EVGA NU Audio Sound Card Unboxing & Preview

[VSG]

At CES this year, EVGA announced their long-teased entry to the dedicated audio market with the NU Audio sound card. A result of a collaboration with Audio Note, this preview goes over the unboxing experience, and we disassemble the NU audio card to gain technical insights and learn about its components.

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[Ferrum Master]

Thanks mate.

Good info. Especially closeup pics.

From engineering point of view... meh... 90ties.

 

[EarthDog]

I'd rather wait for the full review... ya'll be nickle and diming things lately...

 

[erixx]

Great and wonderfull preview, but pleeeease don't fall into this teenage 'unboxing' nonsense, we are an adult community, or? Preview or First contact sums it all nicely up

 

[diatribe]

$250 is going to make it a very niche product.

 

[VSG]

Great and wonderfull preview, but pleeeease don't fall into this teenage 'unboxing' nonsense, we are an adult community, or? Preview or First contact sums it all nicely up

It is a preview though, the unboxing is part of the preview that includes more. I effectively wrote this as I would my own review, sans the driver and performance pages and a shorter conclusion page. Every single review of mine has an unboxing and accessories page.

 

[EarthDog]

Just the review is good for me. These seem like a waste of time unless you are double dipping getting paid for it.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I'd rather wait for the full review... ya'll be nickle and diming things lately...

What exactly you will find more? I already see shortcomings about this device and the cause for it is exactly that is designed by Audio Note... ie it has no experience in making PC cards and fighting EMI and setting ground planes. The PCB speaks for itself. It is an external DAC with an ASMEDIA pcie-USB hub. And that's the problem... it is inside a PC not in an external case fed from external supply.

The basic measurements actually should be fine, but complex torture should show funny things. Subjective listening tests are a heavy no no for me.

PS.
Looking the sneak preview for AE-9, this thing is rendered useless in that price point tho.

 

[The Quim Reaper]

I can't believe such a premium sound card has no backplate, completely spoils the aesthetics of it, IMO.

Poor EVGA, poor.

 

[VSG]

Just the review is good for me. These seem like a waste of time unless you are double dipping getting paid for it.

Nah, @Inle will get his review sample and do a full review himself. I had originally had this as a news post format too, so it is just to help cover the content for EVGA and TPU and not monetary compensation

 

[noel_fs]

And its probably still garbage

 

[Ferrum Master]

And its probably still garbage

Comparing to what. It is not for sure.

If it is above good, near perfect? No not.

 

[15th Warlock]

I understand this is for audiophiles who want the best quality when listening to music through headphones, but sound cards have fallen so far behind in terms of positional audio support it's not even amusing anymore.

Why invest $250 on a card when you can invest that towards a good receiver and speakers, and get support for the latest sound formats like DTS-X and Dolby ATMOS?

All you need is a recent video card with an HDMI output and the right decoders for Windows, and you're all set, these sound cards don't offer support past Dolby Surround or DTS over S/PDIF, that's compressed sound that's a least two generations behind when it comes to positional audio

 

[dj-electric]

250$ for this? Holy crap, that's absolutely nuts.

 

[Readlight]

why it haw no feature to use directly any speaker from ded home cinema?

 

[Eroticus]

I'm waiting for the full review, maybe i will upgrade my Creative Z.

 

[Mistral]

Anything in there besides the form factor that makes this a better choice than a STRDH590?

I'm waiting for the full review, maybe i will upgrade my Creative Z.

Still running an Auzentech Forte...

 

[Eroticus]

Anything in there besides the form factor that makes this a better choice than a STRDH590?


Still running an Auzentech Forte...

I also had Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro , ASUS Xonar D2X and few more i can't even remember the name.

I upgraded to Z just because it didn't' request the power cable .

and it's the first time i own Integrated Stereo Amplifier and good speakers, before it i had Logitech Z-5500 for like 10 years and some Sharp "2k wat" stereo lol...

 

[erixx]

It is a preview though, the unboxing is part of the preview that includes more. I effectively wrote this as I would my own review, sans the driver and performance pages and a shorter conclusion page. Every single review of mine has an unboxing and accessories page.

I mainly said it for the Title. Serious reviewers don't put that in a Title. (Of course, they unbox physically, but imho it is not worth to waste Title space to name it) It is a totally FUBAR term if you look p.e. in Youtube for reviews, only to find stupid minutes long takes of boxes in and out. Maybe todays generation adore 'outsides' of the outside of things.... (Sellers know it when they call their product package "jewel cases" and other bullshit).
Sorry for being so razorsharp, but it is part of my real world job Now back to the music (or the reviews!)

 

[erocker]

Not sure if the price justifies the purchase over a variety of DAC's that are very good and can be had cheaper.

 

[VSG]

I mainly said it for the Title. Serious reviewers don't put that in a Title. (Of course, they unbox physically, but imho it is not worth to waste Title space to name it) It is a totally FUBAR term if you look p.e. in Youtube for reviews, only to find stupid minutes long takes of boxes in and out. Maybe todays generation adore 'outsides' of the outside of things.... (Sellers know it when they call their product package "jewel cases" and other bullshit).
Sorry for being so razorsharp, but it is part of my real world job Now back to the music (or the reviews!)

Having unboxing in titles actually increases SEO, so I would not be surprised if many reviewers do do this. But the main goal here was to differentiate it from the upcoming review without giving anyone false impressions, hence that in the title

 

[Easy Rhino]

$250 is going to make it a very niche product.

Especially when you can buy a $100 desktop DAC that will probably sound better...

 

[Dammeron]

The sound card market is as good as dead, compared to what it was back in the day, so it's good to see a new contender. However that price seems like an overkill, but we shall see whether it's worth it.

I wonder what's the power draw for that thing, that it requires a separate input apart from the PCIe port. I got the same on my D2X, but there it was needed to power the PLX chip.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Indeed onboard sound has come a long way but a good soundcard still produce better audio quality than onboard, plus I dont like having USB DAC as it cluttered my desktop.

Im not fond of the xMOS DSP they using. It didnt offer any benefits like Dolby Digital/DTS/EAX etc. that could add value to it. For me thats the reason for buying internal soundcards, if not its better to buy external DAC; usually cheaper, better quality if you just want pure sound quality.

Soundcard dont NEED external power, nor does it need any sort of rgb nonsense. PCIe x1 have 25W limit.

 

[Bansaku]

... stick to what you know EVGA. There are FAR better AMP/DAC's out there for a fraction of the price. And besides, who plugs their cans into the back of their PCs? Certainly not audiophiles (like ANY would actually buy this overpriced over engineered antiquated product).