INTRODUCTION

   The very first sound card I ever owned was a Sound Blaster 16 "compatible" model which I installed in my brand new 80486DX2 system back in 1992 if I recall correctly (or was it 1993?). Of course back then the leading manufacturer called Creative Labs wasn't anywhere to be found where I lived so a clone was the next best thing one could get to enjoy the best possible sound (even though only tiny stereo speakers existed for the PC back then) with all latest and upcoming titles like Wing Commander 2/3, Star Wars Tie Fighter, Command and Conquer, Warcraft and Doom (among many others). However by the time many of these titles made it here 2+ years later Creative Labs did have a distributor so i had already purchased their latest Sound Blaster AWE32 sound card which was pretty much the best any gamer could hope to have back then (that too was replaced later on with the far more advanced Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold - perhaps the very first sound card to prepare us for what was to come, not only in terms of audio performance but also build quality and looks). Fast forward to today and Creative Labs (just Creative now) is no longer the driving force in the PC audio industry (at least nowhere near to the degree they did back then) and that "gap" has allowed other manufacturers to also launch their very own solutions (some very successful ones I might add). EVGA is the latest manufacturer to do so with their NU Audio card which we've been using for almost 2 weeks now.

   EVGA is the #1 NVIDIA authorized partner in channel sales throughout North America. Based on the philosophy of intelligent innovation, market knowledge, and the real time operation, EVGA continues to identify the need in the market place and providing the solution to that need. By offering product differentiation, 24/7 tech support, a 90 day Step-Up program, and other customer focused programs, EVGA is a clear leader in all categories: etail, retail, distribution, and system builders. With headquarters in Brea, CA, EVGA's global coverage includes EVGA GmbH in Munich, EVGA LATAM in Miami, and EVGA Hong Kong. For further information online about EVGA, visit https://www.evga.com.

   EVGA announced the NU Audio card earlier this year and since then it has been welcomed by gamers and professionals alike as one of the best audiophile audio cards money can buy today. Just how was a manufacturer like EVGA with zero experience in the audio segment of the industry able to achieve such a result? Well the answer is simple, they enlisted the help of the people over at Audio Note UK, Europe’s largest and most prestigious manufacturer of ultra-performance valve based home audio systems. Now I do have to admit that I only heard of Audio Note UK roughly 3 years ago but their history is filled with impressive feats so it's understandable that EVGA would turn to them for their first audio card. So, what makes the NU Audio Card special? Primarily it is the combination of the xCORE-200 32-bit multicore microcontroller by XMOS (offers up to x256 Native DSD - direct stream digital - support) with the AK4493 and the AK5572 converters (AK4493 is digital-to-analog whereas the AK5572 is analog-to-digital) by Asahi Kasei Microdevices which basically give the NU Audio Card a Dynamic Range (DNR) and Signal to Noise (SNR) of 123dB for stereo playback and 121dB for line-in recording (the card is also Hi-Res Audio certified supporting playback and recording stereo formats of up to 384kHz/32bit). Of course there are other things that make the NU Audio Card quite special such as the swappable ADI OP275 headphone out OP-AMP (16-600 Ohm impedance) and the swappable ADI AD8056 line-out OP-AMP (via OP-AMP rolling these are "future-proof") paired with LME49724 and LME49600 amplifiers by Texas Instruments, various high-quality capacitors (manufactured by the German WIMA, Japanese Panasonic and Nichicon and Audio Note themselves), TPS7A47 and TPS7A33 ultra-low noise power solutions by Texas instruments, customizable RBG lighting (10 modes / audio reactive), metal shroud, copper shielding and its gold plated outputs. Also, as of the 16th of this month (just in time for our tests) EVGA has further updated the software/drivers of the NU Audio card to include several extra features most notably enhanced 3D audio for gamers by Nahimic.