Diamond Multimedia's New Monster Sound MX300 Pushes the Envelope on Advanced 3D Positional Audio for Incredible PC Gaming Entertainment

Business Wire, August 26, 1998

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1998--

Diamond's Next Generation Audio Card Combines Soft-DVD and

Complete Dolby Digital Support with Aureal's Vortex 2 Processor

and 320-Voice DLS Wavetable Synthesis

Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in interactive multimedia acceleration, today announced a new high-end addition to the company's award-winning Monster Sound audio accelerator line -- the Monster Sound MX300. Featuring Aureal Semiconductor's Vortex(TM) 2/A3D 2.0 positional 3D audio processor, Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 is designed for discriminating PC gamers who thirst for a sound card with superior positional 3D audio rendering technology. Diamond's Monster Sound MX300, including popular 3D games, will begin shipping to U.S. retail stores, OEMs, systems integrators and VARs in October and carries a U.S. estimated retail price (ERP) of $99.95.

Diamond's PCI-based Monster Sound MX300 is the first retail audio card powered by Aureal's highly-regarded Vortex 2 audio processor with A3D 2.0 interactive positional 3D sound technology. Diamond's new audio accelerator takes full advantage of the rich 3D audio environments embedded in the latest PC entertainment titles, including audio reflections, occlusions, reverb and doppler shifts. With full acceleration for software developed to Microsoft's DirectX 5/6 application program interface (API), Diamond's new sound card supports up to 96 simultaneous DirectSound audio streams and as many as 16 streams for positional 3D audio supported in hardware providing improved overall gaming performance.

Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 provides full Dolby Digital support, professional-quality 320-voice wavetable synthesis and audio playback through headphones, two or four speakers; enabling PC gamers to enhance their gaming or DVD experience with a theater-style speaker setup. In addition, Diamond's new sound card is compatible with games developed using DirectSound, DirectSound 3D and derivatives as well as Sound Blaster(R) Pro compatibility for PC titles that require real-mode DOS support.

"Diamond's new Monster Sound MX300 pushes the limits on positional 3D audio solutions by coupling Aureal's breakthrough Wavetracing 3D technology with advanced support features at an attractive price point," said Ken Comstock, general manager of Diamond Multimedia's audio business unit. "With this impressive combination, Diamond believes that computer users looking to experience the ultimate in PC gaming and entertainment will make Monster Sound MX300 one of the most favored PC audio accelerator."

Complete Entertainment Solution

Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 is the first branded audio accelerator to feature both Dolby Digital (AC-3) support and soft-DVD acceleration, bringing PC consumers a full entertainment package in one integrated audio sub-system. Dolby Digital support allows computer users to enjoy DVD titles with audio playback virtualizing a 5.1 home theater speaker set-up with two or four speakers. Computer users will also be able to immerse themselves in PC games when playing titles supporting A3D and DirectSound 3D positional audio.

The Monster Sound MX300 features Diamond's own MX-LINK upgrade, allowing PC consumers to easily extend their audio experience with additional speakers as well as digital input and output, such as S/PDIF.

Additionally, the Monster Sound MX 300 fully supports MP3 audio files for PC users who store and play CD-quality music files on their computers. Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 will include an MP3 utility package for encoding, decoding and database management of MP3 files. MP3 audio files can be downloaded from the Internet or can be formed from CDs with the MP3 encoding utility included with the Monster Sound MX300.

Games Come Alive with A3D 2.0 Audio Rendering Technology

The A3D 2.0 algorithm supported by the Monster Sound MX300 enables PC games to come alive with multi-dimensional sound cues and environmental effects from above, below, behind, in front or from either side of the gamer. Specialized Aureal Wavetracing(TM) 3D capability renders audio streams to the exact acoustics of a room or environment in real-time, so an enemy's gun blast inside an enclosed room sounds different than a shot fired from two rooms away or in an open battle field. In addition, sound waves sound like they actually reflect off the walls or environmental surfaces in each game scene, whether it's comprised of wood, glass, carpet or even under water, the way they would sound in real-life. The result is a more realistic 3D audio environment.

A3D is now used in over 100 games shipping or under development on the Microsoft Windows platform, including Unreal from Epic Megagames/GT Interactive, Incoming from Rage Software, Descent: Freespace from Interplay, Battlezone from Activision and Jedi Knight from LucasArts.

"For awesome PC gaming, Diamond's new high-quality Monster Sound MX300, featuring Aureal's Vortex/A3D 2.0, is a killer solution," said Brendan O'Flaherty, vice president and general manager of the Systems Division at Aureal Semiconductor. "While our original A3D technology envelopes users in true, multi-dimensional 3D sound, Aureal's next-generation A3D 2.0 actually renders interactive 3D audio streams into the game environment, letting gamers hear the same level of audio realism that advanced 3D graphics texturing provides visually."