Diamond Monster Sound MX400 Manufacturer : Diamond Multimedia Pricing: $99 Availability: Out Now Reviewed by: Date : April 20th 2000

Conclusion:

The Diamond's drivers don't offer much control over the MX400's sound output but the four speaker output sounds great, and the S/PDIF connector is a nice touch for those that want it. EAX 2.0 and DirectSound3D give excellent performance with a four-speaker setup. Since A3D 2.0 is by far the best two-speaker/headphone solution if you like to play with headphones, or only have two speakers you'd prefer Aureal's SQ2500 or Diamonds very own MX300. Well if you are one of those geeks not willing to mess around too much …fine…Sensaura effects work automatically with any game that has DirectSound 3D, or 2, so that you don't have to adjust or worry about a performance factors. (frame rate, reverb, delay settings etc…)…of course the downside of this is that you wont be able to tweak the settings to please your taste. The MX400 is definitely the best 3D gaming sound card currently available. But if you are using a SoundBlaster Live! or Aureal SQ2500 no need to rush in and buy a MX400.There is no night-and-day difference from SoundBlaster Live! or the Aureal SQ2500. Diamond has excelled in a few areas with the MX400 where the MX300 was lacking. By pricing it so low it is ideal for the budget user. The MX400 is not a clear successor to the MX300, but I wouldn't say it's a bad choice any day….

Highs:

· Sensaura 3D audio
· Four speaker output and S/PDIF
· Broad API compatibility
· Impressive bundle
· Good price

Lows:

· Highest CPU usage of the cards we tested
· No A3D 2.0 support
· Lacking internal connectors
· Windows 2000 drivers not completed yet.

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