DIAMOND Monster Sound M80 PCI Sound Card Reviewed by Matthew Fam Kai Liang (07/06/98)
| Card Specification | 32-bit PCI Bus 2.1 compliant |
| Model | DIAMOND Monster Sound M80 |
| Wavetable Synthesis | 32-Voice (hardware) |
| General Features | 1) Microsoft Direct X
5.0/6.0 Compliant 2) Hardware Direct Sound/Direct Sound3D accelerator 3) A3D Audio Surround |
| Software Compatatibility | 1) A3D Interactive
Sound Postioning 2) Support Win95/Win98/WinNT 3) Sound Blaster Pro/DIRECT X Compatiable 4) MPU-401 MIDI |
| Card Package | 1) Monster Sound M80
PCI Audio Accelerator 2) Monster Sound Starter Kit(with driver CD) 3) Cable to connect to DOS sound card 4) Upgradable to Hardware Wavetable daughter board |
| Bundled Package | 1) Jedi Knight:
parthways to the Force(game) 2) Intervista WorldView 2.0 3) Microsoft NetShow 4) Microsoft Internet Explorer 5) Midisoft Internet Sound Bar 6) Midisoft Studio Recording Session 7) Professional quality Wave Editor and others utilities |
| Minimum Requirements | 1) Win95/98,Win NT 4.0 2) Pentium 100MHz(200MHz MMX for A3D) |
Introduction
DIAMOND gives us the first bang
at PCI sound card technology.Running the same Aureal 3D AU8820 chipset.DIAMOND gives us
yet another wave of shock.One of the latest range of Monster Sound series of cards,Monster
Sound M80 is the one focus in this review(the one being MX200 which is not available
locally).The imtidating graphics card look-alike box gives you the impression of a large
piece of product inside.The cover is based in green with a real idiotic looking man
shouting.Guess DIAMOND have got the result they want.People do look at this piece of big
thing.
As usual,Monster Sound family carries the tradition of using Aureal Vortrex chipset to
power it's board.Giving us the best in 3D audio quality as of today.Opening the box give
you the disappointing feeling.Other than a starter pack on the left and the wrapped card
on the right.There's absolutely nothing.It seems like the box contained more air than the
valuable items.The card is nicely wrapped in a anti-static plastic while on the other side
Installation
It's a fully painless procedure
as the card slot in seemlessly into the empty PCI slot.Windows 98 deteched the card and
installed the driver upon prompted.Windows 98 do have a set of Monster Sound driver just
in case you lost the card's driver
And there after,you can proceed to install the accompanied lists of software which
includes MS Internet Explorer.Jedi Knight A3D game.If you are using Windows 95.Just simply
use the driver CD-ROM for installation.The card is capable of connecting to a ISA based
sound card for adding the full DOS legacy sound.The nice gold plated thick cable
accompanied was of high quality,reflecting the amount you paid was spend on.I uses a
Tertle Beach TBS-200 ISA based 32-Voice Wavetable card to allow full compatibility.Running
on both legacy dos game like the old Chinese 'Romance Of the Three Kingdom' and the newer
games like Quake II are fully workable.Except for the minor hitch in getting both card
running.The end result is a wonderful piece of art.
For full detailed installation procedure,please refer to the user manual.
The Good
If you were to say.Others A3D
sound card support up to 128 Voices and are so much cheaper with the same chipset.What's
so great about this?
The quality of the PCB board are of very high quality.Full size PCB board with the extras
transistors,it even allow a daughter board to be added to this already top class card to
complete your sound studio.You can plug a high-end YAMAHA wavetable sound card to it to
enable studio editing effect.The sound quality very much better than many others A3D
cards.DIAMOND spend lots of money to enhanced the quality of both the driver and material
quality.Though others brands like SCHUBERT 128 stated 128 voice in their specification
lists.The real-time sound quality with Monster Sound M80 is higher than the others.I run
the card using Windows 98 provided driver is already marvellous and comparable to the
SCHUBERT card.I then installed the accompanied driver and also download the latest version
: '95106' driver from DIAMOND website which was said as to enhanced A3D further.To
differenciate the difference in Sound quality.I uses two systems running the same games
titles like FORSAKEN,HEAVY GEAR and BATTLE ZONE and with different sound effect on.A3D
sound enable or normal Direct 3D enhanced quality.I must say.Without a proper pair of
speakers.Your A3D sound card will not shine out but will still,you will surely notice the
better in effect.
The accompanied starter pack packed a real detailed user manual,plus the driver disc and
the accompanied JEDI KNIGHT A3D enhanced game for you to test drive your board.Jedi Knight
is one of the better games that actually makes you feel the difference between a A3D card
and those not supporting.Forsaken is also really cool with the added sound effect and
realism.Sound were more vibrant and crispy when running Monster Sound M80.If you were to
say.
Performance
To test it's sound quality.I
uses 3 different sound systems with Subwoofer & surround sound was used to provide
xxxWatts of uninterrupted sound effect.Do not get mixed up with the others A3D based cards
in the market selling as low as just above S$50,this card cost 3x the cost of one.And with
a proven reason for so.
Running the YAMAHA MS-25, AIWA SC-CD40 and the Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers system which
all are equipped with subwoofer.The sound quality on the DIAMOND card was of different
level,I also uses the TERASOUND A3D card in this test.Combining the QSound effect of the
AIWA speakers,the sound quality seems much stronger,especially the bass.On the YAMAHA
system the quality is clearer,deeper sounding.While the Altec speakers are the power
beater.Full blasting the speakers will blow your mind out.And what does that means ?
Bascially.I must say the 3 speakers is capable of enhancing A3D surround better.But the
best choices will be between the YAMAHA and the AIWA speakers becourse of the lower
bass.Altec Lansing speaker are for higher bass effect lovers.The bass is very much
stronger.You will have to make a choice of which you preferred.Monster Sound are defintely
a notch better in sound than TERASOUND A3D card which is about 1/2 of it's prices.
The accompanied starter pack packed a real detailed user manual,plus the driver disc and
the accompanied JEDI KNIGHT A3D enhanced game for you to test drive your board.Jedi Knight
is one of the better games that actually makes you feel the difference between a A3D card
and those not supporting.Forsaken is also really cool with the added sound effect and
realism.Sound were more vibrant and crispy when running Monster Sound M80.If you were to
say.
HEAVY GEAR by Activision JEDI KNIGHT by LucasArts FORSAKEN by Acclaim
The Bad
The bad point of this card is
perhaps of the A3D surround effect which will only be activated in a minimum Pentium
200MHx MMX system.That means if you are still running the slower P133.You will not get to
enjoy the A3D effect,though it's still capable of running with the A3D with minimum P100
systems.The card requires is also very weak in legacy DOS mode as similar to the S3 sound
card reviewed earlier.The MIDI effect is relatively better than others but still is
nothing compared to the Tertle Beach or the CREATIVE AWE64 sound card.But people can go
without it as nowadays MIDI are less used in games.If you are particular concern about
budget,this card is not for you.
The pricing of this card are on the high end.But with the CREATIVE PCI64 priced around the
same region.It's my BEST BUY compared to it.Other than the pricing,this card is worth it's
packaging.Thumb up!
Conclusion
This card offer little of something for everyone.It offer the best bundled
software among the A3D cards.The material packaging quality of card is also top notch
There's nothing to lose in the final rally of advancing into PCI sound era with this
powerful card.It' will definately beat the Creative's PCI64 PCI card with similar price
tag plus the onboard DSP wich off loads CPU power by as low as only 5% CPU utilization as
compared to CREATIVE's AWE64 30% CPU utilization rate.
It's consider the BEST BUY for people looking for the nothing but the best.I have not
tested it's bigger brother the MX200 which was said to be the ultimate sound sensation.If
you think it got what you takes.Grab it today!
Monster Sound M80 Card RATING
| Installation | **** |
| Performance | ***** |
| Price | *** |
| Game Compatiable Test | **** |
| Bundled Software Value | ***** |
| Material Quality | **** |
| Overall Rating | **** |
Back To SOG Reviews Lab
| Specifications |
| Manufacturer: DIAMOND MULTIMEDIA Warranty Period: 3 years parts & labour |
| Estimated Price: $ 149 |
This Product is provided courtesy of,
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