Auzentech, Inc. (http://www.auzentech.com/), a provider of quality consumer electronics products, is pleased to announce the official release of the Auzen X-Fi™ Forte 7.1 soundcard.

The Auzen X-Fi™ Forte 7.1 is the first Low Profile native PCI Express® audio card that Auzentech has designed especially for gamers and audiophiles. Compared to the X-Fi™ chipset reference design, the Auzen X-Fi™ Forte 7.1 has improved circuitry and components. The Auzen X-Fi™ Forte 7.1 marks the first timethe Creative X-Fi™ Native PCI Express® chipset has been available in a low-profile board, as well as the first time it has been available in a third-party soundcard.

X-Fi™ Forte Page: http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php

I was under the impression that soundcards were being phased out; but a brand like Asus can make a difference. The company has released their latest line of sound cards dubbed the Xonar HDAV1.3 Series - the world’s first sound cards to be equipped with the next generation DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital Plus bitstream on the PC platform.The unit combines C-Media’s custom-made AV200 audio processor and ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Theatre software player, thus enabling users to enjoy Dolby TrueHD’s lossless compression rate of 24bit/192KHz over to their AV receivers. It also features Protected Audio Playback Systems (PAPS) and full Advanced Access Content System (AACS) certification - thus there is no need to downsample audio to DVD quality.

"Ever since Blu-ray technology was announced in the market, there has never been a solution capable of bringing lossless digital audio formats to users on the PC," said George Tang, ArcSoft Vice President and General Manager of Video and Home Entertainment Group.

"Even some BD players and the PS3 could not output bitstreams of Dolby TrueHD and other High-Bit-Rate audio so far, and we are glad to be the first inventors to implement the ProtectedAudio Playback System (PAPS) on PC platforms and fulfill the Full-HD AV entertainment desires for vast PC users," said Jason Liang, C-Media senior manager of System Business Division. "We are pleased to work with Asus and ArcSoft to make this product happen."

There is no word on pricing yet.

Apogee Digital has begun shipping it's Symphony 64 soundcard worldwide. The PCI Express-based card supports up to 64 channels of 24-bit 192kHz digital input and output, or double the amount of I/O in Apogee's previous Symphony soundcard. Apogee has designed the card to interface the company's X-Series and Rosetta Series converters directly to the Mac Pro, the culmination of which would create The Symphony System, a complete pro audio solution.

Other goodies include Apogee's VBus technology, which gives users the ability to route stand-alone software instruments directly between Core Audio based applications rather than as plug-ins, and the company's SBus technology, which Apogee claims "doubles the DSP power of The Symphony System."Gamers and PC users (as in, non-Mac owners) need not apply, and that's probably a good thing given the soundcard's $1000 price tag.

Creative this week unveiled its Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook, which as the name implies is an add-in soundcard for (cue the drum roll) notebooks. But wait, doesn't Creative already offer an X-Fi geared towards road warriors? The answer is yes, and the X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook has been available for some time now, but this re-release sports a slimmer profile, a new color scheme, and the ability to transmit wirelessly.

That's right - when paired with the optional Creative Wireless Receiver, the X-Fi will have the ability to beam music to your speakers rather than remain tethered. The new soundcard supports up to 4 wireless receivers, and each one can be placed up to 100 feet away from the notebook.The slimmed down peripheral fits into both ExpressCard 34 and 54 slots (previous version is 54 only), and brings the usual assortment of goodies to the table, including CMSS-3D, EAX Advanced HD, and Creative's Crystalizer technology. You get a pair of headphones bundled in, along with a free download of PowerDVD with full DTS and Dolby Digital decoding support.

Look for availability by the end of month, with the X-Fi Notebook priced at $80 and optional receiver commanding $70.