User Guide

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What’s Lacking is true audio from a PC that can rival hi-fi stereo systems
Most of today’s motherboards have audio designs that center on the so-called “AC’97” standards that are
certainly sufficient to meet the needs of daily business applications. Technology for both sound cards and
on-board AC’97 emphasize a SNR or (signal-to-noise ratio) that’s unrivaled by ordinary stereo components that
can be purchased from retail electronics chain stores. But what they lack is the ability to reproduce music that
is intended to be played back with faithful reproduction. Certainly SNR has a lot to do with music reproduction.
However, most of all, faithful music reproduction requires more than just excellent SNR, it requires tonality
and depth that truly moves the heart and soul of the listener.
The Perfect PC Audio Solution –Back to The Future
Driven by this premise, a group of geeks at AOpen’s Motherboard Division began to think about a fusion
of the latest digital technology with Thomas Edison’s discovery dating back to 1880 – the conversion of
alternating current into direct current through a device called The Vacuum Tube.
For years audiophiles and musicians have appreciated the warmth and tonal quality that flows from
sound that is reproduced with the utilization of the vacuum tube. Certainly with current materials,
technologies, manufacturing techniques, quality control and measurement equipment, it is possible to
manufacture a significantly improved and accurate audio reproduction machine than what was available 30
years ago. Yet, what is available today lacks the ability to pack the punch that the combination of old and new
can achieve. By introducing the vacuum tube to the new AX4B-533 Tube Motherboard, AOpen is determined to
meet this daunting challenge head-on and deliver a product that will significantly benefit music lovers and
gamers who see personal computer as more than just a personal computer. With this new motherboard, AOpen
is aiming to entice the segment of the user market that wishes to enjoy substantially better sound effects when
playing the latest popular computer games as well as those who desire to use their PC as a bona fide music
playback system.