Technical Specifications

• 16-BIT ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION OF ANALOG INPUTS AT 96KHZ SAMPLE RATE
• 24-BIT DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION OF DIGITAL SOURCES AT 96KHZ TO ANALOG 7.1 SPEAKER OUTPUT
• RAZER ESP (ENHANCED SONIC PERCEPTION)
• RAZER 3D (720°) POSITIONAL GAMING AUDIO ENGINE™
• 117 SNR (SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO)
• 0.002% THD (TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION + NOISE AT 1KHZ)
• RAZER HD-DAI™ (HIGH DEFINITION-DEDICATED AUDIO INTERFACE)
• PASSIVE EMI SHIELD

Electrical Comparison between Creative X-Fi and Razer Barracuda™ AC-1

FEATURES

• Razer Enhanced Sonic Perception™ (ESP) enhances positional audio in gaming to allow competitive gamers to take
  advantage of the expanded dynamic soundstage in-game
  
  
• Dolby® Pro-Logic IIx surround processor splits stereo audio into 7.1 channel surround sound
  
  
• Dolby® Headphone technology conveys 5.1 surround or 3D gaming sounds over stereo headphones
  
  
• Independent Dolby® Digital Live (AC-3) 5.1 real-time encoding bit-stream to facilitate connection with CE AV receiver
  
  
• Dolby® Virtual Speaker solution brings amazing virtual surround sound fields via general two speakers
  
  
• DTS® Interactive Real-time 5.1 encoder that takes any 2 or more channels and encodes it into DTS bit stream
  
  DTS® NeoPC An upmixing matrix that turns any 2 channel audio into 7.1 surround sound
  
  
• Supports 7.1 CH digital audio playback for WinXP 64, WinXP ,Win2000 (Microsoft® DirectX V.9.0 above is required) and
  most industrial standards of PC 3D sound for gaming, including EAX™ 1.0&2.0, A3D™ 1.0, and DirectSound™
  
  
• PCI 2.2 interface (Burst Modes and Bus Mastering)
  4 synchronous I2S input/output pairs
  
  
• Integrated 192k/24-bit S/PDIF receiver/transmitter Multi-channel AC-link (supports up to 2 AC97 codecs)
  
  
• S/PDIF IN supports digital loop back path for transforming between optical and RCA connection
  
  
• Serial bus to communicate with micro control unit (MCU)lMPU-401 MIDI UART port support
  
• All I2S I/O pairs support 32-bit high-definition PCM data transfer and adjustable sample rate up to 192KHz

Setting up the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card

1. Turn off your Personal Computer (PC), unplug its power cord and disconnect any external peripherals. Remove the cover of your PC.
2. If you’re replacing a sound card that’s already in your PC, unscrew its bracket and gently remove the card out of its PCI slot.
3. Locate a free PCI expansion slot.  Remove the metal slot rear cover by unscrewing its securing screw.  Save the screw to secure the sound card to the chassis later.
4. If you’re replacing a sound card that’s already in your PC, unscrew its bracket and gently remove the card out of its PCI slot.
5. Before removing the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card from its protective bag, touch the PC chassis to discharge any static electricity build-up from your body.  Hold the card by its edges to avoid touching the gold edge connectors or components.
6. Gently press the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card firmly into the PCI slot until it snaps into place.  Secure its rear metal bracket to the chassis with the screw you removed in the previous step 3.
7. Replace the PC’s cover, reconnect the power cord.
8. Turn off your PC, unplug its power cord and disconnect any external peripherals. Remove the cover of your PC.

 Installing the drivers and software

1. Connect your speakers, microphone, and any other audio peripherals to the appropriate inputs and outputs on the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card.
2. Power-on your PC.  If the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window is displayed, click on the Cancel button to end this process.
3. Insert the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.  If the installation menu does not appear within 30 seconds, click on the “My Computer” icon, then double-click on the CD-ROM drive folder to open it, and select ‘SETUP.EXE’ to run the setup program from the CD.
4. When the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card installation menu appears, click NEXT and follow the on-screen instruction.
5. The installation procedure will install the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio drivers and Control Panel programs.  When the installation is completed, you will be prompted to register the product and reboot the PC.
6. Connect your speakers, microphone, and any other audio peripherals to the appropriate inputs and outputs on the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card.
7. Power-on your PC.  If the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window is displayed, click on the Cancel button to end this process.
8. Insert the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.  If the installation menu does not appear within 30 seconds, click on the “My Computer” icon, then double-click on the CD-ROM drive folder to open it, and select ‘SETUP.EXE’ to run the setup program from the CD.
9. When the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card installation menu appears, click NEXT and follow the on-screen instruction.
10. The installation procedure will install the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio drivers and Control Panel programs.  When the installation is completed, you will be prompted to register the product and reboot the PC.

Knowing your Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Audio Card

Connecting with Razer Barracuda™ HP-1 Gaming Headphones

Connecting with other audio devices

Note: There is no universal color coding standard for surround sound PC audio. Even though the Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Gaming Headphones Y-splitter uses the most common color codes for its audio jacks, third-party surround sound headphones may not necessarily follow the same color codes on their audio jacks. Always refer to your headphones manual to ensure proper connection.

Optimizing audio through the Audio Control Panel

The Razer Barracuda™ Professional Gaming Audio Control Panel

The Audio Control Panel is divided into 3 main sections – The Main Control, The Modes and Advanced Settings

The Main Control Panel

S/PDIF Output Selection Digital output mode is configured to define which format will be out by S/PDIF interface. There are 7 kinds of digital output mode: Dolby Digital Live/ DTS Interactive/Digital Audio 44.1K/ 48K/ 96K/ 192K/ SPDIF Loopback. Dolby Digital Live – The audio data will be encoded to AC-3 5.1 format and output via S/PDIF out DTS Interactive – The audio data will be encoded to DTS cinema 5.1 bit stream format and output via S/PDIF out  Digital Audio 44.1KHz – SPDIF out with 44.1KHz sample rate Digital Audio 48KHz – SPDIF out with 48KHz sample rate Digital Audio 96KHz – SPDIF out with 96KHz sample rate Digital Audio 192KHz – SPDIF out with 192KHz sample rate S/PDIF In Loopback

THE MODES PANEL

The Razer 3D(720°) Positional Gaming Audio Engine™ technology allows you to wear any set of headphones or use any stereo speakers to simulate a 5.1 surround environment. Razer 3D(720°) with Dolby Pro Logic IIx technology will expand any existing stereo or 5.1 channel audio for a 6.1 or 7.1 channel playback, creating a seamless, natural surround sound field that immerses you in the ultimate gaming experience. Three listening modes are available for selection - Music and Movie Razer 3D(720°) with DTS Neo-PC will turn your stereo audio (WMA, MP3, CD and gaming audio) into a convincing 7.1 multi-channel audio experience Three listening modes are available for selection Centre Gain with Concentrated Vocal Centre Gain with Vocal Separated Cinema Mode Environment Emulation Select an “Environment” button for emulation that is implemented by producing the sound reflection and reverberation You can change the “Environment Size” to large or small (pre-setting is Medium).

THE ADVANCED SETTINGS PANEL The 10 Band Equalizer provides different frequency bands that can adjust the system frequency response or tone. Eight equalizer presets are available from the pull-down menu for quick access. You may also want to get retrieve your own customized preset by clicking on the “+” and “-” signs. The Bass Control allows you to adjust the Bass threshold frequency, e.g. if set at 150Hz, all sounds that are 150Hz and below in frequency will be played through your subwoofer instead of your speakers. This is particularly helpful if your surround speakers cannot handle low bass sounds well.

Set the ESP slider to MIN for default game experience. Distant sound maybe too soft to hear depending on your speaker setup. Set the ESP slider to MAX to hear further and more distinctly, and pin point where an enemy is or where shots are coming from.

Razer ESP (Enhanced Sonic Perception™) The human brain has difficulty determining which direction a signal is coming from if it is too soft. Razer ESP™ allows you to control your hearing range in DirectSound3D games by altering the volume drop-off behavior of distant sounds. Sounds that may have been previously inaudible will now become much clearer. Razer ESP™ technology also gives you an advantage by boosting critical sounds, such as an enemy’s footsteps, to a more audible level. This effectively allows you to pinpoint the exact location of your enemy more accurately than ever before. The actions of your opponents will be magnified by a larger degree and so will your frags.

Press Downloads

Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Hi-Resolution images on White background. Download
Razer Barracuda™ AC-1 Hi-Resolution images on Black background. Download

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About Razer:

Razer™ is the world’s leading brand in high-end computer gaming peripherals.  Headquartered in San Diego, California, Razer™ enjoys an extensive distribution worldwide in all major countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle-East.  Razer™ designs, engineers and markets cutting-edge gaming peripherals that provide professional computer gamers with the competitive edge through a combination of technology, innovation and design.  Razer’s research and development team collaborates with leading professional gamers to develop proprietary technology for next generation gaming peripherals.  Razer’s superiority in gaming peripherals stems from its ability to understand and conceptualize peripherals that gamers need and thereafter bring the product from drawing board to retail shelves.

Each Razer™ peripheral bears the invisible signature of hundreds of professional gamers, gaming enthusiasts and engineers and each Razer™ gaming product is built from single components; pieced and assembled with care and precision to optimize gameplay for all professional gamers worldwide.  Engineered to near perfection, Razer’s reputation of being the leaders in gaming technology is embodied in every single Razer™ product.

For more information on Razer™ products, log onto www.razerzone.com.

Razer™ — For Gamers. By Gamers.