M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Reviewer's Manual
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M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Reviewer's Manual

Surround sound audio card
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Revolution 7.1
Surround Sound Audio Card
Reviewer's Guide

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Summary of Contents for M-Audio Revolution 7.1

  • Page 1 Revolution 7.1 Surround Sound Audio Card Reviewer’s Guide...
  • Page 2 Telephone: 626.445.2842 Toll Free: 800.969.6434 Fax: 626.445.7564 M-Audio, the M-Audio logo, and Revolution 7.1 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Midiman Inc., for use in the United States and other countries. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trade- marks of their respective owners.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents A Note To Product Reviewers Key Editorial Contacts Today’s Audio Cards: Pro Sound at Low Prices Top 5 Cool Things To Do With The Revolution 7.1 About The Revolution 7.1 Product Info Box T esting The Revolution 7.1 Product Specifications Bass Management 7.1 Surround Sound Receivers...

  • Page 4: A Note To Product Reviewers

    G U I D E A Note To Product Reviewers We’re pleased that you have chosen to review M-Audio’s Revolution 7.1 high-definition surround-sound audio card. It’s a product we are very ex- cited about. This guide provides you with editorial background information to assist you in writing your review.

  • Page 5: Key Editorial Contacts

    For publication purposes, refer your readers to the M-Audio Web site, www.m-audio.com.

  • Page 6: Today's Audio Cards: Pro Sound At Low Prices

    DVD home theater sys- tems, they are placing similar demands on computer audio—just as they did with computer video. The Revolution 7.1 answers these demands by delivering profes- sional-quality, high-definition audio signals to as many as eight speakers.

  • Page 7: Top 5 Cool Things To Do With The Revolution

    Digital recording: R O U N D S O U N D high-definition digital audio. With The Revolution 7.1 and a user’s favorite digital A N D A S U B - recording software, those precious old albums can be preserved in glorious 24- W O O F E R , bit/96kHz fidelity.

  • Page 8: About The Revolution 7.1

    Revolution 7.1 is half the size of the stereo sound cards of just a few years ago, yet it delivers up to eight separate channels of sound, is far qui- eter, and is priced less than $100.
  • Page 9 But Aren’t CDs and MP3s Are Recorded In Two-Channel Stereo? They sure are. And we’ve taken care of that. After investing in a Revolution 7.1 audio card, seven powered speakers, and a powered subwoofer, users will undoubt- edly remember that their CD and MP3 music collections were recorded mostly in traditional two-channel stereo.
  • Page 10 G U I D E Outclasses Audigy 2 At A Lower Price For a little less money than Creative’s new Audigy 2 sound card, the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 offers more audio channels, higher fidelity, lower distortion, and twice the platform support. The following chart compares major specifications of the Revolution 7.1 with the Creative Audigy 2 and the Hercules Gamesurround...

  • Page 11: Product Info Box

    The standard for today’s audio CDs is a sampling rate of 44.1kHz at a resolution of 16-bits per sample. The Revolution 7.1 supports sampling rates up to 192kHz and resolutions up to 24-bits—the highest available in both the professional consumer markets.

  • Page 12: Testing The Revolution 7.1

    G A M E R S A N D In this portion of the Revolution 7.1 Reviewer’s Guide, we’ll cover the following: D V D O R M U S I C...
  • Page 13 • Powered subwoofer A C C O R D I N G The Revolution 7.1 works well with almost any receiver or powered speaker set. It T O D O L B Y A N D fully supports stereo, headphones, stereo with subwoofer, 2.1 (with discrete sub- T H X , D O L B Y woofer), quadraphonic, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 configurations.
  • Page 14 5.1 speaker set to 7.1. Hardware Set-Up Simply install the Revolution 7.1 in an available PCI slot in a Macintosh or PC. Next, you’ll connect the speakers. Finally, reboot the system and install the software drivers. Optionally, you can install the included software applications. For the DVD...
  • Page 15 (For example, the Center/Subwoofer output is actually the output for both the Center and Subwoofer channels.) Most multimedia speakers use 1⁄8" stereo in- put cables with the same color coding as used on Revolution 7.1. Simply match the colors to easily connect speakers.

  • Page 16: Software Installation

    Mac OS 9 ........10 Mac OS X ........11 M-Audio continuously improves the quality and feature set of its driver software. We recommend that you download the latest Revolution 7.1 driver software for your operating system from: www.m-audio.com/driversearch.php. New features have been added, and existing ones enhanced.
  • Page 17 R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E Speaker Configurations Left, right “2.1” Left, right with subwoofer (no discrete subwoofer input) Left, right; discrete subwoofer Left, right, two surrounds Left, right, two surrounds; subwoofer Left, right, center;...
  • Page 18 For more information, read the Dolby Digital EX listener’s guide, lo- cated at www.dolby.com/ht/co_br_0110_ListenersGuideEX.html. The Revolution 7.1 can also output 7.1 discrete channels. This is great for today’s new surround formats, such as Windows Media Audio 9 Professional, that already support discrete 7.1 surround sound. It also makes the Revolution 7.1 ready for future formats that take advantage...
  • Page 19 After installing the hardware and software, use the control panel to manage all as- pects of the Revolution 7.1 audio experience. As you go through the suggested lis- tening tests, detailed later in this section, you will choose many options from the control panel.
  • Page 20 R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E Speaker Setup (Mac). Indicates number of installed speakers, their sizes, distances from the listener, crossover fre- quency, and more. Specifying more speakers than are connected may cause sound to be routed to non- existent speakers,...
  • Page 21 R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E Surround Sound (Macintosh). Con- trols all surround functions, including Sensaura (PC), TruSurround XT, Circle Surround II, Dialog Enhance- ment, and TruBass. Refer to the fol- lowing “Listening Tests”...
  • Page 22 G U I D E Listening Tests With the Revolution 7.1, the proof is in the listening. Ideally, you would have two computers that are identical in every way except for the sound card installed. This will allow you to make direct A-B comparisons with Revolution 7.1 and the com- peting sound card of your choice.
  • Page 23 “Stereo w/Discrete Subwoofer” set and enable Bass Management. 4. Audition the same music as before. Note the superior audio quality of the Revolution 7.1. You should notice the improved dynamic range, lower noise, and increased clarity of the audio. On sources that are inherently very compressed or low fidelity—such as Internet...
  • Page 24 5.1 surround soundtrack or from the stereo mix placed on many DVDs, as well as CDs or MP3s. 1. Open the Revolution 7.1 Control Panel. In the Surround Sound tab, turn on TruSurround XT and set it to “Cinema” mode.
  • Page 25 G U I D E Test 5: DVD Surround Decode This test shows the Revolution 7.1’s ability to decode Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital EX encoded surround sound using the included WinDVD 4 DVD player. This illustrates how the Revolution 7.1 can be used with any surround speakers or receiver, even if they do not have a built-in decoder.
  • Page 26 S U R R O U N D S O U N D F R O M 6. Switch back to the Revolution 7.1. After listening to Circle Surround II A N Y D V D O R processed audio for a while, open the Revolution 7.1 control panel and turn off “SRS Circle Surround II.”...
  • Page 27 8. Hook up an external MP3 player, DAT, MiniDisc, XM Radio, Satellite Re- ceiver, or other external music/audio source to Revolution’s “Line In” jack. 9. Open the Revolution 7.1 Control Panel and with Circle Surround still en- abled, check the “Enable Monitoring” or “Monitor Input on Output”...
  • Page 28 (see the contacts list on page 3). Our testing, as well as results from partners and press, objectively support that the Revolution 7.1 is the best sounding consumer audio card available today. We’ve also seen a number of user RMAA Revolution tests on the web that support this.
  • Page 29 R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E RightMark Audio Analyzer Testing Please see the section above for more notes on test configuration. We highly rec- ommend using RMAA version 5.0 or later as it has more accurate test capabilities. For RMAA 4.3: 1.

  • Page 30: Product Specifications

    G U I D E Part Product Specifications The following series of charts lists all technical specifications for the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 high-definition surround sound audio card. Specifications are sub- ject to change without notice due to continuing product improvement programs.
  • Page 31 R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E Product Specifications (cont’d.) Audio Performance Line Outs Dynamic Range 106 dB (typical, -60 dB input, a-weighted) Signal-to-Noise Ratio 107 dB (typical, a-weighted) 0.003% (i.e., -90dB) Max.

  • Page 32: Bass Management

    Mac OS 9.2.2 or OS X (10.1.5 for Dolby Digital pass-through) Bass Management One of the least flashy, but most revolutionary features of the Revolution 7.1 is its advanced theater-grade bass management. First, we should discuss what bass man- agement is and why it’s important. Then we can talk about why Revolution’s im- plementation is so advanced.
  • Page 33 E N D S U R - Note: M-Audio is in the process of providing additional enhancements to the Revolution R O U N D R E - 7.1 bass management software. Depending on when you review the product, the soft- C E I V E R S ware you download from our website will use one of two methods.

  • Page 34: 7.1 Surround Sound Receivers

    If you notice no volume drop when bass management is enabled, or only a slight volume drop on the sub- woofer, this is the bass management scheme used in your Revolution 7.1 driver ver- sion.

  • Page 35: Dvd Test Scenes

    R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E DVD Test Scenes The following chart identifies scenes that are great for auditioning surround sound. The DVD chapters below highlight one or more significant parts of the surround audio experience or another: bass, directional audio, environmental audio, audio clarity, dynamic range, etc.
  • Page 36 Great directional audio and room shaking bass. Attack on Pearl Great LFE effects. Subtle, Ice Age Opening but effective positional audio. Great ambient audio and Moulin Rouge Sparkling music. Oscar nominated Sad Diamonds for best sound. Source: M-Audio *DD = Dolby Digital...

  • Page 37: Music Listening Samples

    Nice ambient feeling with the Rings CSII enabled. This recording con- tains clicks near middle of song that sound like vinyl pops. √ John Mayer Room for Your Body is a Nice bass. Clean recording. Squares Wonderland Source: M-Audio...

  • Page 38: Additional Resources

    R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E Additional Resources Both Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theater Systems (DTS) are an excellent source of technical information regarding surround sound. You may find the following links useful. Dolby Explains 5.1 vs.

  • Page 39: Company Backgrounder

    G U I D E Company Backgrounder M-Audio, Inc (formerly Midiman Inc.) was founded in 1988 with the goal of of- fering complete audio solutions to meet the needs of recording artists, audio profes- sionals, and consumers. To achieve this goal, the company leverages cutting-edge, high-quality technology, offering features and pricing that are accessible to musi- cians, audio professionals, and consumers.

  • Page 40: Press Release

    Mac owners to play DVDs and all their music in surround sound, experience more realistic gaming, and record or mix their own music. With output for up to seven speakers and a subwoofer, the Revolution 7.1 rivals even the best movie theaters. Where 5.1 places speakers beside the listener, 7.1 places them both beside and behind them for a much more immersive and believ- able surround sound experience.
  • Page 41 100 sounds and loops as well as a free sampler CD of music from M- Powered artists who use M-Audio products. Revolution 7.1 is scheduled to ship in January 2003, and will be distributed in major retail stores throughout North America. It will be released soon after that in Japan and Europe.

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