In the Package

Design

The DMX is not based on the ESS reference board and it was easy to recognize this. One thing that immediately caught my eye was the larger Canyon3D chip on the TerraTec board in comparison to both the reference 5.1 board and retail Formosa 4.1 board in our labs. A quick email to ESS confirmed that the two chips are identical from a Canyon3D perspective and that TerraTec's chip was unique in its support for the optional radio upgrade. The other difference is the lack of a subwoofer output - not a major flaw, but unusual nonetheless.

The DMX Up Close

So what did this color box conceal behind the plastic wrap and cardboard? The sound card and digital daughter board were separately packaged in silver anti-static bags. A CD with all the drivers and software was included, as well as two manuals. I didn't notice the two manuals at first, until I began reading the German version.

Other included goodies

The English manual was one of the better manuals in the computer industry. Not only does this manual go over the basics of hardware and software installation, but it also gives you lots of information on how to make the most of your investment. Detailed instructions on how to integrate the DMX into a digital recording setup were provided as well as schematics and web page references to build your own SPDIF to "" Digital converter. Even better, this manual was very readable. Written in a conversational format, the technical aspects of 3D audio were explained as well as the art of sound mixing and synthesizing.

Also included was a stereo mini-jack to RCA cable, just one though. Two would have been nicer, considering the quad speaker output of the DMX.

Installation was a rather mundane event, although we did have some problems getting the DMX to work in the same system with either an ATI All-In-Wonder 128 or an ATI TV Wonder. These issues are probably driver related as we have gotten Canyon 3D cards working with the above system configurations.