As the online karaoke and recording phenomenon continues to gain traction, demand has emerged for dedicated hardware that enables pro-level singing and recording via PC at home. The ASUS Xonar D-KARA karaoke audio card (PCI interface) presents professional effects and recording capabilities, designed by Xonar and music industry engineers. It supports simplified pre-set recording and extra-detailed input, with strong hardware that ensures optimized voice syncing and ultra-vivid 106dB SNR.

D-KARA helps customers enjoy social singing, recording, editing, and sharing of vocal performances, consolidating features under the user-friendly Xonar Audio Center.Online karaoke a global trend
Internet-based communal singing and karaoke-style experiences have seen tremendous growth recently. Supported by numerous services and sites (including YouTube), online karaoke is becoming more popular due to its social entertainment value. Like-minded people with a fondness for singing get together, friends and family gather for enjoyable singing sessions, and would-be performers hone their skills on the way to possible superstardom. Accommodating this, the Xonar team carried out research that shows over 100,000 people engage in daily online karaoke across Eurozone markets, while in mainland China the customer base stands at an amazing 500,000 singers per day. The team also received feedback showing that customers are interested in karaoke-specific hardware to improve their experiences, as software-based karaoke sites and services often offer basic features, suffer from latency, and lack proper recording facilities. Xonar D-KARA corrects these shortcomings in direct response to community input.

Everyone becomes a pro performer with D-KARA
The Xonar team packed an entire album of features in the design. Studio-level vocal effects include high-pass filtering, low-pass filtering, compression, dynamic boost, voice equalization, and reverb. All work hardware-level so greater fidelity is guaranteed, while customers can tune vocal masterpieces as they see fit, with enough enhancements to make virtually anyone a singing idol. Other highlights are built-in key shifting and vocal cancellation, further helping with playback editing. Precise stereo mixing and recording mean users simply plug a microphone into D-KARA and get started on their own song portfolio, which can then be shared online or via physical storage. To make settings quicker, D-KARA offers five one-click selectable master presets defined by Xonar and studio engineers: rock, rock pro, ballad, ballad pro, and special. The pro settings cater to those looking for that stadium-filling effect, while the special preset supports a more flexible vocal range. Customers who opt to sing their own way are bound to appreciate the extensive list of advanced settings offered.

Hardware-boosted singing sensations
While software karaoke and recording products frequently force vocalists to endure latency and lag, D-KARA hardware includes an advanced microphone-input digital signal processor that exceeds onboard audio responsiveness by up to 100 times, and competing karaoke cards by as much as ten times. It elevates voice syncing to studio-grade performance, resulting in more rewarding and confidence-boosting experiences. D-KARA builds on award-winning Xonar hardware design to ensure ear-dazzling crystal clear performance, equipped with exclusive ASUS Hyper Grounding technology to increase clarity by 16 times compared to onboard audio, and leading to an impressive 106dB SNR that tops the average 90dB of integrated sound.

Natural vocal intuition
While having karaoke and recording-dedicated hardware is a strong benefit, customers need an accessible interface to fully utilize it. D-KARA employs the Xonar Audio Center, where singing and online sharing are chart toppers, so every control and feature are extra-easy to use. D-KARA therefore differs from the more complicated and often unappealing interfaces of software-based karaoke, and allows anyone with a microphone to truly enjoy personalized singing experiences.