On the rear of the Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card are ports for front panel audio, aux in and CD in that you would expect to find on a quality sound card. The front of the sound card looks quite different from any other card on the market currently. There are no standard headphone and speaker mini jacks on the AC-1. You get optical SPDIF in and out and a Razer exclusive HD-DAI connector.
The HD-DAI connector is identical to the DVI connector on a graphics card in looks, but is functionally completely different. Razer used this new interface to attempt to get better sound quality, and it seems to have worked well for them. Before you get worried about being able to connect your 5.1 or 7.1 speakers to the Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card, Razer includes an adapter to convert the HD-DAI connector to one that will operate standard speakers.
The only device that is currently equipped to work with the Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card vi HD-DAI is Razer’s own HP-1 gaming headphones. I wondered as I was using the AC-1 sound card if perhaps Razer might have a set of 5.1 or 7.1 speakers laying in wait to operate with the new sound card. I’m not sure if they do or not, but it would be a nice addition to the headphones.
The Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card uses many popular sound formats like Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Pro-Logic IIx, Dolby Headphones, Dolby Virtual Speaker, DTS Interactive, DTS NeoPC, EAX 1.0 and 2.0, A3D and DirectSound. Razer also uses a patent pending Razer Enhanced Sonic Perception for an expanded soundstage in game.
All of these features combine to make one hell of a sound card. If I had to choose between my X-Fi and the Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card I’ll take the Razer please. For example, take Battlefield 2142. With my X-Fi or the on-board sound of my abit AW9D-Max mainboard the rear channel sounds are pretty much the same right and left at all times and its difficult to get any sort of distance estimation from what you hear.
Throw on the Razer HP-1 headphones coupled with the AC-1 via HD-DAI and the sounds become much more distinct to my ears and easier to tell if sounds from behind me are at a distance or close in addition to if they are right or left of me. Without the headphones gaming in surround sound with DTS is a blast as is watching a movie.
All in all the Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card is easily my favorite sound card on the current market with its full list of features and fantastic sound quality with both normal speakers using SPDIF and the Razer AC-1 headphones via HD-DAI. If you are in need of a great sound card for gaming and can’t decide between the X-Fi and Razer, the Razer gets my strong recommendation.
