bit. Under speaker setup, you’re able to choose the speaker type from headphones to 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers. The drivers also allow you to receive a bass boost for those of you who have speakers that need it, which is most likely the majority of the speakers that come with OEM computers. Something you’ll find similar to what most of the high end sound cards have is the Acoustic Environment models. The Acoustic Environment settings are simply preset reverb settings to add to your audio.

Like most other sound cards, there is always a utility to test your audio. The test plays either a noise or music loop and circles around your speakers for a surround sound effect to test your speakers to make sure they all work.

In the second tab, you’re allowed to choose between a 4MB General Midi or 1.2MB XG Lite Synthesizer set. SoundMax uses a lite version of Yamaha’s superior soft synthesizing software for it’s MIDI playback.

SoundMax Performance

For performance, I’ll be performing mostly subjective tests since processor utilization benchmarks would mean much since there wouldn’t be much noticeable CPU utilization due to the amount of sheer power computer systems these days have. SoundMax will most likely use more CPU cycles compared to PCI sound cards such as the Sound Blaster Live Value and Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. The speakers of choice for this task were Polk Audio’s AMR130 budget 5.1 speaker system.

When it came to just casual music listening, the onboard Sound Max 3.0 performed as well as most budget audio solutions. Using Win amp as the MP3 player, Sound Max 3.0 didn’t sound as clear the Sound Blaster Live Audigy, but equalizer to “Full Treble” I was able to get the sound to be a little clearer. When it came to bass, Sound Max 3 offered more bass then the competing C-Media solutions which have little or lack bass. As for processor utilization during MP3 playback, does it really matter anymore? With a P4, you’ll have plenty of power to play MP3’s without worrying about CPU utilization.

When watching DVD’s, Sound Max 3.0 does an outstanding job in performance. For testing, I chose to use Power DVD XP and the Castaway DVD with the scene where the FedEx plane crashes. After watching the scene a few times, the conclusion I’ve come to is that Sound Max does a great job for playing DVD’s, when the plane crashes, I could hear sounds coming from all over the place with the subwoofer shaking the ground. Sound Max does an excellent job playing DVD’s and provides pretty accurate sound, the only gripe about it is it lacks a little bit of clarity compared to the SB Live Audigy. But for integrated audio, it sounds better then the C-Media CMI8738.

For game testing, I chose to use Serious Sam 2: The Second Encounter with EAX 2.0 enabled. The overall results were good, the 3D sound positioning worked very well and was able to allow me to pin point those ugly and weird creatures in the game. From a gaming standpoint, Sound Max 3 w/SPX is a great integrated solution, it’s just a matter of companies integrating it on motherboards. Sound Max 3 is especially helpful for those who just threw together a brand new system with a GeForce 4 Ti4600 and forgot about the sound card. :D

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