ASUS today expanded its Xonar series of sound cards and audio devices with a new value for money yet gamer-oriented PCI sound card, the Xonar DG. This low-profile card is driven [surprisingly] by C-Media CMI8786 Oxygen HD chipset, which is a 6-channel variant of the CMI8788 Oxygen HD. Pitched as a 5.1 channel sound card, the Xonar DG supports HD (24-bit/96 kHz) output with HDCP compliance. Apart from the four 3.5 mm jacks for 5.1 channel output plus one 2-channel analog input, there's one TOSLINK-type optical SPDIF output. The card gives out standard HDA front-panel connections, along with internal analog and SPDIF inputs.

Despite its lean feature set, the card features an on board headphone amplifier circuit that lets you tune impedance to suit your headset, it lets you select between VOIP, Gaming, and "Exciter" modes. The CMI8786 chipset is aided by a Cirrus-Logic made DAC that has a signal-noise ratio of 105 dBA, with a frequency response 10 Hz to 48 kHz, supporting 24-bit sample resolution. The software is backed by an ASUS GX 2.5 Gaming Audio engine. ASUS' new sound card is expected to be priced under £30 in the UK, well under $50 in the US.